The son of a miner, Michael Parkinson studied at Barnsley Grammar School.
He went into press journalism before moving to television, initially as a producer for Granada Television and then more famously as a chat show host.
In 1971, the BBC broadcast Parkinson's talk show. It ran for eleven years.
Michael Parkinson was one of those including Sir David Frost involved in launching TV-am.
In 2004, Michael Parkinson moved to ITV after 33 years with the BBC.
As well as his TV work, Parkinson has a respected body of work as a radio broadcaster and as a sports journalist, including writing a weekly sports column in the Daily Telegraph.
Michael Parkinson was knighted in the 2007/8 New Years Honours list.
