Ten comedy moments about Princess Diana

As the press go into full nostalgia-grief mode to mark 20 years since the death of Princess Diana, here are ten comedy moments about her. But be warned, they don't always take such a reverent stance towards the sainted 'People's Princess'….

1. That Mitchell And Webb Look, 2006

The sketch show took a pop at the conspiracy theories surrounding Diana's death, showing a shadowy Whitehall cabal plotting her unlikely murder at the behest of Prince Phillip

2. Stewart Lee, 2005

On his Stand-Up Comedian show, Lee spoke of visiting Kensington Palace a couple of days before Diana's funeral, and witnessing the sea of floral tributes to the Princess… and the life-sized inflatable model of E.T. he spotted among them.

3. Chris Morris and Alan Partridge, 2004

The pair discuss the death of Diana over the DVD menu for The Day Today, with Steve Coogan's alter-ego expressing his theory that the Princess. 'I'm not against the idea of state assassination,' Partridge said. 'And I also think President Kennedy should have been shot.'

4. Shirley Ghostman, 2005

In his BBC Three show High Spirits, Marc Wooton's spoof medium channels the spirit of Lady Di 'what died' in front of an audience who didn't know he was a comedy creation. Some seemed tearful at hearing the Princess from beyond the grave.

5. Full English, 2012

This Channel 4 animation caused a tabloid row for depicting the ghosts of Princess Diana and Jade Goody fighting over who is the People's Princess.

6. The Office, 2001

David Brent offers Paris Night, his musical tribute to Princess Diana, in a typically inept attempt to cheer up heartbroken receptionist Dawn.

Ricky Gervais performed full version as Brent while on tour with Foregone Conclusion last year, with new lyrics including: 'You hugged a man with full-blown AIDS, To show the world you can't catch it that way. It's only spread via blood, By sharing needles that are infected, Another way is having anal sex with strangers unprotected.'

7. Frankie Boyle, Mock The Week, 2008

One of Boyle's most controversial gags came when he spoke about the concert marking ten years since Diana's death. 'She didn't have much to do with pop music, did she? They should have done something that celebrated something that was really great her life – by staging a gang-bang in a minefield.'

8. Star Stories, 2008

Before The Windsors, there was Star Stories, Channel 4's soap-opera-style retelling of the lives of the rich and famous. The 2008 episode about Elton John features Diana telling her rock star friend she is going to Paris with Dodi Fayed, saying: 'I don't really like him, but it winds up the in-laws me doing it with Arabs. Ooh, you should see the Queen's face!'

The tabloids got especially outraged by the scene showing The Duke of Edinburgh pulling up beside Diana's car on a scooter and causing to crash. The episode is available on All4 here, with Diana's scenes around 16min 30sec in.

9. The Chasers' War On Everything, 2007

Andrew Hansen, of Australian satire troupe The Chasers, performed his own eulogy to Diana as well as Steve Irwin, John Lennon and others to illustrate that 'even arseholes turn into top blokes after death'.

Prime Minister of the time, John Howard, called it 'totally distasteful and despicable'.

10. Spitting Image c1990

Maybe Princess Diana didn't die, but was instead kidnapped and whisked off to a strange village where she became The Prisoner, as predicted by this Spitting Image sketch.

Published: 31 Aug 2017