CHANNEL Four last night went ahead with a programme showing pictures taken in the aftermath of the Paris crash which claimed the life of Princess Diana. M.E.N TV editor
Ian Wylie gives his verdict.
TV bosses at Channel 4 know that every picture sells a story.
So they must have been delighted by the royal row over Diana: The Witnesses In The Tunnel which captured acres of media coverage.
Before, it was just another documentary about her death, and goodness knows we've had enough of them.
Now those newspaper headlines, TV, radio and web reports will have delivered a far larger audience than would have watched otherwise.
I sat just a short distance away from princes William and Harry at Diana's Westminster Abbey funeral and saw what could not be broadcast on television - the tears which flowed for their mother.
Of course they will be upset by this film, which focused on events involving photographers in the Pont d'Alma tunnel after the Paris car crash which claimed her life.
In particular, there was concern about the decision to show a photo of a doctor administering oxygen to Diana, even though she was blocked out of the picture and unseen.
The princes' private secretary asked in a letter to Channel 4: "If it were your or my mother dying in that tunnel, would we want the scene broadcast to the nation?" Almost certainly not. But this was a major public figure whose death is still, for some, a subject for speculation, despite clear official reports into what actually happened.
The documentary explained how the photographers who had followed Diana's car were not to blame for the crash, or her death, despite many leaping to that conclusion in the immediate aftermath.
Surrounded by misinformation about its content, it actually contained no new photos and certainly nothing approaching the now-locked-away images which would have been a real cause for condemnation had they been shown.
Notoriety
Whether the film was in the public interest is questionable. All of this has been said before. But that avalanche of extra publicity elevated it to a notoriety it did not deserve.
The princes say they have a duty to protect their mother and many will sympathise with them.
But as narrator Laurence Fox concluded last night: "The photographs taken in the tunnel are, perhaps, the clearest record of what truly happened that night.
"They were pivotal in clearing the photographers and they will become the last chapter in the picture story that is the life of Diana, Princess of Wales."
What did you think of the programme? Have your say below.
Read more of Ian Wylie at his blog, Life of Wylie .
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Whilst I sympathise with the princes over their mother death, she didn't shrink from the media spotlight when alive. I still think she was murdered, so keeping up interest in the case is important.
The main thing that everyone should learn from this accident is that the one occupant of the car who survived, was the one who was wearing a seatbelt. Maybe if the others had been wearing their seatbelts, they, too, would still be alive.
As for Diana, Princess of Wales. She's gone. It's sad for her family, but she's gone, so why keep dragging all of this up?
I thought the programme was a con. I didn't hear anything new and the photos could hav e been of anything. On the other hand it did remind us all of some of the strange events surrounding the accident and its aftermath. Hard to believe it was 10 years ago.
I clearly remember the actual moment I found out about the crash and for once the British press, who have a reputation throughout the world as scandal mongers, actually did the decent thing and refused to publish any pictures of the crash scene.
Channel4 has proved itself to be sensationalist, trash tv and if they didn't learn from the recent uproar about "Big Brother" maybe they should consider replacing the management..... with something that has a greater sense of decency or at at least someone with an I.Q. greater than that of a chimp