In the early hours of Friday morning, Discovery broadcast Oprah Winfrey's world exclusive interview at the same it was being aired in America.

By the time the first installment of this two-parter has concluded, Lance Armstrong had admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during a cycling career that earned him seven Tour de France titles and gained him worldwide adulation and fame.

Armstrong was hailed as a living legend and inspirational figure to millions, given those Tour de France wins between 1999 and 2005 had come after he had won his battle against cancer.

But Armstrong had constantly been dogged by allegations of drug use and having successfully fought off his detractors, his world caved in last year when former team-mates came forward to admit there had been a systematic doping programme designed to enhance Armstrong's chances of winning those Tours.

Since then Armstrong had been silent on the subject. Speculation over what he might say snowballed from the moment it was announced Armstrong would conduct a one-on-one with Oprah.

Winfrey's team did a fine job of preventing any leaks whilst saying just enough to entice the viewer into thinking that this a must-see event that will dominate headlines around the world.

Winfrey herself has described it as the 'biggest interview of her career'. Of course, she's in the business of selling her shows, but it's worth putting into context that when she was granted an audience with Michael Jackson back in 1993 it was first time Jackson had been interviewed in 14 years.

At that time Jackson was the world's biggest pop star. Armstrong was once the world's biggest sports star. How the mighty can fall.