Netflix didn't get BBC permission to use Diana Panorama interview in Harry and Meghan documentary

Christopher Hope
·2 min read
There has been bewilderment that Netflix has used the Panorama clip of the Princess Diana interview - PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
There has been bewilderment that Netflix has used the Panorama clip of the Princess Diana interview - PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

The BBC did not give permission for Netflix to use clips of its Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales from its controversial Harry & Meghan documentary, the corporation insisted on Friday.

There has been bewilderment that Netflix has used the Panorama clips despite BBC director general Tim Davie's insistence that it would never be shown again because of the "shocking" way it was obtained.

One Tory MP said the BBC had a "moral responsibility" to demand that Netflix remove the clip from the Harry and Meghan documentary.

Bob Seely, a Conservative MP who on Friday tabled a draft law demanding that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are stripped of their titles, said: "The BBC has as a moral responsibility to do the right thing.

"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."

William: Documentary 'should never be aired again'

An inquiry led by Lord Dyson found the BBC covered up “deceitful behaviour” by a reporter Martin Bashir to secure his headline-making interview with Diana and “fell short of high standards of integrity and transparency.”

That led to Prince William to ask that the documentary "should never be aired again".

In a statement last July, Mr Davie said: "Now we know about the shocking way that the interview was obtained, I have decided that the BBC will never show the programme again; nor will we license it in whole or part to other broadcasters."

Mr Davie pleaded with other broadcasters to follow the BBC's example. “I would urge others to exercise similar restraint," he said.

Clip used under 'fair dealing' arrangement

However two clips totalling 42 seconds of the Panorama interview appear in the first episode of the six part Harry and Meghan documentary which started to air on Thursday.

On Friday night the BBC said that Netflix had not asked for permission to use the clip and had instead used it under longstanding "fair dealing" arrangements between broadcasters.

A BBC source said: "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."

BBC managers are understood to be mystified how Netflix got hold of the footage because as far as they were aware Netflix had not approached them.

Netflix did not respond to questions about why the footage was used despite Prince William's request.

A Netflix source said that "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".

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