I lit the blue touch paper and sat back; CONMAN'S CONFESSION.

The man behind the Princess Diana video scam told last night how it started as a joke - but turned into a nightmare.

Nick Hedges - who filmed the spoof clinch in a South London house with Di and James Hewitt lookalikes - confessed: "I lit the blue touch paper and knew it was just a question of time before a paper got hold of the tape."

But he added: "I don't know who it was who finally sold a copy to The Sun."

Hedges, 32, made the film with pals to try to get a slot on Rory Bremner's TV show.

But he admitted that he and friends plotted to leak it to the media to create worldwide interest.

He wanted to play a joke at the expense of news media with the promise of cash at the end.

"I knew if I could create enough interest in it, sooner or later my video would become a hot property.

"The whole thing would be the hoax of the century and everyone would want to buy it.

"I didn't want any part in ripping off a newspaper. I wasn't aware of anyone doing a deal but I knew it would happen sooner or later with or without my knowledge.

"When it actually happened without warning I nearly fell off my chair. It was both a dream and a nightmare come true.

"The whole thing was meant to be a joke on a national newspaper - but seeing it on TV meant the British public had been conned and this horrified me."

It was not the film maker's first royal con.

He said: "I've always been a joker. I've tried to wind up a newspaper in the past. I rung them and said, 'I have just seen Diana getting out of a car and going into a house'.

"Twenty minutes later the paper turned up and camped outside the house all night.

"We taped up the letterbox because they were trying to see what was going on inside.

"It was all a bit of a laugh. They stayed until well after midday the following day.

"It seemed anything to do with the royals, then newspapers left their sense of judgement behind.

"I always lived a little bit on the edge. I can get a kind of buzz from it. But this is way out of my league.

"Someone has taken what I've done and used it for their own ends. I wouldn't condone that in the slightest.

"I don't know who struck the final deal or where the money, if there is any, has gone.

"I was foolish enough to listen to my friend's advice.

"I was swept along with a heavy current because others thought the video was perfect to con a newspaper.

"I myself thought it was completely unconvincing.

"In my heart of hearts I never really thought it would it would be believed so unquestioningly.

"I wish to apologise to the British public, Princess Diana and the newspaper for setting the wheels in motion.

"I have no regrets for making the video itself for the reasons I originally stated.

"It has all been a terrible mistake. During the last few days I have hardly slept a wink because of the worry.

"I believe I was exploited by those I trusted, who seemed to take the initial scam and run with it for all it was worth.

"I am now making this full and frank statement in the hope I can now put the record straight.

"I am still hoping to hear from Rory Bremner about using my royal video idea - but I don't suppose I will be hearing from him now." Mr Hedges went on: "I've always courted controversy, although the attention always leaves a nasty aftertaste.

"A few years ago I directed a production of the Marquis de Sade's 120 Days Of Sodom.

"It was an award winning production which was very well attended, despite being based on one of the most tasteless books in the French language.

"Some people saw the funny side but the police didn't. They gave a verbal caution for the possibly blasphemous content of the play.

Hedges claimed a mate suggested the incredible royal scam to him after he had filmed the spoof.

He said the pal suggested contacting a freelance journalist who could be convinced the tape was real and would spread conspiracy theories to convince others.

The friend, who works in TV and films, then set up a meeting between Hedges and the journalist.

Hedges said: "I didn't think it would do any harm meeting the guy and showing him the idea. It wasn't a commitment to do anything.

"I was at this meeting held in a pub in Shepherd Market with another friend, Mike Tezcan, who had already seen the video and was convinced it looked very real.

"This journalist, who had clearly had a few drinks, was brusque.

"He told me, 'You will need a good solicitor to back you up. How much do you think you can make out of this?

"I said to him, 'I have no idea how much I can make from this. It's not a world I inhabit. What do you think?'

"He replied, 'You couldn't get pounds 250,000 but you'd probably get more than pounds 50,000'."

The journalist then asked to see the video.

Mr Hedges said: "We walked to his office, which was just a couple of minutes away.

"We made small talk on the way but when we got to his office we couldn't show him the video because the leads weren't wired up properly.

"It was all ending in farce. The journalist never saw the video and I left the office.

"I wasn't convinced he was the man for the job.

"He didn't suggest a method of turning over a newspaper. He said, 'A newspaper would love to get their hands on this story'.

"He thought it was all for real and came up with all these conspiracy theories.

"He thought if it was real, Diana may even have been the one who could have planted the video with the press.

"I think I told him the video had been found in a film editing suite.

"We wanted the video footage to be printed in a national newspaper, suggesting it wasn't known whether it was real or not.

"I wanted to see if he thought it was convincing enough to fool the papers.

"He gave me the impression that you could sell it to the papers on an 'Is it or isn't it?' basis provided it was convincing enough.

"I left him to it and haven't heard from him since.

"It became clear that he was talking seriously. This worried me because it was all getting out of hand.

"I knew that if enough people knew about the tape, sooner or later the existence of the video would become a talking point.

The friend who suggested the scam to Hedges last night confessed that he put the "spin" on to make it appear that Diana was the victim of snooping by the security services.

The friend told the Daily Mirror: "I was behind the spin on this.

"It was funny and so good. The fun was being had saying to people, 'Look at this' and them saying, 'Oh my God!'

"We wanted a climate of acceptability of this tape. And then someone stole the thing. That's what is really funny. Then they fall for it.

"I am a mate of Nick's. I just thought it was hilarious. I saw it and thought, 'Oh my God!' My jaw dropped.

"I rang a fellow journalist who is a mate and said: 'Look, there's this thing here. I have seen this video and I said it seems to be real - if this whole thing blew open, who would be a good person to handle it with credentials and credibility ?

"We wanted to create a climate of, 'Is it real or isn't it?'

"I thought it was hilarious and gobsmacking. I thought at first it was real and then I was told it was a fake. I was asked to get involved.

"I think this has proved Nick's point perfectly.

"I don't think it has got out of hand. I think Nick should be given an OBE.

"It is brilliant. Somebody was going to be greedy and stupid and somebody has stolen it.

"There was this climate of expectancy created by a few whispers circulating the media world and they swallowed it."

Publicist Max Clifford said last night: "In light of these new revelations I will no longer be representing Nick Hedges.

"I had my suspicions that he was not telling the full story and the Daily Mirror has now confirmed this."