Netflix did not have permission from the BBC to use Princess Diana’s interview with embarrassed journalist Martin Bashir in the explosive Harry and Meghan docuseries.
The broadcasting giant used two clips from the Panorama interview in the first episode of Harry & Meghan under the longstanding “fair deal” agreement between the broadcasters, the BBC confirmed.
Prince William previously said the interview, which a damning report by Lord Dyson found had been obtained through Mr Bashir’s “deceptive behaviour”, “should never be broadcast again”.
The BBC has vowed to “never show the show again” or “license it in whole or in part to another broadcaster” and says the decision to air it in docuseries “is a matter for Netflix”.
The broadcasting giant used two clips, totaling 42 seconds, of the Panorama interview on the first episode of Harry & Meghan under the longstanding “fair deal” agreement between the broadcasters, the BBC confirmed.
The broadcaster was never approached by Netflix about the footage, a BBC source told MailOnline on Friday night, a day after the Sussexes’ docuseries made its world debut.
‘As we’ve said before, the BBC will never show the show 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, the firm’s experts said to The Telegraph that managers were “baffled” as to how the streaming giant got hold of the unlicensed footage, to begin with.
The managers claim that, to their knowledge, Netflix never approached the BBC.
A Netflix source, who declined to answer questions from the newspaper about why the clips were used, said all footage used in the series was “authorized or approved” by lawyers.
“All material in the series has been licensed or approved for use by UK/US legal counsel under fair dealing/fair use copyright exceptions,” the source stated.
Netflix did not immediately respond to MailOnline’s request for comment.
Before the Panorama clip was shown on 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 to live that life”. She felt compelled to talk about it.
Especially in that Panorama interview. I think we all know now that she was tricked into giving the interview. But she at the same time she told the truth of her experience.
In the interview snippet used in the Netflix episode, Diana is shown saying, “To this day, I find the interest daunting and phenomenal.” Because I don’t really like being the center of attention.
‘When I have my public duties, I understand that when I get out of the car they are photographing me. But actually, this is when I walk out my door, my front door, they are photographing me. I never know where a lens is going to be.
Prince William had called for a boycott of Panorama after a damning report by Lord Dyson last year found the Corporation had covered up Bashir’s deception to obtain the interview and had “failed to meet high standards of integrity and transparency”.
They found that the BBC covered up Mr Bashir’s deception in obtaining the interview and “failed to meet high standards of integrity and transparency”.
The journalist committed a “serious breach” of BBC producer guidelines when he forged bank statements and showed them to Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, to gain access to Diana in 1995, according to the report.
In a scathing statement issued after the report was released, the Duke of Cambridge said: “It is my firm opinion that this Panorama program has no legitimacy and should never be broadcast again.” It effectively established a false narrative that, for more than a quarter of a century, has been marketed by the BBC and others.”
A Netflix source, who declined to answer questions from the newspaper about why the clips were used, said all footage used in the docuseries was “authorized or approved” by lawyers.
In his rebuke to the BBC, William added: “I think the misleading way in which the interview was obtained had a substantial influence on what my mother said.” The interview went a long way in making my parents’ relationship worse and has hurt many others since.
“It brings an indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to the fear, paranoia and isolation I remember from those last few years with her.”
Sources close to the Prince of Wales have said he will be “furious” that his brother apparently ignored his request that the Panorama interview never be broadcast again, saying Mirror: ‘Unfortunately, once again it shows that the gulf between the two brothers could not be bigger.’
