How The BBC Is Inadvertently Breaking Its Promise To Prince William
It was one of the most famous royal interviews of all time. No, it's not the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tell-all with Oprah Winfrey we speak of, but the 1995 sit down Princess Diana gave to Martin Bashir (via Express).
Among the most jaw-dropping revelations that came to light in the interview were that the Princess of Wales had suffered from an eating disorder, and that she had been made painfully aware of her husband Prince Charles' infidelity (via Cafemom). Who could forget perhaps Diana's most famous quote from the interview, when she said there were three of us in the marriage — and "it was a bit crowded."
If you've never seen footage from the shocking interview, well, the widely-held belief was that you'd be out of luck, because it was recently determined that Bashir used unethical tactics to gain Diana's trust. The BBC promised to never air it again.
Unfortunately the promise has not held up.
The BBC's promise had a catch
Specifically, the BBC's pledge to stop airing the interview was offered publicly after Prince William spoke on the topic in May of last year, saying, "It is my firm view that this Panorama programme holds no legitimacy" (via GB News).
The Duke of Cambridge emphasized that the interview should never be shown at any point in the future, noting, "It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialised by the BBC and others."
But it seems the alleged pain that William has experienced as a result of the interview is not yet over, despite the BBC's promise. Indeed, just one week has passed since the BBC declared it will not air the Princess Diana interview with Martin Bashir — but of course there was a catch, or a loophole of sorts (via Deadline).
Yes, even as BBC's director-general Tim Davie publicly apologized for the way in which the sit-down was obtained.
The apology hasn't gone too far in barring the footage
As Tim Davie of the BBC said in part in a statement about the Princess Diana interview, "I have decided that the BBC will never show the programme again; nor will we license it in whole or part to other broadcasters" (via Deadline).
Davie went on to clarify that the footage was still "part of the historical record" and acknowledged certain "few and far between" occasions might justify its use, although he concluded the statement by encouraging other news outlets to use "restraint" in deciding to air any part of the discredited interview.
It seems an occasion that passes muster for some news executives is already upon us, as Deadline reports that Sky News and NowTV are incorporating snippets from the interview in a documentary that will air in mid-August. At time of writing, the Duke of Cambridge had not commented on this new revelation.
Meanwhile, HBO is airing another new documentary called "The Princess" that examines the Princess of Wales' mistreatment at the hands of the media, which of course has been blamed for her untimely death.