"The BBC had just told me that they would not be covering the celebration as they had in 1990," he writes in the book. "I was amazed and not a little annoyed.
"One snooty producer (who will remain nameless, although he has since turned into a right royal sycophant) said that it was an event of little importance and of no interest to the public, and anyway its timing clashed with Neighbours."
The BBC's refusal to broadcast the Queen Mother's 100th birthday procession of soldiers and civilians, featuring more than 300 charities she supported, was criticised by Tony Blair, then the Prime Minister, the Prince of Wales and a host of the BBC's own stars, including Jonathan Dimbleby.
However it was upheld by Alan Yentob, then the head of television, and Greg Dyke, the then director general.
However Sir Michael writes in his book: "I introduced myself to Greg Dyke... a couple of years later, and he groaned and told me it was one of the worst decisions he had ever made."
ITV stepped in to cover the parade on July 19, 2000, with live coverage watched by more than seven million viewers. A further five million viewers watched ITV's evening highlights.
BBC1's alternative of Newsround, Neighbours and the news attracted an average of 3.5 million viewers.
Sir Michael, 71, who oversaw the public celebrations for the Queen Mother's 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays, said: "I couldn't believe it when the BBC's head of outside events told me that nobody would be interested in the Queen Mother's 100th birthday. I thought it was ridiculous but typical BBC – pathetic."
He did not name the executive concerned but the BBC confirmed yesterday that Nick Vaughan-Barratt was head of events at the time. Mr Vaughan-Barratt denied that he was responsible for the decision not to broadcast the parade.
Mr Vaughan-Barratt has overseen several royal events for the BBC since the Queen Mother's 100th birthday parade.
In 2011, he supervised the BBC's coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding and earlier this year, he produced BBC 1's The Diamond Queen documentary series to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
In 2008, he also produced Charles at 60: The Passionate Prince, a behind-the-scenes BBC documentary to mark Prince Charles's 60th birthday. He retired from the BBC this year.
A BBC spokesman said: "We thought long and hard about covering the event, but decided that Her Majesty's birthday itself [on August 4] should be the main priority."
Dimbleby said: "Whatever the reason that the decision was made, it was a dreadful decision, which missed the public mood. The BBC, of all institutions, should not miss the public mood on those kind of questions."
The Corporation also came under fire earlier this year for its poor coverage of the Diamond Jubilee river pageant, which attracted almost 2,500 complaints.
During the coverage, presenters referred to the Queen as "HRH" and "Her Royal Highness" instead of "Her Majesty".
Critics included a string of the BBC's own broadcasters, including Clare Balding, who admitted the coverage had "misfired", and Stephen Fry, the host of the BBC's QI show, who said that the presenters were "ignorant" and described the coverage as "mind-numbingly tedious".
* It's All Going Terribly Wrong: The Accidental Showman by Michael Parker is published by Bene Factum Publishing
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