A HEART surgeon once romantically linked with Princess Diana dismissed a new film which claims to shed light on their relationship.

As stars of the movie, Diana, graced the red carpet at the world premiere in London’s Leicester Square on Thursday night, it emerged Hasnat Khan has vowed never to watch the film based on the last two years of her life.

Mr Khan joined the £60million cardiothoracic centre at Basildon Hospital in 2009. In a newspaper interview, the 54-year-old said the picture was “based on cruel lies”, bringing its authenticity into question.

Echo:

The film, starring Naomi Watts as the Princess, is directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel.

Mr Khan said: “It is based on gossip and Diana’s friends talking about a relationship they didn’t know much about. This includes some of my relatives who didn't know much about it either.

“It is all based on hypotheses and gossip.”

Friends of the late princess, mother to princes William and Harry, claim she wanted to marry devout Muslim Mr Khan, whom she nicknamed “Mr Wonderful”. He enjoyed an alleged two-year relationship with Diana before it broke down just weeks before her death in Paris 16 years ago, alongside Dodi Fayed.

Mr Khan and the princess met two months before her Panorama interview in 1995 in which she spoke of her marriage difficulties with Prince Charles.

It was rumoured she once even smuggled Mr Khan into Kensington Palace in the boot of a car to see her.

Echo:

The film, in which Naveen Andrews plays Mr Khan, is based on the book by Kate Snell, Diana: Her Last Love. It suggests Diana was seeing Dodi Fayed to make Mr Khan jealous. Movie makers are reportedly already bracing themselves for a backlash from audiences and critics, with Royal experts claiming it could be “hurtful” to Diana’s sons.