Michael Parkinson

Birthday: 28 March 1935, Cudworth, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, UK

Height: 178 cm

Michael Parkinson was educated at Barnsley Grammar School. He left at the age of 16 and his ambition of becoming a professional cricketer was dashed when he was rejected by Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He turned to journalism, worked on several local newspapers in Yorkshire before joining the Manchester Guardian. Michael covered all sorts, from chip pan fires in Oldham to political conferences. He joined the Observer to write about sport and became a columnist with The Sunday Times.His first work in television was as a current affairs producer at Granada Television. He joined the BBC as a reporter for "24 Hours". In 1969 he became the presenter of Granada's Cinema series. In 1971 he presented Thames Television's regular afternoon show, Teabreak. The BBC decided to give the still relatively young broadcaster his own evening chat show, "Parkinson", the same year. With his working class accent, Michael Parkinson was a breath of fresh air and over the next 11 years he interviewed many of the leading celebrities of the time.The programme established him as one of the best known faces on television, and his fame resulted in his writing for the first edition of the British Cosmopolitan Magazine and his appearance with Jon Pertwee on the front of the Radio Times. His relaxed chat show was axed in 1982. Parkinson moved to ITV and became part of the Famous Five that launched TV AM. In 1998 the BBC resurrected "Parkinson" and the ageing presenter found himself back on prime-time. He presents his own show on BBC Radio 2, during which he plays much of his beloved jazz music. He maintains notoriety for his outspoken comments about other television personalities, the Government and the state of British sport. Michael currently claims he will retire before he's 70 and set about writing the book of his life. Show less «

[on Russell Brand] I don't see the point of him. He doesn't make me laugh. I don't think his style o...Show more »

[on Russell Brand] I don't see the point of him. He doesn't make me laugh. I don't think his style of talking is particularly beautiful, funny or creative. Not at all. Show less «

The Nelson Riddle/Sinatra albums are masterpieces and will last so long as people listen to music. S...Show more »

The Nelson Riddle/Sinatra albums are masterpieces and will last so long as people listen to music. Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) was the greatest singer of the Great American Songbook there has ever been. Show less «

Do I like them? Oh you know...Better than that bloody rap stuff, that's for sure. (On the Arctic Mon...Show more »

Do I like them? Oh you know...Better than that bloody rap stuff, that's for sure. (On the Arctic Monkeys) Show less «

I look at the old shows and think: 'Who thought that was any good?' The way we looked, for God's sak...Show more »

I look at the old shows and think: 'Who thought that was any good?' The way we looked, for God's sake. Ruddy great trouser bottoms and we thought we were Jack the Lad. And I wasn't a particularly convincing interviewer, either. I was very stiff. I thought I was a proper journalist, you see. I was trying to behave like a proper journalist in a showbiz situation. The trick was accepting that I was part of the showbiz aspect, too. I came to say it was like interviewing while tap-dancing. But it took a while to understand that. (On the early episodes of Parkinson (1971)) Show less «

Jade Goody has her own place in the history of television and, while it's significant, it's nothing ...Show more »

Jade Goody has her own place in the history of television and, while it's significant, it's nothing to be proud of. Her death is as sad as the death of any young person, but it's not the passing of a martyr or a saint or, God help us, Princess Diana. When we clear the media smokescreen from around her death, what we're left with is a woman who came to represent all that's paltry and wretched about Britain today. Show less «

Rex Harrison told me that he wouldn't talk about his ex-wives, and I said, 'Rex, you've been married...Show more »

Rex Harrison told me that he wouldn't talk about his ex-wives, and I said, 'Rex, you've been married six times. That's going to leave a pretty big gap'. He said 'Yes, I suppose you're right, dear boy'. Show less «

[on Meg Ryan] She snapped at me and then wouldn't speak. She was in a very bad place - a very unhapp...Show more »

[on Meg Ryan] She snapped at me and then wouldn't speak. She was in a very bad place - a very unhappy woman promoting a terrible movie. I never watch any of my interviews back, but that's the one I can't avoid because it is all over YouTube. Show less «

