Parky To Stay Seated At ITV Until 2007
Bouncing back from the embarrassing departure of Paul O’Grady last month, ITV is to retain one of its highest profile chat hosts, as talk show stalwart Michael Parkinson signs on for another year with ITV.
Parky, who joined ITV from the BBC in 2004, has become one of the broadcaster’s most prized personalities, with his distinctive chat style and ability to draw A-list guests regularly scoring ratings victories.
The extended contract will please ITV programme bosses, who have seen several high profile changes to their chat show line up recently, first with the departure of daytime favourite Trisha (see Five Moves Trisha To Compete In Chatshow Showdown), then with O’Grady’s defection to Channel 4 (see O’Grady Latest Chat Host To Leave ITV).
Welcoming Parkinson’s loyalty to the broadcaster, Simon Shaps, ITV’s director of television, said: Michael is one of the best known faces in British television and the undisputed king of the talk show. His contribution to our Saturday night line up is invaluable. He is a huge asset to the channel and I’m delighted that he’ll continue to attract the greatest stars in entertainment to join him in ITV’s London Studios.”
Looking forward to the new series of Parkinson, Shaps revealed a raft of high profile guests already lined up to appear, including Sharon Stone, Jamie Foxx, Bette Midler and Jane Fonda.
Parkinson’s performance has been somewhat inconsistent since joining ITV, with ratings for his Saturday show ranging from 3.5 million to 6.6 million, dependent on the combination of guest, timeslot and competing programming. However, Parkinson does demonstrate a consistent ability to deliver ratings wins however, with an average audience of 4.9 million since joining ITV.
“I’m really delighted to have signed for another year at ITV,” the chat host said today, claiming that signing the new contract had been an “easy decision” to make.
“I’ve felt at home here since I first arrived,” he added, “and the show has gone from strength to strength.”
Last month saw ITV strengthen its daytime chat line up, extending Jeremy Kyle’s contract by two years following his successful transition from radio to TV talk shows (see Kyle Signs On For More Chat With ITV).
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