Martin Bashir’s 1995 panorama interview with Princess Diana features in ‘The Crown’, know what happened to him

It has been almost 30 years since Martin Bashir's controversial interview with Princess Diana made national and international headlines, but the new season of ‘The Crown’ has catapulted him back into the TV spotlight.

In the new season of ‘The Crown’, Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki take on the roles of the former couple of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, respectively. One of the most anticipated scenes is the dramatization of Diana's comment in the Panorama interview with the host Martin Bashir, which was broadcast globally in November 1995.

Diana had made the bombshell statement back in 1995, for the first time publicly, that, “there were three of them in their marriage”, in reference to now King Charles III's relationship with Camilla, his current wife and the Queen Consort.

What happened to Martin Bashir after Princess Diana’s 1995 interview?

Martin Bashir's interview paid off for the broadcaster even though it generated a great deal of controversy because it was recognised as "the scoop of the generation" and went on to win a BAFTA in 1996. His fame skyrocketed after the Panorama interview, which paved the way for a number of additional high-profile sit-downs with celebrities like George Best, Louise Woodward, and Michael Barrymore.

However, only his open insight into the late Michael Jackson's life was able to match the curiosity of his conversation with Princess Diana. In the 2003 television special Living with Michael Jackson, Bashir lived with the artist for eight months and had access to his Neverland estate.



Jackson was eventually accused with seven counts of sexual misconduct and two counts of intoxicating a juvenile with alcohol, all of which he was later found not guilty of, fuelling further controversy around the documentary.

Martin Bashir stunned ITV audiences by returning to television at the end of 2019, participating for a longer period of time than many anticipated on The X Factor: Celebrity.

Less than a year later, programmes made other accusations regarding the Diana interview, 25 years after it aired, and Bashir once again found himself at the centre of controversy. Because of these allegations, BBC Director-General Tim Davie was forced to apologise to Diana's brother Earl Spencer. Bashir had gained their trust by forging bank statements and making the claim that people close to them had being paid to keep Diana "under surveillance" in order to secure the interview. The BAFTA that Bashir and his group earned has now been returned.

In 2021, Bashir resigned from his position as BBC Religion Editor, citing health concerns.

FAQs:

1. When was the interview with Diana broadcast?
   The interview with Diana was broadcast globally in November 1995.
2. When did Bashir resign from BBC?
   Bashir resigned from his position as BBC Religion Editor in 2021.