[on the BBC] I was very lucky that when I was there it was run by programme makers... They were eith...Show more »

[on the BBC] I was very lucky that when I was there it was run by programme makers... They were either very good journalists or very good at showbusiness. They weren't bureaucrats. Now it seems to me there are more bureaucrats than anything else. It shows in the broadcasting. Show less «

Letterman (David Letterman), Leno (Jay Leno) and Carson (Johnny Carson) couldn't interview their way...Show more »

Letterman (David Letterman), Leno (Jay Leno) and Carson (Johnny Carson) couldn't interview their way out of a paper bag, but they are wonderful stand-up comics. Show less «

My favourite is Mel Tormé and George Shearing's "Pick Yourself Up". That, to me, is the joy of musi...Show more »

My favourite is Mel Tormé and George Shearing's "Pick Yourself Up". That, to me, is the joy of music. It must be wonderful to be as creative and happy as that. Most artists aren't, are they?' Show less «

He was the most glorious athlete I'd ever seen. He was a total one-off. He could be extraordinarily ...Show more »

He was the most glorious athlete I'd ever seen. He was a total one-off. He could be extraordinarily rude and arrogant, but also childlike, funny and mischievous. A difficult man to know, but I loved him in all his moods. I went in with him four times and I lost on every occasion, and I wouldn't have missed a moment of it. (On Muhammad Ali) Show less «

Women have it much tougher than men in this game. A 65-year-old woman with as many lines on her face...Show more »

Women have it much tougher than men in this game. A 65-year-old woman with as many lines on her face as I have would not be considered for anything except a doormat - and that's sad. Show less «

He was an exceedingly interesting and fascinating man, who could speak for an hour without using a c...Show more »

He was an exceedingly interesting and fascinating man, who could speak for an hour without using a cliché. (On Orson Welles) Show less «

Most shows on the BBC and ITV chase ratings, sadly at the expense of talent. I wouldn't want to inte...Show more »

Most shows on the BBC and ITV chase ratings, sadly at the expense of talent. I wouldn't want to interview Cheryl or a winner of Big Brother - I'm interested in actual talent. I want to talk to people with something to say. Show less «

We are a nation of losers. (On the state of British sport)

The currency of being a talk show host has been reduced over the years, that's for sure. They've exp...Show more »

The currency of being a talk show host has been reduced over the years, that's for sure. They've experimented with talk shows involving the kind of people you wouldn't normally expect to be talk show hosts. They are working on the assumption that what I do for a living can be done by anybody in the street. I'm quite offended by that. And I'm quite agitated. Show less «

I lived a substantial part of my affair with football in the company of Bobby Robson. I saw him as a...Show more »

I lived a substantial part of my affair with football in the company of Bobby Robson. I saw him as a player with Fulham and West Brom and reported his triumphs as a manager at Ipswich. The Cobbold brothers who ran Ipswich were civilised people with a philosophy that football was a game first and a business second and must be enjoyed and celebrated with wine and merrymaking. The media were invited to the party and everyone had a good time. That's when I got to know him and admire him. He was betrayed by a game he loved which changed character and ethos during his lifetime. The spivs, the get rich quick kids, the chancers took over leaving people like Bobby Robson perplexed and dismayed. But Robson will be remembered long after the present lot are old bones. By his decency, his humour, his love of the games traditions and origins and confusion at what it had become, he made present day football look what it is - shabby by comparison. I can think of no more fitting epitaph. Show less «

I don't like the way celebrity has invaded every area of TV. I'm disappointed with the way celebriti...Show more »

I don't like the way celebrity has invaded every area of TV. I'm disappointed with the way celebrities do the jobs that were once done by people like Alan Whicker and David Attenborough. Perhaps my views are a bit old fashioned - but there you go, that's how I feel. Show less «

ITV was in trouble and still is. It was a very unhappy building to be in. I didn't want to spend the...Show more »

ITV was in trouble and still is. It was a very unhappy building to be in. I didn't want to spend the last days of a very enjoyable career in a place that was as depressed as that was. (On finishing Parkinson (1971) in 2007) Show less «

My show's a very old-fashioned show. It's about interviews - it's not about being smart.

