Michael Parkinson receives knighthood

Michael Parkinson has been knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The chatshow host was recognised in the New Year honours list for services to broadcasting.

"I never expected to be knighted - I thought there was more chance of me turning into a Martian, really," he said when the list was first announced.

The knighthood comes following Parkinson's retirement from his popular ITV talkshow.

The show ran on the BBC from 1971 to 1982. It made a comeback in 1998, but switched to ITV six years later when the BBC expressed a desire to move Match Of The Day into Parkinson's time slot.

The 67-year-old Yorkshireman has interviewed more than 2,000 celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Paul McCartney and Madonna. By his own admission, his interview with Meg Ryan proved to be his most difficult TV moment.