Netflix did not have permission from BBC to use Princess Diana’s interview with shamed journalist Martin Bashir in Harry and Meghan’s bombshell docuseries.
The streaming giant used two clips from the Panorama interview in the first episode of Harry & Meghan under the longstanding ‘fair dealing’ arrangement between broadcasters, BBC has confirmed.
Prince William has previously said the interview – which a damning report by Lord Dyson found to had been obtained through ‘deceitful behaviour’ by Mr Bashir – ‘should never be aired again.’
The BBC has vowed to ‘never show the programme again’ or ‘license it in whole or in part to other broadcaster’ and says the decision to air it in the docuseries ‘is a matter for Netflix.’
Netflix did not have permission from BBC to use Princess Diana’s interview (pictured) with shamed journalist Martin Bashir in Harry and Meghan’s bombshell docuseries
The streaming giant used two clips – totalling 42 seconds – from the Panorama interview in the first episode of Harry & Meghan under the longstanding ‘fair dealing’ arrangement between broadcasters, BBC has confirmed
Netflix never approached the broadcaster for the footage, a BBC insider told MailOnline on Friday night – one day after the Sussexes’ docuseries made its global debut.
‘As we have said before, the BBC will never show the programme again; nor will we license it in whole or in part to other broadcasters – the decision to show the interview is a matter for Netflix,’ a spokesperson said.
However, firm insiders told The Telegraph that managers were ‘mystified’ as to how the streaming giant got hold of the unlicensed footage to begin with.
The managers claim, that to their knowledge, BBC was never approached by Netflix.
A Netflix source – declining to respond to the newspaper’s questions about why the clips were used – said all the footage used in the series was ‘cleared or approved’ by lawyers.
‘All material in the series has either been cleared or approved for use by UK/US legal counsel under fair dealing/ fair use copyright exceptions,’ the source claimed.
Netflix did not immediately respond to MailOnline’s request for comment.
Prince William had demanded a boycott of Panorama after a damning report by Lord Dyson last year found that the Corporation had covered-up Martin Bashir’s (pictured) deceit in obtaining the interview and had ‘fallen short of high standards of integrity and transparency’
Before the Panorama clip was shown in Harry & Meghan, the Duke of Sussex, speaking about his mother’s struggles with press intrusion, says: ‘I think she had a lived experience of how she was struggling living that life. She felt compelled to talk about it.
‘Especially in that Panorama interview. I think we all now know that she was deceived into giving the interview. But at the same time she spoke the truth of her experience.’
In the snippet from the interview used in the Netflix episode, Diana is shown saying: ‘I still to this day find the interest daunting and phenomenal. Because I actually don’t like being the centre of attention.
‘When I have my public duties, I understand when I get out the car I’m being photographed. But actually, it’s now when I go out of my door, my front door, I’m being photographed. I never know where a lens is going to be.’
Prince William had demanded a boycott of Panorama after a damning report by Lord Dyson last year found that the Corporation had covered-up Mr Bashir’s deceit in obtaining the interview and had ‘fallen short of high standards of integrity and transparency’.
The found the BBC covered up Mr Bashir’s deceit in obtaining the interview and ‘fell short of high standards of integrity and transparency’.
The journalist was in ‘serious breach’ of the BBC’s producer guidelines when he faked bank statements and showed them to Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, to gain access to Diana in 1995, the report said.
In a scathing statement issued following the publication of the report, the Duke of Cambridge said: ‘It is my firm view that this Panorama programme holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialised by the BBC and others.’
Netflix never approached the broadcaster for the footage, a BBC insider told MailOnline on Friday night – one day after the Sussexes’ docuseries made its global debut
A Netflix source – declining to respond to the newspaper’s questions about why the clips were used – said all the footage used in the docuseries was ‘cleared or approved’ by lawyers
In his rebuke of the BBC, William added: ‘It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said. The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others.
‘It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.’
Sources close to the Prince of Wales have said he will be ‘furious’ that his brother appeared to ignore his plea that the Panorama interview never be aired again, telling The Mirror: ‘Sadly once more it shows the gulf between the two brothers couldn’t be wider.’
Meanwhile, Tory MP Bob Seely has since declared that BBC should demand the Panaroma clips be removed from the Netflix documentary.
‘The BBC has as a moral responsibility to do the right thing,’ he told The Telegraph on Friday, just hours after tabling a draft law demanding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex be stripped of their titles.
‘For the BBC’s own sake it should write to Netflix to ask that it does not use the material, making clear we have not used it for these reasons.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk