BBC Orders Single Drama on Impact of Princess Diana’s Death

Acclaimed writer and director Jeremy Brock (Mrs Brown, The Last King of Scotland) is working on the one-off drama Diana & I for BBC Two.

The single drama is about the impact Princess Diana’s death had on people’s lives. It tells the story from the point of view of four ordinary people and is set across the week that followed her tragic death on August 31, 1997. The project is being directed by Peter Cattaneo (The A Word, Rev, The Full Monty) and produced by Big Talk Productions for BBC Two.

Brock said: “I was compelled by the impact that incredible week had on all of us who remember it, whether royalist or not. I wanted to explore the lives of four ordinary people and how they internalized their memories of Diana in the aftermath of her death.

“The week following her fatal car crash was a week like no other before. It catapulted many of us into emotional states we rarely visit, leaving us open to new insights and new experiences. Diana & I is categorically not a film written in memoriam. It’s a celebration of what it’s like to be human—good and bad—in the unexpurgated and improvisatory shock of real life.”

Luke Alkin, executive producer for Big Talk, commented: “We’re incredibly excited to be bringing Diana & I to the screen, and to be working with Peter Cattaneo again. It’s a testament to Jeremy Brock’s wonderful script that it has attracted such a fantastic cast and a brilliant production team led by Karen Lewis.”

Patrick Holland, the controller of BBC Two, said: “Diana’s death wasn’t just a tragedy for her family; the nation responded with a collective grief which is still remarkable 20 years on. Jeremy Brock’s emotionally layered drama engages with the lives of ordinary people whose stories play out against this extraordinary outpouring of communal loss.”

Piers Wenger, the controller of BBC Drama, added: “Jeremy has written a deeply emotional and evocative script which examines the impact of the Princess of Wales’ tragic death on four individuals and on us all. Peter Cattaneo and the brilliant team at Big Talk have assembled a wonderful cast and I cannot wait to see Jeremy’s vision brought to life on BBC Two.”

International rights are being represented by Chris Rice and Lorenzo De Maio at WME.