Some of the celebrities whom the Yorkshire-born presenter interviewed have paid tribute after his family announced he died "peacefully at home" at the age of 88 on Wednesday.
In a pre-recorded interview for BBC Radio 4's The World At One, Sir David said he thought when he was controller of BBC Two that Sir Michael was the "best freelance interviewer in the business".
The naturalist added: "He was always knowledgeable, he was absolutely classless.
"That's not quite true, you knew he was not a southerner, you knew he was a northerner and that was a very refreshing voice in those days and you knew that he would do his homework and that he would ask questions that didn't occur to you.
"[Michael was] extremely professional, you knew that he would know all the background and you didn't have to fill in anything.
This story is from the August 18, 2023 edition of The Herald.
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This story is from the August 18, 2023 edition of The Herald.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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