Dolly Parton has died aged 80, her family confirmed on Tuesday, following a "brief battle with cancer". The iconic country music star's final BBC interview has resurfaced as tributes flood in from fans and celebrities alike, including Taylor Swift and Sir Paul McCartney.
Final Interview Aired on BBC Breakfast
Wednesday's BBC Breakfast, presented by Ben Thompson and Sally Nugent on August 24, honoured Dolly throughout the programme and aired parts of a 2023 interview between Dolly and Charlie Stayt. The clip was shared on social media with the caption: "The wonderful Dolly Parton on #BBCBreakfast in 2023. After the sad death of the country music legend we look back at our last interview with her."
During the interview, which took place after her 49th and final studio album, Rockstar, was released in 2023, Charlie spoke to Dolly about her career, politics and marriage, reports the Mirror.
Dolly on Politics and Her Legacy
Charlie asked her: "Dolly, are you happy? Are we all set, ready to go?" to which she replied: "I'm ready." He then began: "I am fascinated, like all interviewers, with Dolly Parton, you have kept your politics zipped."
She replied: "Well that's not politics to me. I do make that statement, like don't get me started on politics, how we live in a world like this. Greedy politicians, present and past, wouldn't know the truth if it bit them."
When asked if she'd be tempted to get involved in politics with her "very powerful voice", Dolly declined, adding: "I do, but I use my powerful voice hopefully in the right way. I accept and love everybody, I think we get so trapped in our beliefs and our beliefs that we have to stay right with a certain thought, therefore nothing ever changes.
"I just try to live it, be an example, right about it in my own way. But I don't think of myself as all as being political, that's the worst thing that I could think about, being in politics."
When Charlie asked if she would ever run from office, she quipped: "I run from office!" She went on: "My line is, I'm a very professional Dolly Parton, I don't go into meetings trying to save the world, or thinking I know anything about things I don't. At least I'm smart enough to know what I know and what I don't know, but it's what I know that I make my living from."
Tributes and Fan Reactions
BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, August 24, honoured Dolly throughout the show, paying tribute to the star moments in. Sally said: "The world remembers country star Dolly Parton who has died after what her team described as a brief battle with cancer."
A reporter in North America then said: "Emotional tributes here in Nashville as fans remember the Queen of country and the lives she touched beyond her music." Ben added: "Celebrities from Taylor Swift to Paul McCartney have paid tribute as fans gather to lay flowers."
During one clip, fans were heard calling the news "heartbreaking and sad" and remembering Dolly as "very inspiring and the light in a dark world". BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.
