The Guardian newspaper simply described Sir Michael Parkinson as ‘the great British talk show host.’ The doyen of his craft, peerless and unrivalled then and now, ‘Parky’ was the flagship of the BBC’s prime time schedule with his PARKINSON series.

The eighty-three year old Yorkshireman and son of a miner, started in print journalism before ‘discovering’ TV. His career has spanned over five decades, interviewing every notable celebrity – with two exceptions – and in the process becoming one himself. The most remarkable, he said was Muhammad Ali and the two he regrets not interviewing were Frank Sinatra and Sir Don Bradman.

I’ve meet Parky on a few occasions, the last at Lords during the England vs India cricket test match last month, but never had a sketch to get graphed. That was rectified when I drew this one, sent it to his home in Berkshire and it came back suitably inscribed.