I've wanted to do a show like Parkinson: Masterclass for years, with proper musicians and artists - ...Show more »

I've wanted to do a show like Parkinson: Masterclass for years, with proper musicians and artists - people at the top of their field but not necessarily celebrities - showing how they do what they do. Show less «

I've dried up many times. The worst was when I couldn't remember John Wayne's name. After that I put...Show more »

I've dried up many times. The worst was when I couldn't remember John Wayne's name. After that I put the guest's name on the crib sheet. Isn't that awful? Show less «

When anyone asks why I love big band music I tell them to listen to this. If they still don't know I...Show more »

When anyone asks why I love big band music I tell them to listen to this. If they still don't know I cross them off my Christmas card list. Pete Myers's arrangement of Cole Porter's classic song is perfect. Plus, there's Buddy Rich on drums. (On "Love For Sale" by the Buddy Rich Big Band) Show less «

[on the death of Tony Curtis] Some Like It Hot (1959) is one of the greatest comedies of all time. B...Show more »

[on the death of Tony Curtis] Some Like It Hot (1959) is one of the greatest comedies of all time. Billy Wilder did not suffer fools so for Tony Curtis to work with him and make that film shows just how good he was. He was an extraordinary man. Hollywood tried to make him into a sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s but he was his own man. He was a great chat-show guest and was wonderfully indiscreet but he was very bright and did not take himself too seriously, Show less «

I don't like the people who are running television at present, actually. I don't like what they're d...Show more »

I don't like the people who are running television at present, actually. I don't like what they're doing with television. I see now a difference between celebrity and fame. I see different people getting to be on television who, in my view, have got no talent whatsoever. That may have been always the case but there's a predominance now of that kind of thinking, which is kind of tabloid thinking in a sense, and I think that it's doing damage to all of us. It's about very skilful people manipulating the market. It's about a trend that's been set by clever people who work out a demographic, if you like, who look for an audience, particularly a younger audience - 16 to 34 - and go for that. I think that Simon Cowell is a classic example of what I'm talking about. Here's an extremely clever entrepreneur, that's what he is. He's a wonderful marionette, he has the puppets playing all underneath him, but he's dictating the shape and form of television in this country. It used to be that people who were versed in showbiz, people who were proper entrepreneurs, people who were proper showbiz people used to run that, and I trusted them more than I trust this lot. That's all I'm saying. Now it doesn't matter what I think because I'm out of it now and I can actually look down at the landscape from my view and say, 'I don't like what I see. It doesn't matter.' You know, that's OK. But it grieves me because I've been in this business for 50 years now and I love this business, and I've had some wonderful times in this business, and I hate to see it being downgraded to something else. (Speaking in 2010) Show less «

I like being interviewed. It doesn't happen often enough, actually - I don't get asked enough. It's ...Show more »

I like being interviewed. It doesn't happen often enough, actually - I don't get asked enough. It's power without responsibility. Show less «

I've been asked many times what my number one interview was. Tough question.

In the summer of 1971 there was a gap in the BBC schedules, about eight weeks to cover. In situation...Show more »

In the summer of 1971 there was a gap in the BBC schedules, about eight weeks to cover. In situations like this, TV bosses think "talk show", it's cheap, cheerful, expendable. So they gave us an eight show stint and we fooled them, we just kept on going. Show less «

Television in the 60s and 70s was a thrilling and exhilarating business to be part of. There were fe...Show more »

