On Last Night’s TV
Diana: Her Last Summer, C5 ★★★
Over on Channel 5 last night Paul Burrell was back on screen talking about his favourite subject.
No, not himself. His former employer, Princess Diana. Burrell was fondly revealing how he used to facilitate Diana’s trysts with her heart surgeon boyfriend Dr Hasnat Khan at Kensington Palace.
“I’d put him in the boot of my car or under a blanket on the back seat,” Burrell explained. “Then I’d take him in the back entrance.”
At that point Burrell began to perform a knowing eye roll but, sadly, the camera cut away before we could see whether he was going to go the full Frankie Howerd.
Still, fair play to him for trying to lighten the mood. The rest of this documentary was understandably sombre.
I recall Diana’s last summer
pretty well, mainly because I’ve seen countless TV documentaries since her death. There was nothing new in this one, which featured all the usual suspects and all the previously seen footage.
If you were playing Diana bingo you might have shouted “house!” – or “palace!” – by the end of part two.
The good news is you’ll have many opportunities to play again over the next few weeks. Channel 5 loves a royal documentary and its schedules are Diana-heavy in the build-up to the August 31 anniversary of her death.
No word yet on whether the, ahem, unforgettable 1998 movie Diana: A Tribute to the People’s Princess will be on again. But you have my word: As soon as I know, you’ll know.