Parkinson criticises 'clever-clever' interviewers

Michael Parkinson

LONDON - He has often been derided for giving interviewees an easy ride, now Michael Parkinson has taken a swipe at his fellow chat show hosts, accusing them of trying to be "smart arses" and resorting to trivial chit chat.

The veteran presenter, who defected from the BBC to ITV last year, defended his non-confrontational interview style and hit out at the personality-led approach favoured by some of his rivals.

Parkinson said his own show, which returns to television in the UK this week, treats guests with "respect".

He told the Radio Times: "So much interviewing these days is about the presenter - I'm a clever boy, I'm going to be smart with people; or it's a trivial - how do you like your eggs boiled?"

"We give them the respect of having thought about the interview. And what you don't see on other talk shows is that interaction and collaboration among three guests," he added.

While he did not single out any of his rivals by name, his comments could refer to several high profile interviewers, including Jonathan Ross, who has developed his own unique brand of off-the-wall questioning on his Friday night chat show on BBC1, and comedian Frank Skinner.

Ross's recent guests have included Gerard Depardieu, who was so relaxed on the show, he lit up a cigarette, while Skinner conducted a notorious interview with socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, in which she appeared to be intoxicated.

Parkinson hit back at the suggestion that he is too soft on his guests, saying: "I'm still there - how many people have been doing their job for as long as I have? All the smart arses and the people who ask tough questions - where are they now?

"We're not interviewing war criminals or paedophiles, we're interviewing entertainers. What's the point in trying to pin them to the carpet with a series of brusque questions which, quite frankly, will get you told to eff off?"

Boyd Hilton, the television editor of Heat magazine, said: "I think they all have different things to offer.

If he is referring to Jonathan Ross, for example, Jonathan's technique is much more informal and can elicit amazing television.

He had Gerard Depardieu on and he was incredibly relaxed - it was partly Jonathan's laid back approach that got him in that mood.

Jonathan dealt with it in a brilliant, light-hearted way.

"Frank Skinner is not a trained journalist or a particularly traditional interviewer, but he does get incredible interviews such as Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.

"The reason they are good interviewers is they ask the questions you want to ask. As long as they do that, I don't see there is that much to complain about," he added.

- INDEPENDENT