Legendary chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson died at the age of 88 in 2023 following a short illness as it has since been revealed he left a staggering fortune to his wife

King of chat shows Sir Michael Parkinson has left his family an impressive fortune following his death aged 88.

The much-missed British broadcaster sat down with some of the most famous and impressive names in showbiz during his 50 years in television. He would devote an entire programme to each guest and delve into their life and career, including David Beckham, Muhammed Ali, Billy Connolly and David Attenborough

Sir Michael died after a short illness, eight years after receiving the all-clear following treatment for prostate cancer. In a heartbreaking statement shared by Michael’s family on August 16, 2023 they said: “After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family. The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve.”

Now, it has been revealed Sir Michael left an estate worth almost £300,000. His will was signed off by a court last week and confirmed he left £308,985, which was reduced to £292,512 after funeral costs, legal bills and debts were paid off, reports the Sun. All of his cash and assets were left to his wife of 64 years, Lady Mary Parkinson.

Sir Michael left his cash and assets to wife Mary ( 
Image:
AFP/Getty Images)

The chat show host died in 2023 at the age of 88 ( 
Image:
BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)

His sons Andrew, Nick and Mike were appointed executors of the will after signing it in May 2020. Friends and family of the chat-show king, who was fondly called ‘Parky’, gathered to say their final goodbyes in a modest funeral a month after his death. Placed on top of his coffin was a cricket cap and a red and white scarf of his beloved football team Barnsley. A service was held at St Michael’s Church, in Bray, Berkshire.

Sir Michael’s son Mike reflected on the scale of tributes after his father died.Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he shared: “We didn’t expect the kind of outpouring, we didn’t expect what happened. I mean, not just here but inAustralia. I mean, Australia, there was a golf course he used to be a member of and they put the flag at half mast.

“Remarkable kind of gestures like that. And I have said previously that it’s a very difficult situation to be in as a family because you do actually feel that you should step back for a while and just let the public mourn the man that they lost in the sense that you don’t want to almost step on their toes because they had a particular relationship with him, either through television, radio, through print.”

He continued: “And in a sense they’re mourning a different person and so we have to, in a sense, keep out what we were mourning and keep it separate and allow that to subside before we’re really able to as a family come together and remember him as a dad and as a husband of 64 years.”

Asked how his mother and family were doing at the time, Mike said they were still in a “sense of shock” and admitted he caught himself wanting to reach out to his father before remembering he can no longer do so. Sir Michael came from humble beginnings – born in South Yorkshire in 1935, and growing up in a council house in Cudworth, near Barnsley. It was reported Michael died of ‘frailty of old age’, per his death certificate.