ITV documentary trails Jackson

Jackson rarely gives interviews

Television journalist Martin Bashir has spent eight months travelling with troubled pop superstar Michael Jackson for a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

Bashir filmed the documentary for ITV1 and was with the star when he controversially dangled his baby son out of the window of a Berlin Hotel in November.

The 90-minute documentary is due to be shown in February as a Tonight With Trevor McDonald special.

The programme's makers claim they have been given unprecedented access.

Granada's controller of current affairs Jeff Anderson said: "We have made this film entirely on our own terms.

Bashir is best known for his 1995 interview with Princess Diana

"No money has been paid and no areas of the singer's career or personal life have been off limits."

Jackson, who rarely gives interviews, has a reputation as a recluse.

Bashir travelled to the star's Neverland ranch in California and visited Jackson's private zoo.

He is best-known for his interview with Princess Diana in 1995, where she claimed Prince Charles had been conducting an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.

He has also interviewed nanny Louise Woodward and Michael Barrymore.

Controversial visit

Jackson's career has been marked with controversy since his heyday in the 1980s, when he was the biggest recording star on the planet.

Jackson, who rarely gives interviews, has a reputation as recluse after allegations of child abuse in the early 1990s.

His visit to Berlin in November was clouded with controversy when he dangled his youngest son, Prince Michael II, from a hotel window in front of fans and reporters.

He later claimed he had been overwhelmed by fans' support and had only wanted to show them his child.

The programme comes as Jackson struggles to repair his flagging music career, which suffered a huge dent with the release of the lacklustre Invincible in 2001.