Revealing his favourite-ever guest on his hit chat show, Parkinson admitted that Dame Edna Everage was at the top of his list.
The television favourite also acknowledged modern day criticism for his flirtatious interviews.
Accused of on-air flirting, Parkinson laughed: “Which I plead guilty.”
Speaking to Express.co.uk, he continued: “I have to confess, I fancied her quite a lot actually. We had her on about 15 times?
“I think Barry [Humphries] is a genius. An extraordinarily remarkable guy. Dame Edna is one of the greatest comedy creations of all time.
“Like Billy Connolly, this always makes me laugh. Of course, she’s impenetrable. Once he puts a wig on, he doesn’t exist. The voice changes and that’s the way it works.”
Comparing the Australian character to Sacha Baron Cohen’s creations, Parkinson admitted that he didn’t enjoy the latter due to being scripted.
Parkinson explained: “Ali G was awful [to film with]. Everything was scripted.”
Contrasting with Humphries’ creations, he said: “We worked together for a long time so we got to know each other and I adore working with him.
“The difference is that she had the genius of working with other people. The trick with her is to put other people on with her. She didn’t need a script, she’d make her own script up.”
The 82-year-old journalist and television star also gave a nod to the older generation.
He said: “I liked to get older people on the show too. We felt neglected, ignored and bypassed. I just learned an awful lot from them and I adored their company.
“They come to a point in their life, old people, where they don’t give a damn. That’s when you catch them and they’re funny and all of those things.”
It comes as Parkinson opened up about his dear friend Billy Connolly and coping with his illness.
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