What time is Diana: In Her Own Words on TV?

The documentary is on Sunday 6th August at 8pm on Channel 4.

What can we expect?

Read Radio Times TV editor Alison Graham's preview of the new documentary below.

Diana, Princess of Wales, throws back her head, laughs with hearty abandonment… and the years fall away. It’s amazing how someone who died 20 years ago seems so alive and so present in the here and now.

But there’s a real conflict at the heart of Diana: In Her Own Words; she is at her most unguarded because these are private films she never expected anyone to see. In 1992 Diana had videotaped sessions with a voice coach as she prepared to embark on a new, independent life after her split from Prince Charles.

She’s larky and fun when she talks about her future husband’s courtship: “He chatted me up! Like a bad rash, he was all over me. He leapt on me and started kissing me.” It’s both intrusive and fascinating.

The clips – and there aren’t many – provide a structure for this 90-minute film, the story of a marriage that went very badly wrong, very quickly.

Has it been controversial?

Yes, the tapes, recorded by Peter Settelen in several sessions at Kensington Palace in 1992 and 1993, have been highly controversial since news of their existence was revealed and have been the subject of lengthy legal battles and bitter accusations.

Channel 4, however, insists that the tapes are a valid public document which show the spontaneity and charm of the princess in unguarded moments. Princess Diana’s former personal private secretary, Patrick Jephson, agrees that the tapes should be broadcast.

Have there been any other Diana documentaries on recently?

Yes, Princes William and Harry took part in a film about their mother’s life for ITV.