Michael Parkinson, who died on Wednesday night at the age of 88, was best known for interviewing some of the world’s biggest stars on his eponymous chatshow. During his 50-year career, he was responsible for dozens of the most memorable moments in television history.
Known affectionately as Parky, he made 800 episodes of his show, which first ran on the BBC from 1971 to 1982 and then was relaunched in 1998. The show moved to ITV in 2004, and he retired in 2007. Here are some of the most controversial and enjoyable moments from over the years.
Muhammad Ali
“When people ask me who I most enjoyed interviewing, I’m unable to give them an answer. If they ask me who was the most remarkable man I ever met, I answer without hesitation: Muhammad Ali,” Parkinson said in Michael Parkinson’s Greatest Entertainers, broadcast in 2007. “I interviewed him four times – I lost on every occasion.”
Their verbal sparring sessions provided some of the show’s most memorable encounters and boosted ratings by millions each time. “I’m not going to argue with you,” Parkinson said to Ali during one animated discussion, to which Ali replied: “You’re not as dumb as you look.”
Billy Connolly
Connolly was an unknown making a living on the Scottish club circuit when Parkinson gave him his big break in 1975. The comic reportedly had been recommended to the host by a cab driver. Connolly had the audience in stitches with a string of gags and became an overnight star. He went on to make more appearances on the show than any other guest.
Rod Hull and Emu
Parkinson often joked that his career would always be remembered for “that bloody bird”. In a 1976 appearance, the puppet attacked the host on the sofa and wrestled him to the ground, a clip that was regularly revisited over the years.
Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy
Parkinson had better luck with his next puppet-based interview. In a comical exchange, the presenter confessed he was “madly in love” with Miss Piggy, and the pair cuddled up together – much to Kermit’s apparent discomfort.
At one point, Parkinson asked Miss Piggy: “What’s it like being a sex symbol?” She replied: “It’s a deep responsibility to be a taste-setter in fashion, to be a sex symbol and to be a pig superstar.”
Paul McCartney
The Beatle fulfilled a 25-year promise when he appeared on Parkinson. The presenter had agreed to be pictured on the cover of the 1974 Wings album Band On the Run if McCartney returned the favour by being a guest, which he eventually did in 1999. McCartney said: “I owed him one. It’s been a long time coming but this is it.”
Landing the interview was a coup: it was McCartney’s first major TV appearance since the death of his wife, Linda, the previous year.
Meg Ryan
The actor was Parkinson’s most frosty interviewee. She took offence at his questions about her risque film In the Cut and she sat stony-faced, gave one-word answers and ignored fellow guests Trinny and Susannah.
When Parkinson asked in desperation what she would do if she were conducting the interview, she snapped: “Wrap it up.” He later called her “an unhappy woman”, while Ryan called him a “nut” and said he had spoken to her “like a disapproving dad”.
In 2021, Parkinson apologised to Ryan over their infamous encounter in 2003. Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: “I wish I hadn’t lost my temper with Meg Ryan. I wish I’d dealt with it in a more courteous manner. I was quite obviously angry with her and it’s not my business to be angry towards the guests. I came across as kind of pompous and I could have done better.”
Asked what he would say to Ryan if he saw her again, he said: “I’m sorry. But you must understand that you played a part in it, too. Neither of us were on top form, and we were both discomforted.”
Tony Blair
Parkinson’s interview in 2006 with the then prime minister made headlines when Blair said God would be the ultimate judge of his decision to go to war with Iraq. The comments sparked fury among the families of soldiers who died in the conflict.
Helen Mirren
Parkinson faced criticism in 1975 after introducing the actor on his show as the “sex queen” of the Royal Shakespeare Company and quoting a critic’s description of her as projecting “sluttish eroticism”.
During the interview, Parkinson asked if her “equipment” distracted audiences and if serious actors could have “big bosoms”. Mirren who later called him a “sexist old fart” said the encounter had been “enraging”.
Much later, Parkinson declined to apologise fully for the interview. Speaking on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2019, he said: “I feel it’s of its time, and of its time it’s embarrassing. It was over the top, absolutely so.”
When Morgan suggested the comments were sexist, Parkinson replied: “Well, maybe. But nobody got hurt, nobody died.”
David and Victoria Beckham
The Spice Girls singer revealed in 2001 that she called the England footballer “Golden Balls”, before adding: “That’s one of those things I shouldn’t have said.” Laughing, Parkinson said: “‘Golden Balls Beckham’, that’s a good one.” The nickname stuck throughout Beckham’s career.
