UK's 'king of the chat show' Michael Parkinson dies aged 88

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 10, 2019 Michael Parkinson in the Royal Box before the start of play on centre court REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) -British broadcaster Michael Parkinson, best known for interviewing some of the world's biggest celebrities on his long-running eponymous chat show, has died aged 88, the BBC said on Thursday.

Born in Yorkshire in northern England, he left school at the age of 16 with dreams of becoming a professional cricketer before turning to local newspaper journalism. After moving into current affairs television in the late 1960s, he was given his own prime-time chat show 'Parkinson' by the BBC in 1971.