Sir Michael Parkinson has died aged 88, his family has confirmed today (August 17).

Tributes have flooded in for the chat show host with fans of his turning to social media to send messages.

A statement from Sir Michael’s family said: “After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family.

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

The chat show host interviewed some of Hollywood’s biggest names throughout his career including Jimmy Cagney, Fred Astaire, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergmann.

Sir Michael became a familiar face on both the BBC and ITV because of his intimate celebrity interviews, most notably on the BBC show Parkinson.

Tributes flood in for ‘Chat Show King’ Sir Michael Parkinson as he dies aged 88

Twitter users have paid tribute to Sir Michael Parkinson following the news of his death.

One wrote: “RIP Michael Parkinson

“The Chat Show King

“Thoughts with his family & Friends at this sad time”

BBC Radio 4’s Nick Robinson paid tribute, writing: “He was the greatest interviewer of our age who owned Saturday night TV for year after year. Michael Parkinson - king of the chat show - has died”

Another wrote: “Sad news about Sir Michael Parkinson. Set the standard for late night talk shows.

“RIP Parky”

With a sad face emoji, another wrote: “Oh no, Michael Parkinson! Lost an absolute great there.”

A fourth wrote: “Sad News about Michael Parkinson, always came across as a true gent, and a great interviewer #RIPParky”