Television in the 60s and 70s was a thrilling and exhilarating business to be part of. There were few rules, focus groups had not been invented - or if they had they were generally ignored. The newly formed ITV stations were run by gifted entrepreneurs and the BBC by an adroit mix of showbiz and journalism. Producers were unencumbered by such irksome obstacles as compliance, health and safety and frustrating commissioning procedures. The biggest difference of all between then and now was defined ... by (former home secretary) David Blunkett when he described the 'worship' of the 'cult of youth' by modern TV bosses as 'an unstoppable fetish'. To indicate how much this obsession has distorted the standards set by the likes of Frost and Whicker, let us compare Tonight featuring Whicker, Fyfe Robertson, Cliff Michelmore, Trevor Philpott et al with its present-day equivalent. The One Show is an agreeable frolic but it's hardly a finishing school for a generation of television reporters. When you compare the kind of talk show David Frost developed with its modern counterpart you realise you are dealing with a vanished species. Why don't we have a daily, topical, irreverent magazine programme like Tonight? Where is the talk show that is not masquerading as a comic frivolity, and why since the 60s have we never produced anything as controversial, innovative and inspiring as TW3 (That Was the Week That Was)? Show less «

Sometimes I think that being paid to go to the movies is the definition of paradise and sometimes I ...Show more »

Sometimes I think that being paid to go to the movies is the definition of paradise and sometimes I sit there thinking, "What on earth am I doing watching this tripe?" Show less «

When the BBC asked me to do it again, I said there was only one way I wanted to do it. I'd seen all ...Show more »

When the BBC asked me to do it again, I said there was only one way I wanted to do it. I'd seen all the shows that had replaced mine, and I hadn't approved of the way the talk show had gone. It was like most TV - gimmicky, very loud, vulgar, disjointed and totally incomprehensible. It had become a vehicle for the interviewer and not for the person they were interviewing. Show less «

We were lucky in the 1970s because the Hollywood studio system had collapsed and the great stars, wh...Show more »

We were lucky in the 1970s because the Hollywood studio system had collapsed and the great stars, who had hitherto only existed as 10 meter giants on the silver screen, came down to earth. Show less «

When I started there were two television channels. Look at it now. Nobody knows where it's going, no...Show more »

When I started there were two television channels. Look at it now. Nobody knows where it's going, nobody knows what its future is, nobody knows, in a sense, even what its present is. It is a confusing world and I don't like being confused. I don't like that at all. (Speaking in 2007) Show less «

I've always wanted to have my own pub. I have spent so much time in pubs over the years that I thoug...Show more »

I've always wanted to have my own pub. I have spent so much time in pubs over the years that I thought it might be cheaper to buy one. Show less «

For God's sake, there are still those in the fight game who will tell you that Muhammad Ali's presen...Show more »

For God's sake, there are still those in the fight game who will tell you that Muhammad Ali's present pitiful state has nothing to do with the noble art. Show less «

If the government knew or cared about sport it would stop schmoozing like star-struck fans and start...Show more »

If the government knew or cared about sport it would stop schmoozing like star-struck fans and start banging a few heads. Fat chance. Show less «

Someone once described it as 'a suite' of songs but that's too polite for the anger that drives this...Show more »

Someone once described it as 'a suite' of songs but that's too polite for the anger that drives this, the most powerful of concept albums. Time magazine described it as Motown's most important LP. It is also permanent testament to a great artist. (On "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye) Show less «

I don't need telling by anybody if I have done a good, bad or indifferent interview - I know. My wor...Show more »

I don't need telling by anybody if I have done a good, bad or indifferent interview - I know. My worst was with the monosyllabic Meg Ryan in October 2003. I don't know what was wrong with her. Perhaps she was under stress. In the dressing room before the show she said I could ask her anything, but that patently wasn't true. She certainly didn't want to talk about her film In the Cut (2003), which was terrible. Nor did I like her very much. She arrogantly sat with her back to the other guests. But I'd certainly have her on the show again. We have unfinished business. Then there was Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) in 1999, who wouldn't come unless his answers were scripted. Here was this great comedian who turned out to be a total slave to the autocue. It was only the second scripted interview I've done. Frankie Howerd was the first. Everyone called him a great improviser, but he even had every 'um' and 'ah' written in his answers on the autocue. It was awful. Show less «

