Post by Teddy Bear on Aug 24, 2008 22:45:59 GMT
BBC wastes £100,000 on Diana tapes documentary that will never be shown
By Elizabeth Sanderson
Last updated at 10:02 PM on 23rd August 2008
The BBC has wasted £100,000 on a controversial documentary about Princess Diana that will never be seen.
Diana, In Her Own Words was made by an award-winning producer and was to have included extracts from video tapes of the Princess recorded by her speech coach, Peter Settelen.
Despite the cost of buying the intimate footage, the BBC has now shelved the project. Had it shown the tapes, it risked being condemned for bad taste.
The tapes have been broadcast only once – four years ago on American television network NBC.
Its decision to purchase them was universally condemned.
Critics said the programme was a ‘ghoulish striptease’ and that those involved were no better than ‘grave robbers’.
The tapes were compiled by Mr Settelen, an American actor now based in Britain, over several sessions with the Princess in 1992 and 1993.
Diana, shy by nature, employed him to help her practise public speaking as she became increasingly independent of Prince Charles.
At the time, her marriage was in deep crisis and the conversations with Mr Settelen – which were never intended to be made public – inevitably dwelled on her private concerns.
She talked frankly about her relationship with the Prince, his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and her love for her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee, and her suspicions that he had been murdered after he died in a traffic accident.
Such was the controversy caused by their screening in America that the tapes were not sold to other broadcasters and have never been seen in Britain.
Yet last year the BBC spent more than £30,000 buying an option to broadcast three minutes of the tapes in Diana, In Her Own Words.
It has had to pay the money even though the programme has now been scrapped. Additional filming and production work took the cost up to £100,000.
The BBC had wanted to show the programme in August 2007 on the tenth anniversary of the Princess’s death.
The authentic voice of Diana was to be the key selling point to differentiate it from other films being made by UK broadcasters to mark the occasion.
The BBC commissioned freelance producer and director Kevin Sim to oversee the film.
Although he was known in the Eighties as a light-entertainment specialist – he devised Through The Keyhole, the hit ITV show for which he still owns the format, along with Loyd Grossman and Sir David Frost – he went on to make highly regarded documentaries.
He won a Bafta for a Dispatches programme on the Beslan school massacre, while his examination of Iran, titled Once Upon A Time In Iran, and his film on the Tsunami, Seven Hours On Boxing Day, were both highly praised.
A member of the production team for Diana, In Her Own Words said last week: ‘Our documentary kept getting delayed, which meant that events began to overtake us.
'Once the inquest began, we thought it might never be broadcast.’
A source who has seen a rough cut of the programme said: ‘It was well made and well thought-out. Kevin is a brilliant film-maker and, because he’d never done a Royal programme before, he brought a really fresh eye to the project. It’s a great pity that it’s not going to be shown.’
Mr Sim finished filming before the anniversary last August. But the editing was never completed.
Last night, the BBC said it had not broadcast the new programme because, in the light of the inquest, it did not ‘add to the story’.
A spokesman said: ‘In the course of the project, we gathered a wide range of material for consideration, including an option to broadcast a few minutes from some tapes made by a voice coach.
‘Following the inquest, we decided that the programme did not sufficiently add to the story and brought the project to a close. This in no way reflects on the ability of the programme-making team, who we continue to work with.’
Mr Settelen recorded 16 tapes during his coaching sessions at Kensington Palace. Seven of the so-called ‘dynamite diaries’ were discovered in 2001 when detectives raided the house of Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell.
Mr Settelen fought a long legal battle with her estate for control of the tapes, which he then sold to NBC for an undisclosed sum.
The whereabouts of the remaining nine tapes are unknown.
Last night, a spokesman for Mr Settelen refused to comment.
By Elizabeth Sanderson
Last updated at 10:02 PM on 23rd August 2008
The BBC has wasted £100,000 on a controversial documentary about Princess Diana that will never be seen.
Diana, In Her Own Words was made by an award-winning producer and was to have included extracts from video tapes of the Princess recorded by her speech coach, Peter Settelen.
Despite the cost of buying the intimate footage, the BBC has now shelved the project. Had it shown the tapes, it risked being condemned for bad taste.
The tapes have been broadcast only once – four years ago on American television network NBC.
Its decision to purchase them was universally condemned.
Critics said the programme was a ‘ghoulish striptease’ and that those involved were no better than ‘grave robbers’.
The tapes were compiled by Mr Settelen, an American actor now based in Britain, over several sessions with the Princess in 1992 and 1993.
Diana, shy by nature, employed him to help her practise public speaking as she became increasingly independent of Prince Charles.
At the time, her marriage was in deep crisis and the conversations with Mr Settelen – which were never intended to be made public – inevitably dwelled on her private concerns.
She talked frankly about her relationship with the Prince, his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and her love for her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee, and her suspicions that he had been murdered after he died in a traffic accident.
Such was the controversy caused by their screening in America that the tapes were not sold to other broadcasters and have never been seen in Britain.
Yet last year the BBC spent more than £30,000 buying an option to broadcast three minutes of the tapes in Diana, In Her Own Words.
It has had to pay the money even though the programme has now been scrapped. Additional filming and production work took the cost up to £100,000.
The BBC had wanted to show the programme in August 2007 on the tenth anniversary of the Princess’s death.
The authentic voice of Diana was to be the key selling point to differentiate it from other films being made by UK broadcasters to mark the occasion.
The BBC commissioned freelance producer and director Kevin Sim to oversee the film.
Although he was known in the Eighties as a light-entertainment specialist – he devised Through The Keyhole, the hit ITV show for which he still owns the format, along with Loyd Grossman and Sir David Frost – he went on to make highly regarded documentaries.
He won a Bafta for a Dispatches programme on the Beslan school massacre, while his examination of Iran, titled Once Upon A Time In Iran, and his film on the Tsunami, Seven Hours On Boxing Day, were both highly praised.
A member of the production team for Diana, In Her Own Words said last week: ‘Our documentary kept getting delayed, which meant that events began to overtake us.
'Once the inquest began, we thought it might never be broadcast.’
A source who has seen a rough cut of the programme said: ‘It was well made and well thought-out. Kevin is a brilliant film-maker and, because he’d never done a Royal programme before, he brought a really fresh eye to the project. It’s a great pity that it’s not going to be shown.’
Mr Sim finished filming before the anniversary last August. But the editing was never completed.
Last night, the BBC said it had not broadcast the new programme because, in the light of the inquest, it did not ‘add to the story’.
A spokesman said: ‘In the course of the project, we gathered a wide range of material for consideration, including an option to broadcast a few minutes from some tapes made by a voice coach.
‘Following the inquest, we decided that the programme did not sufficiently add to the story and brought the project to a close. This in no way reflects on the ability of the programme-making team, who we continue to work with.’
Mr Settelen recorded 16 tapes during his coaching sessions at Kensington Palace. Seven of the so-called ‘dynamite diaries’ were discovered in 2001 when detectives raided the house of Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell.
Mr Settelen fought a long legal battle with her estate for control of the tapes, which he then sold to NBC for an undisclosed sum.
The whereabouts of the remaining nine tapes are unknown.
Last night, a spokesman for Mr Settelen refused to comment.