Michael Parkinson has attacked his fellow chat show hosts, claiming that they try to be too clever or that they are too trivial.

He told the Radio Times: "So much interviewing these days is about the presenter - I'm a clever boy, I'm going to be smart with people; or it's trivial - how do you like your eggs boiled? We give them the respect of having thought about the interview. And what you don't see on other talk shows is that interaction and collaboration among three guests."

Whilst critics have suggested that Parkinson is too polite about his guests, often not probing as deeply as others in his position might, he responded to these allegations: "I'm still there - how many people have been doing their job for as long as I have?" he asked.

"All the smart arses and the people who ask tough questions - where are they now? We're not interviewing war criminals or paedophiles, we're interviewing entertainers.

"What's the sense in trying to pin them to the carpet with a series of brusque questions which, quite frankly, will get you told to eff off?"