Martin Henry Bashir is a British former journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC’s Panorama programme, for which he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995.
Bashir worked for the BBC from 1986 to 1999 on programmes including Panorama before joining ITV. He presented the 2003 ITV documentary about Michael Jackson.
From 2004 to 2016, he worked in New York, first as an anchor for ABC’s Nightline and then as a political commentator for MSNBC, hosting his own programme, Martin Bashir, and a correspondent for NBC’s Dateline NBC.
He resigned from his position at MSNBC in December 2013 after making “ill-judged” comments about the former governor of Alaska and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In 2016, he returned to the BBC as a religious affairs correspondent.
In 2020, the BBC’s director general Tim Davie apologised to the brother of the princess, Earl Spencer, for Bashir’s use of faked bank statements to secure his 1995 Panorama interview with the Princess of Wales, Spencer’s sister. Bashir resigned from the BBC in May 2021, citing health reasons.
How old is Martin Bashir?
Martin Bashir is 59 years, January 19, 1963. Bashir was born and raised in Wandsworth, London to liberal Muslim parents from Pakistan. He converted to Christianity in his teens. His father had served in the Royal Navy during World War II.
Bashir worked as a freelance sports journalist before joining the BBC in 1986. He worked for the BBC until 1999, on programmes including Songs of Praise, Public Eye and Panorama. For Panorama, Bashir interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in a 1995 edition.
In 1999, he joined ITV, working on special documentary programmes and features for Tonight with Trevor McDonald.
What nationality is Martin Bashir?
Martin Henry Bashir is a British former journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC’s Panorama programme, for which he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995.
Bashir and producer Mike Robinson received the BAFTA Award for Best Talk Show at the 1996 British Academy Television Awards for their work on the interview with Diana for Panorama.
Bashir also won the Factual or Science-Based Programme of the Year from the Television and Radio Industries Club, TV Journalist of the Year from the Broadcasting Press Guild, and Journalist of the Year from the Royal Television Society for the Diana interview.