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Parkinson, or "Parky" as he is familiarly known, was born in Cudworth, near Barnsley, Yorkshire, and was educated at Barnsley Grammar School. He began as a journalist on local newspapers, and his Yorkshire background and accent remain an important part of his appeal. He also worked as a reporter on the Manchester Guardian and later on the Daily Express in London.

During the 1960s, he moved into television, working on current affairs programmes for both the BBC and Manchester-based Granada Television. From 1969, he introduced a film review programme, before moving on to become a chat show host and a household name in the UK.

Parkinson, shown on BBC OneBBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the oldest television station in the United Kingdom, and indeed, the world. It is the primary channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and first broadcast as the 'BBC Television Service' on November 2, initially ran from 1971 to 1982. It was revived in 1998. A parallel Parkinson series was shown in AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count between 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings. and 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du. In April 2004, ITVThis article is about the British television network. ITV (or iTV) can also mean interactive television. Independent Television (ITV is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to announced that it had "poached" Parkinson from the BBC from the autumn of that year. Parkinson said that he was sad to be leaving the BBC after more than 20 years of working for them, but that he and the channel controller, Lorraine HeggesseyLorraine Heggessey (born November 16 1956) is the Controller of BBC One, the UK's oldest and frequently most-watched television channel. She became the first woman to hold this position when she succeeded Peter Salmon in 2000. In this role, she is respons, could not agree on a suitable slot for his show following the return of Premiership football highlights to the BBC One Saturday evening lineup. The ITV version of the programme, produced by Granada, debuted in September 2004, with an identical set, theme-tune and format to the BBC version.

Guests he has interviewed include Muhammad AliOther people with this name: Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Mehemet Ali (Turkey Muhammad Ali-Haj (born January 17, 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. is an American boxer. He was one of the world's greatest heavyweight boxers, as well as one of the world's most f, Miss Piggy, Jacob Bronowski, Shirley MacLaine, Edith Evans, Luciano Pavarotti, Rod Stewart, Richard Attenborough, George Michael, kd lang and Sarah Ferguson. His most famous interview was perhaps that with Rod Hull in the 1970s. Whilst the pair were chatting, Hull's glove puppet Emu repeatedly and (apparently) uncontrollably attacked Parkinson, causing him to fall off his chair. He allegedly threatened to break the puppet's neck (i. e., Hull's arm) if it happened again.

Technical enthusiasts note that the most recent Parkinson run on the BBC (1998-2004) was one of the few recent British TV programmes that was not shot in widescreen format, perhaps because Parkinson believes standard ratio is better suited to his style of interview show. However, his ITV show is shot in widescreen.

He currently presents a Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 2 and in the past has presented a mid-morning programme on London's LBC Newstalk 97.3FM. He was responsible for "discovering" jazz pianist Jamie Cullum, among others.

Parkinson was made a CBE in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours List. He is married to Mary, who herself briefly presented Parkinson in the 1970s. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Parkinson placed 8th.