Naomi defends role ahead of Diana premiere

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Diana, a biopic of the late princess of Wales who died in a Paris car crash, was set for its world premiere on Thursday with its star Naomi Watts already defending her involvement in the controversial film.
The movie follows Diana’s romance with London-based Pakistani surgeon Hasnat Khan, whom many friends of the princess say was her real love and the man she allegedly called “Mr Wonderful”. Based on Kate Snell’s 2001 book Diana: Her Last Love, the film suggests that Diana started dating Dodi Fayed to make Khan jealous — a claim challenged by many close to the princess. Ahead of the premiere in London’s Leicester Square, Watts, a British-Australian actress who came to prominence in Mulholland Drive in 2001, admitted that she was taking a risk by accepting the role of the “People’s Princess”. She was asked if she felt the film would offend Diana’s sons, Princes William and Harry. “Hopefully if they get to see the film, they will feel that we have done it in a respectful and sensitive way,” she told BBC TV. But on Wednesday, Watts stormed out of a separate interview with BBC radio, apparently because a question offended her. The surprised presenter, Simon Mayo, tweeted: “A first for me... As Naomi Watts walked out of an interview! She seemed a tad uncomfortable with the questions. Shame.” The film has been officially ignored by the royal family although its producer Robert Bernstein claims the royals gave some help in allowing filming in Kensington Gardens, where Diana would go jogging. Some critics have noted that Watts bears little physical resemblance to Diana, and had to wear a prosthetic nose for the film. She is the only established movie star in the film — Khan is played by British-Indian actor Naveen Andrews.
— AFP