BBC announces probe into Diana’s explosive 1995 interview

The BBC announced on November 18, the immediate start of an investigation into how it obtained an explosive 1995 interview with Princess Diana that opened a pandora’s box on her troubled marriage to Prince Charles.

The corporation said it had approved the appointment of former Supreme Court judge John Dyson to lead the probe. The decision for investigation happened after the late princess’ brother Charles Spencer alleged that the flagship “Panorama” programme reporter who conducted the interview, Martin Bashir, showed him fake documents to persuade his sister to take part.

The November 1995 interview was watched by a record 22.8 million people. Diana detailed her collapsing marriage and famously said “there were people” in her marriage—her, Charles and his long time lover Camilla Parker-Bowles — and also revealed she had been unfaithful.

Diana and Charles divorced in 1996, the year after the interview and the princess was killed in a car crash in Paris the following year.

There were reports that journalist Martin Bashir allegedly used fake bank statements to persuade Diana to agree to be interviewed for BBC Panorama. After the explosive interview, the little-known Bashir went on to have a global career.

The accusations compelled BBC to hire independent investigators to get to the truth of the infamous royal interview, appointing former Supreme Court judge Lord Dyson to lead the mission.

BBC will publish the report of the investigation at its conclusion.