Veteran journalist Martin Bashir is said to be "seriously unwell" with complications relating to coronavirus.
The 57-year-old is best known for his Panorama interview with Princess Diana - a seismic piece of television that is 25 years old this week - as well as his fly-on-the-wall documentary series with the late pop singer Michael Jackson.
Now working back at the BBC as its correspondent for Religious Affairs, Bashir is thought to have been hospitalised after contracting the deadly disease, which is back on the rise in the UK as winter approaches.
A spokeswoman for the BBC confirmed: "We are sorry to say that Martin is seriously unwell with COVID-19-related complications.
"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."
The news of Bashir's illness comes on the day that a documentary looking back on his infamous Diana interview aired on Channel 4.
Neil Wilkes
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