Michael Parkinson’s career spanned over seven decades with him interviewing some of the world’s biggest stars on his long-running chat show.
The broadcaster’s family sadly confirmed his death today after he suffered from a “brief illness”, leaving him to “pass away peacefully at home in the company of his family”.
One of those Michael interviewed was George Best, with the pair building an unlikely friendship, interviewing him more than a dozen times.
Parkinson had since written a book about their relationship, titled George Best A Memoir, in which he spoke about their relationship.
He also discussed the hardships of their friendship due to Best’s reliance on alcohol, and no desire to seek help from friends or family.
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Speaking to the Irish Times, Parkinson said: “I think he liked the fact that I wasn’t too magisterial in my attitude towards what might be called the more colourful side of his life.
“There were responsibilities, and I would try to persuade him from that downward path but, as with any addict, it’s a problem, and George was a drunk.
“That was his flaw, and the more you knew him the more obvious it became to you – not to him – that he would suffer, in a sense, a tragic end, and that’s what happened to him and we couldn’t do anything to stop him.
“In the end we didn’t even try because we knew he wasn’t listening, but you forgave him all that because of the memories.”
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