Martin Bashir Reveals Major Health Issues Amid Princess Diana Interview Scrutiny

Long before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle rocked the world with their bombshell interview exposing the Royal Family, Princess Diana gave an infamous interview of her own. Meeting with BBC correspondent Martin Bashir in 1995, Diana revealed that her marriage to Prince Charles over, quipping "there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," a reference to her husband's longstanding affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. She also admitted that she had been unfaithful to Charles as well with army officer James Hewitt. The interview caused a major scandal and a rift between Diana and Prince William, who was "absolutely livid" that his mother had been so frank on live television. Bashir is now said to be facing health issues as this interview is facing renewed scrutiny.

This interview was back in the news in November 2020 when the BBC apologized to Diana's brother Earl Spencer for the fact that not only did Bashir lie to the Princess in order to secure the interview, but the news organization knew about it. Spencer was the one who connected Diana to Bashir after the journalist showed him fake bank statements that supposedly proved that palace insiders were selling stories to News International. Bashir also allegedly lied to Diana in order to gain her trust, claiming that she was being spied on by the Royal Family and that MI6 had secretly recorded Prince Charles talking about the "end game."

Spencer rejected the BBC's apology and instead demanded an internal probe, which the BBC agreed to. BBC asked retired Supreme Court judge Lord Dyson to conduct the inquiry into the scandal, but it is reported that Bashir will not face criminal charges. However, Bashir, who contracted COVID-19 and had recently undergone a quadruple bypass, ended up quitting his job "for his health."

"Martin Bashir has stepped down from his position as the BBC's Religion Editor, and is leaving the corporation," the deputy director of BBC News, Jonathan Munro revealed on Friday. "He let us know of his decision last month, just before being readmitted to hospital for another surgical procedure on his heart. Although he underwent major surgery toward the end of last year, he is facing some ongoing issues and has decided to focus on his health."