London, September 16: Chat show host Michael Parkinson says that the television industry is being controlled by people who know nothing about music, and are interested only in acts that make the top ten.

Seen as one of the most influential figures in the British music industry, Parkinson slammed TV bosses for projecting celebrities that are hit on box-office, instead of the living legends he was once allowed to interview.

"We did a 70-80 minute show with Duke Ellington, which the BBC put out in its entirety. Can you see that happening now? They'd say Duke who? Not just the BBC but ITV, any of them. 'Duke who? Can you get David Beckham on with him? Charlotte Church singing, maybe?' Ah, the decline of British television," the Daily Snack quoted him as saying in an interview with radio station the Jazz.

The 72-year-old, who will retire from his TV chat show after the latest series that begins on ITV on Saturday, also said that there had been a change for the worse in the sort of performers who are allowed on his shows.

"In the seventies when I first started, I would have on - as regular guests - Oscar (Peterson), Woody Herman, Buddy Rich. Duke Ellington was there. All were acceptable in those days. No one would raise an eyebrow and say why are you not having the top of the pops on?” he said.

"Nowadays if you suggest somebody like that, they say 'ooh I don't know ... who? What's he done?' It's sad. There's a generation of people running broadcasting, running television particularly, nowadays who have no musical culture beyond that which exists in the top ten," he added. (With Inputs from ANI)