There was a time – several decades, actually – when Sir Michael Parkinson, who has died aged 88 after a brief illness, was one of the most ubiquitous figures on national television. He was not the first to host a chatshow but he was the most durable and versatile, largely because he saw himself as a journalist rather than a broadcasting personality.
He was also able to present a variety of programmes on both radio and television, and write insightful weekly columns, mainly about the sports he loved – primarily cricket – for a succession of national newspapers.
