Sir Michael Parkinson has apologised for being “pompous” towards Meg Ryan 18 years after a car-crash interview.
The now 86-year-old host grilled the Harry Met Sally star in a skin-crawling 2003 chat whilst she was promoting critically panned erotic thriller In The Cut.
Ryan, now 59, faced off with an unusually prickly Parkinson after allegedly being rude to her fellow guests on the show, the fashion double act Trinny and Susannah.
While the interview has gone down in history as one of the most memorable of Sir Michael’s career for all the wrong reasons, he has now offered an apology to Ryan.
Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: “I wish I hadn’t lost my temper with Meg Ryan. I wish I’d dealt with it in a more courteous manner. I was quite obviously angry with her and it’s not my business to be angry towards the guests. I came across as kind of pompous and I could have done better.”
Asked what he would say to Ryan if he saw her again, Sir Michael said: “I’m sorry. But you must understand that you played a part in it, too. Neither of us were on top form, and we were both discomforted.”
Sir Michael had previously slammed Ryan for being ”an unhappy woman” at the end of a punishing tour promoting an unpopular movie.
Ryan for her part branded him a ”nut” and said he had spoken to her “like a disapproving dad” in another interview in Marie Claire.
She said: “I don’t even know the man. That guy was like some disapproving father! It’s crazy. I don’t know what he is to you guys, but he’s a nut. I felt like he was berating me for being naked in the movie.
“He said something like: ‘You should go back to doing what you were doing’. And I thought, are you like a disapproving dad right now? I’m not even related to you. Back off, buddy. I was so offended by him.”