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Sir Michael Parkinson’s son Mike said his father’s drive to succeed as a working-class man amidst public school alumni made it difficult for him to become a loving and caring father.
Sir Michael Parkinson has spoken of feeling “upset” when he learned that his youngest son, Mike, had seen him as an inattentive and sometimes indifferent father.
In an interview with his son with RNZKim Hill, which aired on Saturday, Parkinson revealed tensions in his family growing up, while his son Mike said he felt “restless and unhappy” at times as a child because the veteran former broadcaster and journalist often seemed more interested in his work than what he did in it.
“When my dad was at work all he wanted to do was make sure he kept going, keep pushing himself because he thought he shouldn’t be there (working as a broadcaster at the BBC when he left school early and most of his colleagues were graduates Oxbridge). And that makes a person very neurotic and I think he is not a natural father, “said Mike. RNZ.
Mike, a television producer, said he does not hold a grudge, however, as he appreciates his father’s journey from the Yorkshire coal mining town to hosting a self-titled chat show, which in its heyday drew more. Out of eight million viewers, it was far from easy.
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“It is a story of both chance and talent. He was born to two parents who saw opportunity at a time in our political landscape in Britain where (working-class) children really received an education for the first time, “he said. RNZ.
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Sir Michael Parkinson at a 1978 reception at the Dorchester Hotel in London for the television series ‘Edward and Mrs Simpson’.
“And I think that informed a lot of what he was like as a father because he was a working-class kid (and) he was thrown onto the highest steps of BBC and Fleet St at a time when it was dominated by public school kids, Oxford educated people. “
Sir Michael, 85, told him RNZ that he felt “upset in a way” when he read Mike’s perceptions of him as a child in the drafts of the book, Like father, like son: a family history.
“I thought that was really true. But I came to the conclusion, if I was honest, that it was true, and it is not good to write in this book about family life unless you allow observations that are uncomfortable.
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Sir Michael Parkinson and his wife Mary Parkinson at Wimbeldon in 2014.
“I think in many ways that is the honesty of the book. This is not the perfect family. There were tensions within him. There were problems. As if my drinking was ever a big problem. My mother’s ambition for me, ruthless ambition, was another problem in a way. I mean my mother was so eager for me to do well, but when the turning point came, when I left home to be a presenter, it bothered her a lot. She thought she could do whatever she wanted if he lived with her in the house. “
Mike said his relationship with Sir Michael changed “irrevocably” when they started working together.
“Working with him has definitely redefined our relationship in a very positive way.”
