At the start of the Hollywood film industry, photographers were vital to the studios to promote and publicise their stars. But as audiences and the press became more sophisticated, they became more demanding. And a new breed of photographers was born - the paparazzi. Their aim? To look for the blemishes as well as the beauty.

Much has been said of the possible culpability of the paparazzi in the tragic death of Princess Diana as her car was chased through the streets of Paris late that fateful night - with fatal consequences. Hollywood vs the Paparazzi broadcast on M-Net on August 31 at 20h00 looks at the issue of “the intrusion” of photographers into the lives of the famous and the influential and includes footage and comments from both the “hunted” and the “hunters”.