We did a 70- to 80-minute show with Duke Ellington which the BBC put out in its entirety. Can you se...Show more »

We did a 70- to 80-minute show with Duke Ellington which the BBC put out in its entirety. Can you see that happening now? They'd say 'Duke who?' Not just the BBC but ITV, any of them. 'Duke who? Can you get David Beckham on with him? Charlotte Church singing maybe?' Ah, the decline of British television. In the 70s when I first started, I would have on as regular guests Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich - Duke Ellington was there. All were acceptable in those days. No one would raise an eyebrow and say 'Why are you not having the top of the pops on?' Nowadays if you suggest somebody like that, they say 'Ooh I don't know ... who? What's he done?' It's sad. There's a generation of people running broadcasting, running television particularly, nowadays who have no musical culture beyond that which exists in the top 10. Everything has got to be so geared towards commercial interests nowadays - commercial success. Everything has to be copper-bottomed in their view. Well now and again you've got to take a punt on things, I think, that's what we're there for. (Speaking in 2007) Show less «

(Frequent quote, re Rod Hull and Emu): "That bloody bird!"

Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) was the one that got away. Otherwise, I've met everyone I have ever wanted t...Show more »

Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) was the one that got away. Otherwise, I've met everyone I have ever wanted to meet. Show less «

He said to me: "If you talk about The Beatles, you'll have to climb inside a sack." I said, "Why do ...Show more »

He said to me: "If you talk about The Beatles, you'll have to climb inside a sack." I said, "Why do I have to do that?" He said, "Don't ask me, ask her," referring to Yoko. Very strange lady. Anyway, I asked him about the Beatles and we got into this sack. As we were both smoking at the time, I remember thinking, "This must look like we're sitting in a bloody tepee." (On interviewing John Lennon in 1971) Show less «

I object to the exploitation of the underclass in shows like Big Brother (2000). It is the modern ve...Show more »

I object to the exploitation of the underclass in shows like Big Brother (2000). It is the modern version of Bedlam, where you pay to see the poor benighted people making asses of themselves. Why do people find The Apprentice (2005) appealing? When Sir Alan (Alan Sugar) says 'You're fired,' that is not a nice thing to happen. The basic premise is not worthwhile, or enthralling. Show less «

I've met thousands of fascinating people and I have some wonderful memories.

I think the talk show, as a conversational performance between two people, has gone. What you have n...Show more »

I think the talk show, as a conversational performance between two people, has gone. What you have now is the American style, where you have the host who is a more important part of the show than the guest. It's his cleverness, his wit and humour that steer the show. When it's well done, it's wonderful. But it's not what I can do, nor what I want to do. It's down to the way television is run nowadays, and don't get me going on that one. Show less «

My show has always been different, because it's journalistically based. It's not a variety show, lik...Show more »

My show has always been different, because it's journalistically based. It's not a variety show, like Des O'Connor, and it's not Gloria Hunniford or Michael Aspel. They were good shows but not journalistically based, and so their range of material was narrower than ours. Show less «

I believe in the BBC. The BBC is an important institution. It's done more for British culture than a...Show more »

I believe in the BBC. The BBC is an important institution. It's done more for British culture than any other organization. Show less «

There comes a time when you have been around for so long that you become like a well-worn, well-love...Show more »

There comes a time when you have been around for so long that you become like a well-worn, well-loved object on the mantelpiece. Show less «

[on serious interviewing] It's gone. It's like jazz music, you can't hear it anymore. I'm sure there...Show more »

[on serious interviewing] It's gone. It's like jazz music, you can't hear it anymore. I'm sure there are some young eager beavers out there, men and women, who would do a very classic talk show, an interview programme, but nobody seems very interested. Show less «

Journalism is not meant to exist beyond the moment it endeavours to explain. Its only other purpose ...Show more »

Journalism is not meant to exist beyond the moment it endeavours to explain. Its only other purpose is to provide the wrapping for fish and chips. Show less «

Who is he? His pitch is appalling. It was like Tony Christie with his teeth taken out. (On Richard H...Show more »

