Sir Michael Parkinson

Biography

Sir Michael presented his own talk show entitled Parkinson for over 25 years, interviewing some of the world's most famous people.

Throughout his career he also broadcast extensively on radio and remained a busy and prolific journalist and writer. Since retiring from television and radio shows in 2007, Sir Michael has released his autobiography, entitled Parky, and was knighted in June 2008.

In July 2008, Sir Michael was named Ambassador for the government's Dignity in Care campaign and he maintained that role until January 2010. The aim of the campaign was to encourage people to treat the elderly with compassion and respect and as an individual when they're in care.

As part of the role, Sir Michael visited care settings, spoke with users of care services and attended several key events and conferences to raise awareness of the campaign. Earlier this year, Sir Michael released a report about his experiences as Dignity Ambassador.

Sir Michael's mother, Freda Rose, was diagnosed with a form of dementia aged 94 and died with the condition two years later. Sir Michael's experiences in those two years led him to campaign for better care and services for people with dementia and their carers.

'If we treated young people the way we treat older people there would be an outcry, quite rightly so. We don't complain enough about the way our older people are treated.'

Sir Michael Parkinson supports us because

By 2018 there will be over 800,000 people living with dementia
100,000 people develop dementia every year.

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