Parkinson’s northern accent was ‘very refreshing’, says Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough has said that Sir Michael Parkinson’s northern accent was “a very refreshing voice in those days” as the late chat show host was hailed as “king of the intelligent interview”.
By Charlotte McLaughlin
Published 17th Aug 2023, 17:03 GMT
Updated 17th Aug 2023, 18:04 GMT

Some of the celebrities whom the Yorkshire-born presenter interviewed have paid tribute after his family announced he died “peacefully at home” at the age of 88 on Wednesday.

In a pre-recorded interview for BBC Radio 4’s The World At One, Sir David said he thought when he was controller of BBC Two that Sir Michael was the “best freelance interviewer in the business”.

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The naturalist added: “He was always knowledgeable, he was absolutely classless.

Sir David said he thought when he was controller of BBC Two that Sir Michael was the “best freelance interviewer in the business”. Pictured is Sir Michael Parkinson during filming of the Graham Norton Show at The London Studios, south London.Sir David said he thought when he was controller of BBC Two that Sir Michael was the “best freelance interviewer in the business”. Pictured is Sir Michael Parkinson during filming of the Graham Norton Show at The London Studios, south London.
Sir David said he thought when he was controller of BBC Two that Sir Michael was the “best freelance interviewer in the business”. Pictured is Sir Michael Parkinson during filming of the Graham Norton Show at The London Studios, south London.

“That’s not quite true, you knew he was not a southerner, you knew he was a northerner and that was a very refreshing voice in those days and you knew that he would do his homework and that he would ask questions that didn’t occur to you.

“(Michael was) extremely professional, you knew that he would know all the background and you didn’t have to fill in anything.

“He was extremely generous, he wanted you to shine and would always laugh at your jokes and give you an opportunity to make them sound funnier than in fact they were.”

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The 97-year-old also said that being interviewed by him “was like meeting a friend” and “you knew he was on your side”.

On the same BBC radio show, Sir Michael Palin said that the “publicists lit the fireworks” if you got on Sir Michael Parkinson’s show which he described as the “gold standard”.

The presenter and comedian said: “He wanted to get people on his show who entertained him and, therefore, who he thought would entertain the audience.

“It didn’t always work. In some cases, people (interviewees) suspected what they saw as the difficult questions he might ask in among all the fun and the enjoyment.

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“He was a very good journalist, and a very proud journalist, and it was very important for him not to give people an easy ride. But he did basically choose people he liked, because he liked to be entertained himself.”

Former footballer David Beckham said losing Sir Michael was saying “goodbye to the best”, as he recalled his wife, Victoria, revealing she calls him “Golden Balls” during a Parkinson interview.