Son didn't feel able to grieve after his father's death.

On Thursday, August 17th, it was announced that Sir Michael Parkinson had sadly passed away at the age of 88. Since then, fans and celebrities alike have taken to social media to pay tribute and remember his iconic interviews.

Sir Michael's son Mike has now spoken out on the difficulty mourning his father due to his status as a public figure. Speaking to John Wilson on BBC Radio 4's Last Word, Mike revealed that his family had found it difficult to grieve as the outpouring of love and respect for his father was so immense. He said, "The difficulty with having a public figure as a father is that you feel you can’t grieve until everyone else has. It’s a silly thing to say, but that’s the truth – you feel that everyone else must express what they feel about him because he meant so much to them."

Mike went on to reveal more about his father's character. He revealed that he was a very selfless man who was constantly trying to make other people look good and make the world a better place. Despite his success, Mike revealed that his father had suffered from imposter syndrome. He said, "He was a man who was constantly questioning himself and didn’t have as much self-confidence as he appears to have on television. He was always acutely aware that he was with people that he felt were brighter than him, were more educated than him."

Sir Michael came from humble beginnings in South Yorkshire, but Mike revealed that even after his success, he was "still very class-ridden". Mike said, "There were people in positions of authority, at the BBC, that were questioning his talent, questioning his right to be an interviewer. He was always acutely aware that he was with people that he felt were brighter than him, were more educated than him."

Mike concluded by adding that his father "carried with him a sense of working-class guilt" throughout his career. He said, "He always felt, not guilty so much, but almost responsible, and that’s why he always wanted to help his mum and dad, he did lovely things for them... It is imposter syndrome, totally, absolutely, 100%. He didn’t feel confident in his own skin for a long, long time."

The full interview with Mike Parkinson can be heard on BBC Radio 4’s Last Word with John Wilson and on BBC Sounds.

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