Tributes have flooded in today for Sir Michael Parkinson who has died aged 88.
Born in Yorkshire in 1935, the broadcasting legend's career spanned decades and he became known for interviewing the biggest stars on his chat show. At the height of his fame, millions of people tuned in every week to see Parky – as he was affectionately known – tease revelations out of the stars that shared his studio.
This morning, a statement from Sir Michael's family confirmed he died after a brief illness. It reads: "After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson died peacefully at home last night in the company of his family. The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve."
READ MORE: Sir Michael Parkinson dies aged 88 as family issue statement
His most famous interviewees through the years include Muhammad Ali, Sir Billy Connolly, Meg Ryan and Rod Hull and Emu. But the TV legend also interviewed famous faces from Liverpool, including Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Back in 1999, Macca fulfilled a 25-year-old promise when he appeared on Parkinson. At the time, landing the interview was massive as it was the former Beatle’s first major TV appearance since the death of his wife Linda the previous year.
On November 1, 1999, the ECHO reported how Sir Paul McCartney was about to return a favour to the famous chat show host. The article reads: "He is to appear on his TV show 25 years after agreeing to do it.
"Parky was chosen by McCartney in 1974 as one of the stars to appear on the cover of his album Band On The Run. In return, the former Beatle said he would do an interview.
"Sir Paul has now finally agreed to film a one-hour special, talking about his life and career, and performing some of his songs. It will be the first major television interview since the death of Linda McCartney."
At the time, Sir Paul said: "After Parky was kind enough to appear on the cover of Band On The Run 25 years ago, I owed him one – it's been a long time coming, but this is it." The album sleeve featured a host of stars, including Linda, Kenny Lynch, James Coburn, Christopher Lee, John Conteh and Clement Freud.
Before 1999, Parkinson interviewed John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as well as Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara Bach. At the time, Parkinson said: "In fact, I've wanted to interview Paul McCartney for nearly 40 years.
"We first met at Granada TV in the 1960s when I was a producer. He is a great superstar and his talent will last another millennium, or so long as people appreciate the best of popular music."
ECHO readers can leave a tribute to Sir Michael Parkinson in our comments section below.
In the run-up to the show airing on BBC One on December 3, 1999, Parkinson also reminisced how Paul's mother had once asked him for an autograph whilst The Beatles were filming at Granada in Manchester, where Parky once did a TV programme.
The interview included a huge announcement, as McCartney revealed that he was returning to his roots to play out the Millennium at the legendary Cavern Club. It was his 281st gig at the Cavern and his first for more than a quarter of a century.
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Clips from the episode have been uploaded to YouTube in recent years and Paul was interviewed again by Parkinson in 2005. The late TV legend also had other ties to Liverpool, joining celebrities like Paula Yates and Morrisey who appeared in Brookside episodes.
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