An ambition never to be realised

Although some people hated him, and despite the fact that in the later years his guests became less starry and more "am I supposed to have heard of them?" Parkinson on a Saturday night was one of those fixtures that though I might not watch it, I'd at least check to see who was on. In ye olden days, Parkinson was part of the Saturday night routine - make a pot of tea, have tea and biscuits while watching Parky interview some Hollywood superstar (and this was in the days before Hello, Trash, Crap, and all those other intrusive magazines for stupid people). In this way, I got to have a tiny glimpse of my early heros such as James Stewart and David Niven (yes, I really am that old). When Parky did the famous interview in 1971 with Muhammad Ali, it was a time when our village didn't get telly very well, but my sister's friend's house had reception - so we all went round there to watch the show.

Anyway it used to be a sign that "I've made it" - the thought of being on the Parkinson show was something to aim for. And now he's retired, so I'll never get to walk down those stairs to a theme tune chosen just for me, and have a flirty interview with a cricket and film obsessed Yorkshireman. Tonight's programme was a reminder of the spectacular guests he used to get on the show, and I so wanted to be one of them.

Oh well. Need to think of a new ambition.