The journalist Martin Bashir is “seriously unwell” with coronavirus-linked complications, the BBC has confirmed.
The BBC News religion editor, 57, is notable for his high-profile interviews in the past, with the likes of Diana, Princess of Wales and the television presenter Michael Barrymore.
A statement from the corporation said: “We are sorry to say that Martin is seriously unwell with COVID-19 related complications.
Bashir shot to notoriety for his interview with Princess Diana in 1995
“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 started his career as a journalist in 1986, but shot to fame after interviewing Diana in 1995 for the BBC’s Panorama programme.
His other high-profile work includes speaking to the suspects in the Stephen Lawrence murder case, the author Jeffrey Archer and Major Charles Ingram – who was convicted of cheating on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
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Bashir also spoke to Michael Jackson in 2003 for the documentary Living With Michael Jackson.
He spent time working for ABC and MSNBC in the US, before returning to the BBC as religion editor.
Last year he competed in the celebrity spin-off of X Factor, where he was voted off after week three.