Meg Ryan has opened up about her memories of her infamous 2003 interview with Sir Michael Parkinson, recalling an awkward interaction with BBC fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.
The When Harry Met Sally star was appearing on Parkinson’s BBC chat show to discuss her appearance in Jane Campion’s erotic thriller In the Cut.
After Parkinson asked her about appearing nude in the film, her responses became increasingly terse. After he accused her of not enjoying fame, Ryan eventually told Parkinson: “Wrap it up.”
“I thought it was so bad,” Ryan reflected in a new interview with The Times. “In the States the talk shows have breaks every four minutes [for commercials], so I kept waiting for the break because I was gonna stand up and leave. But the break never came.”
She added: “And also there were these, I don’t know, outfit criticisers on the show, and he asked them, ‘What do you think of what she’s wearing right now?’” The Times reports Ryan then pulled an expression as if to say “Can you believe it?”
The “outfit criticisers” were hosts Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, who at the time were presenting a fashion show on the BBC. Last October, while appearing on Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett’s podcast Dish, Woodall recalled that when they left the show, Parkinson whispered in her ear in reference to Ryan: “God, wasn’t she a c***?”
Ryan said she didn’t speak to Parkinson after the show, explaining: “No, I left. I was like, wow, I didn’t know who that guy was to begin with, and I don’t have to think about him again.”
In 2021, Parkinson offered Ryan an apology over his behaviour during the interview.
Reflecting on the moment, the late broadcaster – who died in 2023 – told the Radio Times: “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, Parkinson replied: “I’m sorry. But you must understand that you played a part in it too.”
He added: “Neither of us were on top form, and we were both discomforted.”
When asked by The Times whether she’d heard about Parkinson’s apology, Ryan responded: “No.”
