..And repeat

Good news for any fans of Princess Diana Bingo who missed the chance to play along on ITV last night: If you grab your dabbers and your cards, I can fill you in on what you missed.

Ready? Here we go: Thorpe Park, John Travolta, whatever in love means, wedding dress, sun shining through her skirt, that black dress, the footage of her telling a reporter to be careful of a lamppost as she walked to work at the kindergarten…

And that was just the first few minutes of part one of Diana’s Decades. You should fully expect to be shouting “Line!” by next Thursday and “House!” the week after.

Yes, if you thought ITV had finally got Diana out of its system with that bizarre This Morning fashion segment imagining what she would be wearing if she was still alive today, think again.

(Actually, to be fair, if Diana was still alive today she’d probably be one of the few people who could afford the outfits that they have on This Morning’s fashion slot).

This threepart series has gone for a twist on the traditional Diana doc, attempting instead to place her in some sort of historical context.

It’s a bold idea, I guess. If you took it as a kind of The Rock ’n’ Roll Years version of Diana’s life (The Rock ’n’ Rule Years?) it was enjoyable enough on a superficial level – especially if you’re a fan of the music and the other cultural delights of the time.

However, the decision to split the series into three neat decades looked to be a mistake.

For a start, this first part, which was supposed to be about the 70s, actually featured an awful lot of material taken from the early 80s.

Plus, the suggestion that Diana being a child of the 70s was the reason why she removed “obey” from her marriage vows seemed like a bit of a stretch.

Similarly, I’m not sure what the 1972 publication of The Joy of Sex had to do with Diana, or Charles for that matter. (Well, beyond the hairstyles that is). Speaking of Charles, he quickly assumed the position he seems to assume in most royal documentaries these days – the one that falls somewhere between pity and disapproval. With the 80s and 90s still to come, I can’t imagine this series is going to be casting him in a more positive light any time soon.

Chin up, Charles. You just need to get the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death out of the way next August, then you’ll have a pretty clear run until her 70th.

I’m not sure what The Joy of Sex had to do with Diana .. or Charles