Famous British broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson has died, age 88.

The legendary talk show host’s death was announced in a statement by his family sent to the BBC.

“After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family,” it said.

“The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve.”

The broadcaster was most famous for his talk show Parkinson which aired from 1971 to 1982 and again from 1998 to 2007, with 800 episodes going to air.

During his career as a talk show host, Parkinson interviewed a number of A-list celebrities including Mohammed Ali, Elton John, Sir David Attenborough and Shane Warne.

Tributes to Parkinson have flown in from viewers and former guests of the Parkinson show, as well as many well-known Australians.

Parkinson had family ties in Australia, and it was known that he was very fond of the country, as he spent a lot of time there.

Writer Peter FitzSimons remembered Parkinson as a “very engaging man over lunch and dinner,” and was a wonderful person who lived a full life in a tweet this morning.

Photo: BIFF 2007 Day 5 – Michael Parkinson by National Science and Media Museum is available HERE and used under a Creative Commons licence. The image has not been modified.