THE BBC will air some of Sir Michael Parkinson’s most memorable interviews to celebrate his career after his tragic death.
Archive footage from his telly talk show Parkinson, which ran from 1971 to 1982 and 1998 to 2007, will be shown in the five special episodes.
Tomorrow night, the first episode shows Michael – who died at the age of 88 this week – revisiting four interviews with late boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
The programme, which airs at 10:40pm on BBC Four, will be followed by the journalist’s 1998 interview with Billy Connolly.
Michael’s candid sit down with George Michael will follow on August 26, detailing the singer-songwriter’s childhood and Wham! career, as well as his interview with actress Ingrid Bergman.
A 1974 interview with Dr Jacob Bronowski, the presenter and writer of documentary series The Ascent of Man, will air on September 2.
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On the same date, collated archive footage will see Michael meet Hollywood’s leading ladies, including Bette Davis, Raquel Welch, Bette Midler, Lauren Bacall and Miss Piggy.
Michael died peacefully at home on Wednesday night following a brief battle with illness.
Parky filmed over 650 episodes of his talk show, which also saw him interview Sir Elton John, Tom Cruise and Madonna.
The chat show king sat down with 2,000 celebrity guests after becoming a pioneer of the one-on-one interview format.
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His plain-speaking style helped garner a legion of fans and has been emulated by a string of famous interviewers in his wake.
A statement from Sir Michael's family said: "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."
A special episode looking back over his career highlights, titled Parkinson at 50, aired on BBC One earlier this week.
The programme was first recorded and broadcast in 2021 to celebrate the five decades since Parkinson premiered.
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