Michael Parkinson (I)

Rob Brydon gets seal of approval from Parky

Chat show icon Sir Michael Parkinson has marked out Welsh comic Rob Brydon as his heir apparent.

Wales Online, 13th October 2010

The post-Watergate interviews between David Frost and Richard Nixon were first dramatised back in 2006 with Michael Sheen as the jet-setting talk-show host. So who better than Sheen to celebrate Frost's five decades in the media on both sides of the Atlantic in this one-off documentary? We hear from Frost himself who recalls a career that takes in That Was the Week That Was, The Frost Report and TV-am, while friends and colleagues, including Michael Parkinson and Ronnie Corbett, give their verdict on the only person to have interviewed the last seven US Presidents. The catchphrase may be much mimicked, and the softly-softly approach of more recent ventures like Breakfast with Frost has been criticised by some, but there's no denying the staying power of this giant of broadcasting.

David Brown, Radio Times, 9th June 2010

He might divide opinion like no other person on television, but even his fiercest critic will admit that the BBC will sorely miss Jonathan Ross when he quits in the summer.

Ross has been the nation's leading chat-show host ever since Michael Parkinson hung up his microphone in 2007 and when it comes to snaring the biggest names in showbiz, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross is in a league of its own.

Such is the show's popularity, that even the volcanic eruption in Iceland a few weeks ago couldn't prevent Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow and Demi Moore from appearing on the show - albeit via a live satellite link.

Savour every moment as Friday nights could be devoid of laughter on the BBC when our gregarious host leaves in the summer. Ross was all smiles as he announced his decision to leave the Corporation after 13 years, despite media reports suggesting that his departure was acrimonious and couldn't speak more highly of his employers, singling out his Friday night chat show as the one show he'd miss the most.

"While there [at the BBC] I have worked with some of the nicest and most talented people in the industry and had the opportunity to interview some of the biggest stars in the world, and I am grateful to the BBC for such a marvellous experience. I love making my Friday night talk show, my Saturday morning radio show and the Film Programme, and will miss them all."

It's safe to say we will miss his risque humour and cheeky grin on a Friday night, so let's hope that when this series concludes it's not long before he is back on our screens doing what he does best - poking fun at A-list celebrities and making us laugh.

Kate Whiting, The Scotsman, 14th May 2010