Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesPrince Harry and Meghan Markle's answers to his personal questions have spurred endless headlines. Now, ITV News' Tom Bradby is sharing his side to the story behind the revealing documentary.
Last week, clips from the project, titled Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, instantly captivated international conversation as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex weighed in on reports of a rift between the royal brothers and the toll of public pressure among other rare (until now) personal topics.
Now, with the documentary airing on ABC on Wednesday, more viewers will get the chance to watch the documentary in full as Bradby tells the story "that was in front of" him.
"I went intending to make a documentary that was always going to be about their work in Africa and then a little bit about where they are at in life and I knew that everything wasn't entirely rosy behind the scenes—that's true," Bradby explained of his approach to the project on Good Morning America. "But, all the same, I sort of had intended to turn up probably doing a more conventional journalistic job maybe. I told them beforehand I was going to have to put some pretty pointed questions, but I think the reality I'd found was just a couple that just seemed a bit bruised and vulnerable. I think with mental health and all the rest of it, you have to be very careful what words you use, but that was the story I found and it seemed the right journalistic thing to do to try and tell that story as empathetically as I could."
Bradby, who attended the couple's wedding in May 2018, explained how observing the pair in the course of their trip to Africa helped him deduce how they were coping.
"I had seen them obviously before we left and we had a pretty long chat and so, I formed a certain view there," he said on Good Morning America. "I speak to Harry relatively often and have done over the years, so as I said, I knew that things weren't entirely brilliant behind the scenes, but it became a sort of...it sort of built as the tour went on really...This was an observational documentary and so, as time wore on, I began to sort of really get a sense of where he was at."
The journalist and royal traveled together in Africa and even had "a couple of sort of private heart to hearts," Bradby revealed, before conducting an interview. "After those, I said, 'Well, listen, let's just go out and tell the truth as you see it and what happens happens," Bradby explained, noting Archie Harrison's dad has "always been" someone who tends to answer honestly "for better or worse."
Ultimately, Bradby shared his hope for the documentary would be to make everyone, including those inside and outside the royal family, take "a really deep breath" and give the couple "a little bit of space."
"I kind of sense that in the end," he said, "things weren't going in a very good direction here."
The documentary airs on ABC on Oct. 23 at 10 p.m. ET.