Sir Michael Parkinson, 84, candidly discussed the death of his father Jack Parkinson, who died in 1975, with Piers Morgan, 53.Speaking of the experience, Piers said: “Michael was an only child and very close to his dad, who was a miner. “When he was talking about his father dying and people coming to take the body away, he completely broke down.” The Good Morning Britain host went on to say he wanted to do a “good job” when interviewing Michael, referring to him as “one of my heroes”.
He added to the TV Times: “You’ve never seen Parky like that, and it is very interesting to see how it plays out.”
Piers then described his show as “unique”, adding: “The rawest moments of people’s lives can come back to them.”
Chat show host and broadcaster Michael previously spoke out about how he coped with his father’s death, admitting he would drink “very heavily”.
Speaking to Piers and Susanna Reid, 48, on Good Morning Britain, he credited his wife Mary for helping him get back on track.
He said: “It was Mary who pulled me back. One day she said to me, ‘You’re ugly when you drink’.
“That really cut me and bruised my pride,” he added. “It’s amazing what words can do.”
In an interview with The Telegraph last year, Michael also said his father died thinking he was “a failure” after he was turned down by Yorkshire county cricket team.
He said: “I played for Barnsley and met Dickie Bird, who became a lifelong friend, along with Geoffrey Boycott.
“When we all went for a trial at the Yorkshire nets, Geoffrey was accepted, then Dickie was, but I was turned down.”
After being rejected, he recalled his father’s reaction, adding: “It took my father years to recover – it was the ambition of every Yorkshire dad that his son should play for the county, and thus become immortal.
“Instead my father died thinking I was a failure,” he added.
In the past, Michael has opened up about how he is as a father to his own three children.
He told The Guardian: “I wasn’t a lecturing father.
“If you offer warmth and protection and unconditional love, then the rest follows. You don’t need to wag a finger.
“The only advice I ever gave my children about drinking is the Michael Caine advice: ‘Never drink to the point where a doctor says you cannot drink again.
“Because there are too many bottles of fine wine waiting for you,’” he concluded.
The news series of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories airs this Saturday at 9:15pm.
Read the full interview in TV Times out now.