Jacko stars in 'fly on the wall' show

Pop eccentric Michael Jackson is to be given fly on the wall treatment after Martin Bashir followed the star for eight months, it was announced today.

The interviewer was with “wacko Jacko” in Berlin when he notoriously dangled his new son from a hotel balcony two months ago.

Bashir’s previous high profile subjects have included Diana, Princess Of Wales and Michael Barrymore.

He was given “unprecedented and exclusive access” to the music legend for the 90-minute profile to be broadcast on ITV1 in February as a Tonight with Trevor McDonald special, programme maker Granada said.

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

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

Jackson has gone from being a well-loved superstar to a figure of fun to many, due to his bizarre appearance and behaviour.

His baby dangling incident – which he later said he regretted – was roundly condemned.

The programme is said to be a “landmark film” which gives a “fascinating personal insight into the mind of one of the world’s biggest stars”.

Bashir talks to the star in a series of interviews and goes behind the scenes with him at Jackson’s Neverland ranch in California which has its own fairground and zoo.

James Goldston, editor of Tonight, says: “The film is an extraordinary insight into the life of one of the most famous and controversial figures in the world.

“We have been filming with Michael Jackson throughout one of the most turbulent periods in his life. The results are utterly compelling – viewers will not believe what they are seeing.”