My Date in Havana with Fidel Castro; Selina Scott Reveals Her Plans for an Historic Interview with Cuba's Legendary Revolutionary . . . and Why She Thinks BritishTV Is Failing the Public

Byline: ELIZABETH SANDERSON

SELINA SCOTT will never forget the day she met Fidel Castro. It was at a lavish state banquet in Barcelona given by King Juan Carlos of Spain to celebrate the 1992 summer Olympics.

In a grand marquee that gathered together presidents, prime ministers, royalty and nobility - Mitterrand of France, Menem of Argentina, Princess Anne, Nelson Mandela of South Africa - it was Castro, the legendary Cuban dictator, who dominated the company.

He had arrived in his trademark green military tunic, combat trousers, army boots and, of course, smoking a fat Havana cigar. Even in this company he was the most compelling figure - the man who has seen off eight American presidents and seven Soviet leaders, survived the Bay of Pigs, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the failure of communism.

Selina Scott is well used to the company of powerful men. She is a personal friend of Prince Charles and in 1991 more than 11 million viewers saw her walking with him in the Outer Hebrides for a heart-to-heart talk. She famously crossed swords with American property billionaire Donald Trump and was once asked for her telephone number by Prince Andrew after a particularly flirtatious interview.

But few men had impressed her as much as Castro and it was at this moment that she decided to try to secure a major television interview with him, determined to confront him with questions that held the key to so much history.

After 40 years of communism in Cuba did he think …

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Publication information: Article title: My Date in Havana with Fidel Castro; Selina Scott Reveals Her Plans for an Historic Interview with Cuba's Legendary Revolutionary . . . and Why She Thinks BritishTV Is Failing the Public. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Mail on Sunday (London, England). Publication date: July 30, 2000. Page number: 38. © 2009 Solo Syndication Limited. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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