Chat's my lot...Parkinson steps down after 36 years

The 72-year-old veteran broadcaster - whose guest list has included everyone from Muhammad Ali to Tony Blair - will make his final series of the ITV show this autumn.

He says he has decided to step down to write his memoirs, but has not ruled out a return to the screen.

Parkinson is said to have wanted to go out with a bang having been poached in 2004 from the BBC, where he was unhappy at being shunted around the schedules to make way for Match of the Day.

The veteran broadcaster, who also presents a Sunday morning programme on Radio 2, is believed to have felt he had achieved everything he could on the show

following his channel switch. His show, Parkinson, has become a British television institution, having gone out for 25 of the last 36 years after starting on BBC in 1971.

One of his most memorable shows was with boxer Muhammad Ali and entertainer Freddie Starr

Meg Ryan's interview with Parkinson went none too smoothly when she accused him of asking her too many personal questions

He has at times come in for criticism for giving his guests an easy ride. But he has always denied such claims, saying he puts them at ease so that they reveal more of themselves.

But in recent years, more irreverent talk shows such as Friday Night with Jonathan Ross have threatened to overshadow the Parkinson-style interview.

He said yesterday: "After three enjoyable and productive years at ITV, and after 25 years of doing my talk show, I have decided that this forthcoming series will be my last. I'm going to take next year off to write my autobiography and consider other television projects."

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Parkinson with legendary entertainer Rod Hull whose puppet Emu famously attacked the chat show host

Parkinson has interviewed a host of stars and political figures including Muhammad Ali, Meg Ryan and Tony Blair

Parkinson's latest series finished on ITV1 at the weekend and returns for a final 12-week run in the autumn.

The Barnsley-born miner's son moved into television from print journalism in the Sixties, working on current affairs shows for the BBC and Granada.

After his chat show was launched, he swiftly became a household name. Among his most memorable interviews were those with Muhammad Ali, Orson Welles, Richard Burton and Billy Connolly.

But easily the most hilarious encounter came in November 1976, when a furious Parkinson was attacked by Rod Hull's Emu and knocked off his chair as he wrestled with the manic puppet.

Paul Jackson, ITV's director of entertainment and comedy, said: "He has defined the talk show in British television and no one has come near to equalling his record.

"His name is synonymous throughout the English- speaking world as a benchmark for integrity and quality in the talk show genre."