If only Sir Michael Parkinson interviewed Boris Johnson – The Yorkshire Post says

IT is a reflection of Sir Michael Parkinson’s repute as an inquisitor, half a century after interviewing the first of 2,000 guests on his world famous chat show, that no one compares to the ‘boy from Barnsley’.
By YP Comment
Published 22nd Aug 2021, 06:00 BST
Updated 22nd Aug 2021, 09:46 BST
It is half a century since Sir Michael Parkinson's first TV chat show.It is half a century since Sir Michael Parkinson's first TV chat show.
It is half a century since Sir Michael Parkinson's first TV chat show.

Yet, as he prepares to regale stories from the past 50 years in a series of An Evening with stage shows with his son Mike, what a shame that this proud Yorkshireman, universally known as ‘Parky’, is no longer the focal point of the Saturday night TV schedules.

Sir Michael Parkinson on 50 years of the Parkinson show and interviewing everyone from Ingrid Bergman to Muhammad Ali

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An invitation would be irresistible – even to one Boris Johnson who is one of many politicians who shuns most setpiece interviews in case weaknesses are exposed.

Sir Michael Parkinson is preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of his TV chat show.Sir Michael Parkinson is preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of his TV chat show.
Sir Michael Parkinson is preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of his TV chat show.

But such an encounter, hypothetically speaking, would have been compulsive viewing because of the beguiling style of ‘Parky’ and an uncanny way of asking awkward questions – how do you explain your relationship with the truth, Prime Minister? – without causing offence.

How broadcasting – and journalism – misses the ultimate interviewer.

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Related topics:Yorkshire PostBoris JohnsonBarnsleyMuhammad Ali

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