17 August 2023 , 16:33
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Graham Norton was among the many stars who paid tribute to Michael Parkinson and his 'gold standard' chat show following his death.
The celebrated British broadcaster died aged 88 after a short illness. His family confirmed the sad news in a heartbreaking statement: "After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family. The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve."
Following the news of his death, celebrities paid tribute to the legendary TV interviewer, with iconic chat show host Graham saying: "Such sad news. As a chat show host, he was the gold standard that will never be matched. My thoughts are with his family and friends.” Graham is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his widely-loved comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show.
Sir David also paid tribute to the star (Julian Makey/REX/Shutterstock)
Michael died after a short illnessBeloved historian and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough also paid tribute to him, telling the PA: "He was a proud Yorkshireman but he was beyond region or class – he was himself. He was also an ideal interviewer for asking interesting and often important questions because he genuinely wanted to know the answer. He also had a great sense of humour and didn’t take himself too seriously.”
Sir Elton John said that he “loved” Sir Michael’s company as he paid tribute to him on Instagram. TheRocketman singer wrote: “Michael Parkinson was a TV legend who was one of the greats. I loved his company and his incredible knowledge of cricket and Barnsley Football Club. A real icon who brought out the very best in his guests.”
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Michael was one of the country’s most iconic interviewers, known for doing painstaking research and asking his famous guests all the right questions. Michael was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013 and received the “all-clear” from doctors in the summer of 2015 following two years of treatment.
Although he was known for hard-hitting interviews with the world's biggest celebrities and even senior members of The Royal Family, he rarely talked about his own personal life. In one rare admission, Parky opened up about people remembering him after his death.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on Life Stories back in 2019, he emotionally said: "I just want to be remembered as someone who had a good time, lots of good mates and wrote the odd good piece and did the odd good interview. That's enough."
During the same interview, the broadcasting legend broke down in tears as he discussed the death of his dad, Jack Parkinson, who died in 1975 after a battle with lung disease pneumoconiosis – which is caused by long-term retention of dust within the lungs. He told Piers: "I'd never seen anybody I loved die and I saw my dad die, you could see him withering away. For a man as vigorous as he was, it was like watching leaves fall from a tree."