Who is he? His pitch is appalling. It was like Tony Christie with his teeth taken out. (On Richard Hawley) Show less «

In the seventies the BBC was a much different organisation from nowadays. For one thing there were a...Show more »

In the seventies the BBC was a much different organisation from nowadays. For one thing there were a lot of Indians about but not too many chiefs, and the people who ran the organisation - Paul Fox was Controller One, David Attenborough, head of programmes, Bill Cotton, head of light entertainment, Bryan Cowgill, head of sport - have their own special place in the television Hall of Fame. They presided over the biggest television factory on earth and the most prestigious. When I was in Israel for the Six Day War, I discovered my official accreditation came a poor second to my BBC Club card in the matter of impressing people and opening doors. It was the time of massive audiences, only three channels and an industry created by a remarkable generation of men and women. Much of what they see and hear on television now must make them cringe. Show less «

People like Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross don't do talk shows. Theirs are comedy shows, which they...Show more »

People like Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross don't do talk shows. Theirs are comedy shows, which they are very good at, but their guests are foils for their humor. I don't see anybody coming up to do my kind of show. The industry has decided to go for the 16 to 34-year-olds, who want something different. It misses out an awful lot of older people. (Speaking in 2005) Show less «

In my television paradise there would be no more property programmes, no more police-chasing-yobbos-...Show more »

In my television paradise there would be no more property programmes, no more police-chasing-yobbos-in-cars programmes and, most of all and please God, no more so-called documentary shows with titles like 'My 20-Ton Tumour', 'My Big Fat Head', 'Wolf Girl', 'Embarrassing Illnesses' and 'The Fastest Man on No Legs'. Show less «

[on the police raid on Cliff Richard's home in 2014] I just think that it's wrong. I think anybody w...Show more »

[on the police raid on Cliff Richard's home in 2014] I just think that it's wrong. I think anybody who's not charged should not be named by the police and shouldn't be reported in the newspapers either in my view. I think the Cliff Richard case only highlights the feeling that there's some kind of witch hunt going on. I think the BBC did create an error in judgement, not in understanding the story, not in having the story and trying to follow it through, but in reacting to the story in a kind of way that would have done the red-tops credit. It was the manner with which they chose to cover the event, if you can call it an event, so I think there's a lot to be looked at and a lot to be learned from Yewtree and from all that's been happening around that particular kind of area. I mean I live next door but one to Rolf [Rolf Harris] and the media were there before the police were there. It's not right, particularly as at that point he was not charged with anything. So I just feel that they should tread more softly and should be more considerate of everybody's feelings and claims and rights in this. Just step back a bit. Pursue people of course who've done wrong, that is indisputably the police's job. What I'm concerned about is the manner which they go about it and the manner in which the media follow through. Show less «

It's sad in a way because Jonathan (Jonathan Ross) can interview when he puts his mind to it. He's c...Show more »

It's sad in a way because Jonathan (Jonathan Ross) can interview when he puts his mind to it. He's clever and bright, but has gone with the jokey thing. What's missing is the kind of show I did, which was more conversational. Show less «

To talk to people who'd flown missions over Germany as well as played Hamlet was to deal with a diff...Show more »

To talk to people who'd flown missions over Germany as well as played Hamlet was to deal with a different creature. There was a hinterland, a background, a testimony to having lived a life other than that bounded by the proscenium arch. That's what made the Seventies so rich for me. Today, it's different. Not worse, just different. There are the big stars but in the main, they don't have the texture. They didn't go through a war. And thank God for that. (Speaking in 2007) Show less «

I knew Savile [Jimmy Savile]. I didn't much like him. That's not hindsight. I couldn't understand wh...Show more »

