The new season of The Crown has thrust Martin Bashir back into the TV spotlight, nearly 30 years after his headline-hitting interview with Princess Diana, caused a huge furore across the country and the world.
After all the teaser adverts for the new run of the smash hit Netflix show and the buzz it generated, before a single episode had even been seen, the series was released full onto the streaming platform on Wednesday, November 9. The fifth season is set in the 90s, with the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana under immense scrutiny as cracks start to appear in public and behind closed doors.
Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki join The Crown cast to play the parts of the former couple and one of the most talked about moments of the new series is the dramatisation of the Panorama interview with Bashir, which went out to the world in November 1995, in which Diana remarked: "There were three of us in our marriage," in reference to Charles' relationship with now wife and Queen Consort, Camilla.
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The interview was watched by 23 million on BBC One and is set to have caused huge tension and fallouts in the Royal Family.
What happened to Martin Bashir after Princess Diana interview?
While it caused a huge amount of controversy, Bashir's interview paid off for the broadcaster, as it was hailed as 'the scoop of the generation,' going onto win a BAFTA in 1996.
The Panorama interview saw Bashir's fame sky rocket and led to a host of other high profile interviews, including sit-downs with Louise Woodward, George Best and Michael Barrymore. However, the only one that managed to match the interest of his chat with Princess Diana was his candid insight into the life of the late Michael Jackson. Living with Michael Jackson, which aired in 2003, saw Bashir spend eight months with the singer, being granted access to his Neverland home.
The controversy surrounding the documentary continued as Jackson was then charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcohol, all of which he was later acquitted of.
After some time away from the TV spotlight, Bashir surprised ITV viewers by being a contestant on The X Factor: Celebrity at the end of 2019, staying in the competition longer than many expected.
Less than a year later, Bashir found himself at the centre of more controversy, as programmes raised a number of allegations about the Diana interview, 25 years after it aired. These accusations forced BBC Director-General Tim Davie to apologise to Diana's brother Earl Spencer, because Bashir had used forged bank statements to win his and Diana's trust to secure the interview, claiming individuals close to them were being paid to keep Diana 'under surveillance.' The BAFTA won by Bashir and his team has since been handed back.
Bashir quit his role as BBC Religion Editor in 2021, citing health issues as the reason. Announcing his departure, a BBC spokesperson said: "Martin Bashir has stepped down from his position as the BBC’s religion editor and is leaving the corporation. He let us know of his decision last month, just before being readmitted to hospital for another surgical procedure on his heart.
“Although he underwent major surgery toward the end of last year, he is facing some ongoing issues and has decided to focus on his health.”
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