BBC journalist Martin Bashir is “seriously unwell” with coronavirus-related complications, the corporation has said.
The 57-year-old, best known for his 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, currently works as the BBC News religion editor.
A spokeswoman for the BBC said: “We are sorry to say that Martin is seriously unwell with Covid-19 related complications.
“Everyone at the BBC is wishing him a full recovery. We’d ask that his privacy, and that of his family, is respected at this time.”
Bashir began working as a journalist in 1986 but made headlines around the world in 1995 for his BBC interview with Princess Diana for Panorama.
Bashir’s other high-profile interviews have included the suspects in the Stephen Lawrence murder case, entertainer Michael Barrymore, Jeffrey Archer and Major Charles Ingram, dubbed “the coughing major”.
In 2003, he conducted a series of interviews with pop singer Michael Jackson for the controversial ITV documentary Living With Michael Jackson.
He later moved to the US where he co-anchored the current affairs show Nightline on ABC before moving to MSNBC, where he served as a political commentator until 2013.
He returned to the BBC in 2016 after 12 years away.
October 2019 saw him compete in the celebrity spin-off of X Factor.
Picture: PA
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