I knew Savile [Jimmy Savile]. I didn't much like him. That's not hindsight. I couldn't understand why he became so popular. But I'll make one observation about the BBC. The BBC got a kicking on that. But at least he had a reason for being at the BBC. He was employed by the BBC and he had to work there. What on earth was he doing, what was his reason to be at Broadmoor? What was his reason to be at Stoke Mandeville? What was his reason to be at the hospital in Leeds and, particularly, what reason did he have to go to a school? Come on. That's the worst aspect of it, I think. At least at the BBC he had to be there, he was employed by the BBC. But he was not a man who sought the company of people, with hindsight now, who couldn't help him. In those days, we didn't know he was being selective, we just thought he got his own gig and off he went to do it. Nobody ever got really close to him at all. Show less «

I'd watch a talk show which I thought would be a serious contender, which means I don't watch many! ...Show more »

I'd watch a talk show which I thought would be a serious contender, which means I don't watch many! Take Melinda Messenger or Ian Wright for example. I hate this assumption that talk shows are to be given to anybody who has a moment of fame, that offends me. It's not rocket science and it ain't Nobel Prize winning time, but there are certain things you must do before you are allowed to have one. You have to learn how to ask a question, listen, then ask a follow-up question. I don't blame the people themselves, I blame studio bosses for putting them there. Instead of getting people who can do the job, they want people with plastic boobs or who have played football, for Christ's sake! It makes me angry. I'm not being pompous, but it reduces the currency of what I do. A golden rule for anyone asked to do a talk show is this: If you go into a studio and rely on somebody else to give you the questions, don't go through with it, because you'll make yourself look a total, utter pillock. That's where they all fall down. You can see the poor buggers are told what to ask, the questions are written all over the studio on cue cards. It just doesn't work. My show proves there are still people out there who want to watch a good chat show. And I didn't need a face lift or my boobs adjusted to do it. Show less «

I have the best job in the world and once you have a show named after yourself, where else do you go...Show more »

I have the best job in the world and once you have a show named after yourself, where else do you go? Show less «

If you can't do your job, television shows you up terribly.

[on Frank Sinatra] I tried for decades - he was the one guy I would have broken any rule for.

[on Jimmy Savile] I never 'got' him - I didn't see the appeal. He would always lie about his age, so...Show more »

[on Jimmy Savile] I never 'got' him - I didn't see the appeal. He would always lie about his age, so I dug up a copy of his birth certificate and would pin it on the noticeboard. He'd rip it down and I'd stick another one up. He came on my show as a guest once and was a prat. He was 'uninterviewable' - you could never see beyond his act. I was aware of the rumours at the time but they were just rumours. It's horrendous. Show less «

This is from the Lady in Satin album, her last before she died, and 'But Beautiful' is a great singe...Show more »

This is from the Lady in Satin album, her last before she died, and 'But Beautiful' is a great singer's swansong. The trumpet by Mel Davis is so powerful it sounds like his tribute to a diva like no other. (On "But Beautiful" by Billie Holiday) Show less «

I grew up in an era of entrepreneurial men, like the Bernsteins and the Grades. As journalists, we h...Show more »

I grew up in an era of entrepreneurial men, like the Bernsteins and the Grades. As journalists, we had a basic training in communication but we had to learn the new medium of television without any focus groups, without any instruction books or graphs, only the goodwill of the people who employed us. They gave us the money, sat back and said: 'Let's see what happens.' They didn't interfere. Now everyone knows everything. That's the way they have to do it. It's a much tougher commercial business. But I tell you, it's not as much fun. Whether or not it's better, I don't care. The kids nowadays won't have the fun I had. (Speaking in 2007) Show less «

You have to go back to the dear departed days of Huw Wheldon and Monitor (1958) to find a talent abl...Show more »

You have to go back to the dear departed days of Huw Wheldon and Monitor (1958) to find a talent able to present a documentary about Billy Connolly one week and Francis Bacon the next with both joy and authority. More importantly, the BBC is the only organisation left able to accommodate the budget of The South Bank Show (1978). Whatever happens, Bragg (Melvyn Bragg) has already assembled a body of work that will be revisited many times, both as a treasure trove of cultural icons and a reminder of a time when television made programmes for an audience reckoned to have an IQ larger than the numbers you would find in a bingo bag. Show less «