Bashir on the beach: The Crown’s latest addition captures the first scenes – to the reporter’s specifications
- Actor impersonating embarrassed former BBC journalist Martin Bashir looks in character
- Prasanna Puwanarajah, 40, was shooting scenes for the Netflix drama The Crown
- He was wearing blue jeans, a black leather jacket and glasses like Mr Bashir
Bearing a striking resemblance to Martin Bashir, the actor portraying the embarrassed former BBC journalist in The Crown is portrayed in character for the first time.
Prasanna Puwanarajah, 40, was filming scenes for the Netflix drama depicting the time of Bashir’s fraudulent Panorama interview with Princess Diana in 1995.
Dressed in blue jeans, a black leather jacket and glasses similar to those worn by the journalist, he appeared next to Nicholas Glives, posing as former BBC director John Bert, and Michael Gibson as former Panorama editor Steve Hewlett.
Scenes were filmed on a beach in Eastbourne depicting how the trio took the film of Bashir’s interview to a hotel in the East Sussex resort to secretly process it away from the BBC headquarters in London.
Prasanna Puwanarajah, 40, (left) dressed in blue jeans, a black leather jacket and glasses similar to what the journalist wore, appeared next to Nicholas Gleaves, posing as former BBC general manager John Birt (center) and Michael Jibson, as former Panorama Editor Steve Hewlett (right)
Puwanarajah (left) filmed scenes for the Netflix drama that reproduced the time of the fraudulent interview at Bashir’s Panorama with Princess Diana in 1995. Martin Bashir was a rogue BBC reporter (right)
In May, an independent investigation found that Bashir had used “fraudulent behavior” to produce fake documents to secure his interview with Diana.
The scenes shot last week were for The Crown series five, which will be released in November next year.
In another Bashir scandal, The Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that the mother of a murdered schoolgirl whose clothes she had lost had apologized for doing so as “utter nonsense”.
In May, an independent investigation found that Bashir had used “fraudulent behavior” to produce fake documents to secure his interview with Diana (pictured).
It took almost 20 years for him to admit what happened to the embarrassed journalist, who resigned as the BBC’s religious editor in May.
Karen Hadaway, nine, was murdered along with Nicola Fellows, also nine, in Brighton in 1986 in the “Babes in the Wood” murders. Bashir took the clothes from Karen’s mother in 1991, claiming he would analyze them to help resolve the unresolved issue.
But they never returned and claimed he could not remember anything about them.
It turns out that last month BBC Director-General Tim Davie arranged for a letter from Bashir to be sent to Miss Hadaway. In it, she said she was deeply saddened and that it was “a matter of deep sorrow” that the loss of her clothes must have aggravated her pain.
Miss Hadaway said Bashir’s belated apology was “too little, too late” and that the family was “disappointed in everyone”. He is thinking of suing the TV station.
Roofer Russell Bishop was finally convicted of double murder in 2018.
