Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on BBC One from 19 June 1971 to 8 May 2004 then on ITV1 from 4 September 2004 to 22 December 2007. Parkinson began in 1971 when the host was offered a series of eight shows by the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment, Bill Cotton. It was to be transmitted during the "summer lull" in a late-night slot on Saturdays , plus from 1979 a second mid-week edition when the series was on air. A parallel series was shown in Australia between 1979 and 1982. That year, 1982, Parkinson left the BBC to be... co-founder and presenter on the ITV breakfast television station TV-am, where after many schedule upheavals he ended up presenting the Sunday morning programme with his wife, Mary Parkinson. Michael Parkinson did however present two more series of 'Parkinson' for the BBC from 1987-1988 . He returned to the BBC in August 1995 to present a series of retrospective shows, Parkinson: The Interviews, featuring memorable excerpts, eventually presenting a new, revived version of his chat show on BBC One in January 1998.
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