A RADIO producer from Ealing will recall a meeting with Princess Diana for a one-off programme on BBC Radio 4.
Peter Shevlin will be presenting Princess Di’s Handshake, which will be broadcast nationwide at 9pm on Wednesday, August 14.
In the programme, the 38-year-old will recall his own experience of a chance meeting with the late Princess Diana, and how a missed handshake sparked his interest in the importance of human touch in the health sector, when it comes to diagnosing, treating and comforting patients.
Mr Shevlin said it was 1985 when Princess Diana visited Redruth, Cornwall, when he was just a small boy.
He said: “I was 10 years old and it was a classic April showers kind of day. Everyone was second-guessing where Diana would be next. I was on my Grifter bike, trying to find a good space to see her. Pond Lane was the place to get a great view and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.”
But despite the title of the programme, the handshake was never to be: “Princess Diana stood in front of me and I froze. She outstretched her hand and I couldn’t shake it. She offered warmth and emotional contact and I did not respond.”
Two years later, Princess Diana made national news when she shook the hand of a patient with HIV, dispelling myths and stigma over how the disease could be contracted.
Mr Shevlin said he used his missed opportunity to question whether the emotional contact is also lacking within the healthcare service.
He added that the topic has added relevance after news of a hospital in Newry, Northern Ireland with a groundbreaking project where a robot patrols the ward allowing intensive care specialists in one hospital to remotely assess patients in another.
