How BBC’s golden boy conned me into royal hatchet job
Eight months ago, i was introduced to the BBC’s rising star Amol Rajan who asked me to be interviewed for a tV documentary he was making. it was about Princes William and harry and their relationship with the media after the death of their mother Diana. he said the working title was the Princes And the Press but, he went on to say, delphically, that it didn’t ‘capture what we’re doing’. indeed it didn’t. the first part of the resultant series, broadcast last Monday, was, in my opinion, a hatchet job on the Palace and the Press...and a hagiography of harry and Meghan. it was so biased against the royals the Palace has since threatened a boycott of future dealings with the BBC.
Clearly, being party to such a calumny was not what i signed up for when i submitted myself to at least two hours of filmed conversation with Rajan, who it must be said, was charming, self-deprecating and made me feel everything was on the level.
When i saw the programme, my two hours had been reduced to less than two minutes of selective quotes. i felt utterly conned.
to avoid further ghastliness, i asked Rajan to show me any other edits of our chat that might appear in the second episode on Monday, given that six months has passed since the interview. he replied: ‘Alas impossible to share: we are still working on the programme. i’m so sorry as always want to be fair.’
i think viewers have already made up their mind about how ‘fair’ the series is.
the producers allowed Meghan’s lawyer Jenny Afia to speak with the duchess’s approval, at length and unchallenged. Most shamefully, they seem to have failed to offer the Royal Family the same opportunity.
What’s more, they gave disproportionate prominence to Omid Scobie, a Meghan super-groupie who was coauthor of a fawning biography.
He hAD free rein to claim the Palace briefed against her because she was too popular. Yet the national broadcaster, set up by Royal Charter, refused Palace staff the courtesy of a preview to see what the Queen and her family were accused of.
i’m deeply ashamed to be associated with the Princes And the Press and feel let down by Amol Rajan, who i believe misled me.
During Monday’s episode, he highlighted two of my Daily Mail columns that were critical of the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William — even though i’ve written any number in their favour. it seemed i was being
used to bolster Meghan’s case. i should have known better.
however badly treated i feel, heaven knows what the royals feel about being trashed by the BBC.