Remembering Sir Michael Parkinson’s visit to Buxton Opera House as chat show legend has died aged 88

Sir Michael Parkinson has died aged 88 and we remember when he came to Buxton to fulfil a dream of performing on the Buxton Opera House Stage

A statement from Sir Michael's family said: "After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night (Wednesday August, 16) in the company of his family.”

Two years ago when he was touring in Buxton he told the Buxton Advertiser was ‘fulfilling a dream’ performing on the stage of the Buxton Opera House.

The son of a pit man, Sir Michael said that industry was not for him so he began his career on regional newspapers.

Speaking to the Advertiser in 2021 he said: “I saw too many movies growing up where the actor was a journalist shouting ‘hold the front page’ that I couldn’t imagine being anything else.”In the 1960s, he joined the newly created Granada television team.“I was then given the opportunity to present my own show. There were no rules to follow as it hadn’t been done before so we were free to build it up from scratch and mould it into something great,” he said, speaking of course about his chat show Parkinson which first aired in 1971.

The show ran initially for 11 years and spanned hundreds of episodes in which Sir Michael combined an avuncular style with a journalistic background.

He returned to the BBC in 1998 for another run of the show. Sir Michael estimated he had interviewed more than 2,000 guests in total.

Sir Michael's high-profile guests included Sir Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali, Sir Elton John, Madonna and Dame Helen Mirren.

The veteran broadcaster’s father was a big fan of Buxton and spent many a happy day in Derbyshire and joked it could give his beloved Yorkshire a run for its money with its dramatic scenery.

Ahead of his tour which he did with his son two years ago, which delved deep into the Parksinson archives, he said: “Anyone with half a brain knows how beautiful Buxton is.”

Performing at Buxton Opera House fulfilled a lifelong dream for Sir Michael, affectionately known as Parky, and he said: “It’s such a beautiful theatre but one I’ve never actually been inside before.”

He was made a CBE in 2000 and was knighted in 2008.