Dickie Bird recalls 'very, very sad' final chat with Michael Parkinson

17 August 2023 , 18:00

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Dickie Bird recalls 'very, very sad' final chat with Michael Parkinson

Television great Michael Parkinson telephoned his friends to say a heartbreaking goodbye hours before his death.

The celebrated chat show king died peacefully at home at the age of 88 in the company of his family on Wednesday night following a brief illness. But before passing away, the legendary broadcaster make sure he got in touch those closest to him to thank them for their friendship.

Stars and fans have been paying tribute to the respected broadcaster following his death aged 88. His family confirmed the sad news in a statement today, reading: "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."

His close friend Dickie Bird says he had a highly emotional conversation with Michael yesterday when they both knew his life was drawing to a close. The legendary cricket umpire says it was a measure of the man that his fellow Yorkshireman wanted to speak to him at such a devastating time.

Michael Parkinson's 'dear friend' recalls final emotional phone call hours before his death (PA)

Appearing on 5 News this evening, he said: "I was stunned and shattered by the news this morning, but it wasn't really too big a shock. I spoke to Michael yesterday morning, he rang me and we had a chat together on the phone. I could tell he wasn't well. We both knew.

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"We spoke about old times, our friendship together over the years. We shed a few tears and we said our goodbyes. It was very, very sad. Very sad. He was my best friend, a true friend," he told Channel 5. "He made sure he came to my 90th birthday party (in April). He said he would do it on his last legs and he did. I knew then he wasn't well. We've lost a great man, he will go down in history as the best we've seen."

Michael had been close friends with the former batsman for years, having first met him on the cricket pitch in the 1950s. A grieving Dickie said he doesn't know "how I will cope" without the broadcaster in his life. Michael spoke fondly of his relationship with Dickie on the BBC Breakfast last year, hailing the umpire's "sense of humour" to host Naga Muchetty. "The stories of Dickie Bird, you could write 10 books about him...There's nothing nasty about him. He's a funny, funny man," he continued, before adding that he's always been very sociable and "needs company."

Channel 5 showed Michael celebrating Dickie's birthday (Channel 5)

Among those paying tribute to the TV legend today was the BBC's director-general Tim Davie, who hailed Parkinson as "the king of the chat show” and an “incredible broadcaster and journalist”. He said: said: “Michael was the king of the chat show and he defined the format for all the presenters and shows that followed. He interviewed the biggest stars of the 20th century and did so in a way that enthralled the public. Michael was not only brilliant at asking questions, he was also a wonderful listener. Michael was truly one of a kind, an incredible broadcaster and journalist who will be hugely missed.”

ITV's political editor Nick Robinson also paid tribute to his former BBC colleague, writing: "He was the greatest interviewer of our age who owned Saturday night TV for year after year. Michael Parkinson - king of the chat show - has died." While Lord Sugar tweeted: "Very sad news on the passing of Michael Parkinson . End of a era RIP."

Sam Elliott-Gibbs