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On Martin Bashir and Diana – Anyone Remember Drop The Dead Donkey?

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There's been a lot of fuss regarding new details of Martin Bashir's twenty-five-year-old television interview with the late Princess Diana over her marriage to Prince Charles. One of the most-watched television programmes in the history of the medium, with 23 million viewers in the UK alone, there have been a number of questions asked again as to how Bashir got the interview. BBC director-general Tim Davie apologised to Diana's brother Earl Spencer for the use of fake bank statements. Spencer implied the journalist told the princess false information to gain her trust.  Said to have been instrumental in securing the interview which had been created by one of the BBC'sfreelance graphic designers, Matt Wiessler.

A 1996 internal BBC investigation had concluded that the fake documents were not used to secure the interview, cleared Bashir of any wrongdoing, making Wiessler a scapegoat. The enquiry was headed by Tony Hall, who later became BBC director-general, and he acknowledged having never interviewed Wiessler for the internal inquiry Earl Spencer rejected the apology and demanded an inquiry. But what surprises me is that so many people are surprised and shocked by the news. Because one television programme going out at the time on Channel 4, knew exactly how these things were done and told everyone. Drop The Dead Donkey was a sitcom by Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton that ran from 1990 to 1998.

Regarding Martin Bashir and Diana, Who Watched Drop The Dead Donkey?
Regarding Martin Bashir and Diana, Who Watched Drop The Dead Donkey?

Drop The Dead Donkey also included lots of gossiped about stories in media at the time, given to its cast and characters. Such as the newsreader who had sex in a cupboard with a member of staff with her microphone still live. The newsreader who always read the news drunk. The philandering and womanising from senior staff. And… Damien Day played by Stephen Tomkinson. The television news journalist in the field who got his stories no matter what. Here are a few examples…

 

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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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