'Parkinson', the long-running BBC show, will move across to ITV as part of a two-year deal from autumn 2004 that will see Parkinson host his own talkshow on ITV1 on Saturday nights.
It was being reported that Parkinson jumped ship following a bust up over the BBC's plans to move his hour long prime time Saturday night show to 9pm from its regular slot of 10pm
ITV said that Parkinson is also in discussions with ITV's director of programmes, Nigel Pickard, about other future projects for the network.
According to Pickard: "Television stars don't come much bigger than Michael Parkinson and I am delighted that he is joining us at ITV. There's no doubt that he is the very best in his field and will be a fantastic addition to ITV's Saturday nights."
The news will come as a blow to the BBC because Parkinson is regarded as one of its veteran broadcasters. Not only is he much loved by viewers, but his talkshow is the UK's highest rated, attracting major stars over the years such as Nelson Mandela, Orson Welles, Mohammed Ali, Sir Paul McCartney, Shirley MacLaine, Peter Sellers and the Beckhams.
"He has tremendous appeal and it's wonderful to have him as part of the ITV family," Pickard said.
Affectionately known as Parkie, the Barnsey-born 'Parkinson' presenter first started his career on local newspapers, such as the Manchester Guardian, until he became a feature writer for Express newspapers.
From 1979 until 1982 he also presented 'Parkinson' for ABC and Channel 10 in Australia. In 1995, the BBC ran a series, called 'Parkinson: The Interviews', of some of the all-time greats that Parkinson has interviewed including Ingrid Bergman, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Bette Midler. Other TV credits include: 'Give Us a Clue' in the 80s and 'Desert Island Discs' for BBC Radio 4.
Lorraine Heggessey, the ontroller of BBC One, said: "Michael Parkinson is the doyen of talk show hosts and its been fantastic to have his show on BBC One. With Match of the Day returning to Saturday nights we were unable to offer Michael the slot he wanted.
"Of course I'm sorry to see him go but BBC ONE was already preparing for the future with big names from the next generation who are moving the talk show on."
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