He was created an O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2004 New Year's Honours List for his services to drama and broadcasting.
His father was a GP (doctor) and delivered Margaret Thatcher.
In a "The Benny Hill Show" (1969) sketch, the vampire Dracula is waved away from a would-be victim not with a cross, but with a photo of Parsons smiling.
Member of the entertainment charity The Grand Order of Water Rats.
Originally chosen to be the Gamesmaster in "Gamesmaster" (1992), but the application of the facial distortion techniques didn't work properly so Patrick Moore was ultimately chosen instead.
Outside the world of TV, he is probably best known as the presenter of BBC Radio 4's long running panel game "Just a Minute", also repeated on the BBC World Service.