Piers Morgan has praised Sir Michael Parkinson as the "greatest TV interviewer of all time".

Piers Morgan says Sir Michael Parkinson was the greatest TV interviewer of all time

Piers Morgan says Sir Michael Parkinson was the greatest TV interviewer of all time

The former 'Life Stories' presenter has remembered the broadcasting legend, who passed away on Wednesday (16.08.23) aged 88 after a "brief illness", as a "wonderful character", and he has described him as the "Muhammad Ali of chat show hosts".

In a piece for The Sun newspaper, Piers wrote: "I’ll remember Parky as a wonderful character; a charming, no-nonsense, opinionated, occasionally combative, fiercely intelligent, tremendously loyal, and enduringly curious man.

"For me, he was the TV interviewer G.O.A.T.

"The Greatest Of All Time.

"The Muhammad Ali of chat show hosts.

"I’ll miss our lunches, and our days at the cricket, and our email exchanges.

"I’ll particularly miss his frequent ‘don’t let the b****** get you down’ messages of support whenever I hit a rocky road.

"To know I had Parky in my corner was always a rare privilege, and I know there are many other people who can say the same.

"If you were his mate, he was all-in, and I loved him for that."

Piers admitted Michael was one of the main reasons he got into journalism, because he made the profession seem "such good fun".

He added: "He was a vivid, evocative, and extremely humorous observational writer, especially when waxing lyrical about stuff he loved.

"He also made the profession of journalism seem such bloody good fun!

"When I became a newspaper editor myself in the mid-90s, I tried to hire him, but he was - entirely justifiably - too expensive."

Some huge names have paid tribute to Michael following his death, including his namesake actor Sir Michael Caine.

He wrote on X: "Michael Parkinson was irreplaceable, he was charming, always wanted to have a good laugh. He brought the best of everyone he met.

Always looked forward to be interviewed by him."

Former England football captain David Beckham admitted he feels "lucky" to have appeared on Michael's chat show 'Parkinson', and to spend "precious time" with him talking about their two "passions" - football and family.

He wrote: "We say goodbye to the best... Waking up to the sad news of Michael Parkinson passing , I was so lucky to not just be interviewed by Michael but to be able to spend precious time talking about football and family our 2 passions [heart emoji]plus the GoldenBalls moment... Sending love to Mary and the whole family (sic)"

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