Michael Parkinson ‘had no idea’ how first episode of hit BBC show had gone

The first episode of Parkinson aired on June 19 1971

Michael Parkinson during filming of the Graham Norton Show at The London Studios, south London, to be aired on BBC One on Friday evening.

Michael Parkinson once revealed he had “no idea” how the first episode of his hit BBC show had gone, but there had been “something in it that I wanted to pursue”.

The veteran broadcaster said he had been happy to get through the show without “falling down the stairs or forgetting the name of the guest sitting opposite”.