Princess Diana biopic will show her lethal side, says producer

The producer of an upcoming Princess Diana biopic has promised that the film will shed light on her "cunning" and "lethal" side.

BAFTA winner Stephen Evans said that the picture - which details the 11 years before Diana's divorce from Prince Charles in 1996 - will be an authentic account of the late royal, who died in a car crash in 1997.

"The emphasis on this really is authenticity and to discover what she went through," Evans told the Sunday Mirror. "The movie's not saying she is unbelievably wonderful or she's a pain in the neck, the audience can make their own view.

"I think she had some marvellous qualities, absolutely phenomenal qualities and tremendous charisma. She was also very good at one-liners... very witty, sharp.

"Intellectually, she was not in the top level but on the other hand had native cunning, ­stubbornness. Once she made up her mind, she was like a bulldozer. She could be a pain, she was lethal. She ­utilised friendships and dumped ­friendships."

However, Evans was less reluctant to discuss which actresses are in the running to portray Diana.

"It's a ­slightly closed book until we get her," he teased. "We are ­looking at one or two ­relatively unknowns we think could play Diana well, and also one or two very famous ­people.

"How do you know when you've found the right ­person? When you've made the movie. You see, that's the risk."

Charlize Theron and Carey Mulligan are current favourites to take on the role, while Ewan McGregor has been tipped to play the princess's bodyguard Ken Wharfe, whose controversial book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret serves as the basis for the film.

in November, The Tree of Life actress Jessica Chastain was cast as Princess Diana in rival biopic Caught in Flight.