Princess Diana's tragic boyfriend Dodi Fayed to be played by The Kite Runner star Khalid Abdalla in series five of The Crown... while Salim Daw will play his Harrods boss father Mohamed
- The last two series of The Crown will cover the Royal Family in the 1990s to 2003
- No official release date has been announced for season five but it will air in 2022
He was the son of a billionaire who won the heart of a princess before their untimely and tragic deaths.
And Dodi Fayed is expected to play a large part in the next series of The Crown – and it was last night claimed that British actor Khalid Abdalla, 39, who starred in the 2007 film The Kite Runner, has been cast in the role.
Film producer Dodi, 42, and Diana, 36, were killed when their Mercedes crashed in a tunnel in Paris in 1997.
Iconic role: Khalid Abdalla will take on the role of Princess Diana's tragic boyfriend Dodi Fayed in series 5 of The Crown
The Crown's producers have not confirmed if the crash itself will be depicted on screen.
Post 1997 posed some challenges for the Royal Family, as not only did the Queen have two grieving grandsons to consider, she was also criticised regarding her handling of Diana’s death.
Palestinian actor Salim Daw, 70, will play Dodi’s father, former Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed, Variety magazine reported.
The Crown series five: Salim Daw, 70, will play Dodi’s father, former Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed
Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki, 31, has already been announced as replacing British star Emma Corrin as Diana in the fifth series of the Netflix drama, which is currently being filmed.
From her big break in 2013's The Great Gatsby to becoming a household name thanks to 2016 TV series The Night Manager, the star steadily climbed up the ranks of showbusiness to secure the career-making role.
The actress said of her casting last year: 'Princess Diana's spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many. It is my privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one.'
Out with the old... MailOnline takes a look at The Crown's new stars for series five - it was announced that Elizabeth had been cast as Princess Diana last August, and fans of the Netflix show were delight to hear that the Australian actress would be taking on the role
Elsewhere, Imelda Staunton will replace Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II.
Speaking about joining the hit show, Imelda, 65, admitted she is 'frightened' to take on the Queen Elizabeth role in The Crown.
The actress is following on from Claire Foy as well as Olivia, but says she has an 'extra challenge' playing a recent version as it will be fresh in the audiences mind.
Her Royal Highness: The very first image of Imelda Staunton in character as Queen Elizabeth II
The actress playing Princess Anne in The Crown's fifth season has been revealed as The IT Crowd and Humans star Claudia Harrison.
The Thick Of It star and London deli owner Theo Fraser Steele will play Princess Anne's husband Timothy Laurence.
James Murray, 46, will take on the role of Prince Andrew, Dominic West is set to play Prince Charles in the final two series of the show, Lesley Manville has been cast as Princess Margaret - and Jonathan Pryce has said he is 'confident' about 'tackling the daunting prospect of portraying Prince Philip'.
'I lost my daddy during COVID': Taking home Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series was Olivia, 47, for her role as Queen Elizabeth II, who revealed her father died from Covid as she paid tribute to him in her acceptance speech
The casting update comes after The Crown ruled supreme at the 2021 Emmy Awards with the Netflix drama winning Outstanding Drama Series and Olivia Colman, Josh O'Connor, Gillian Anderson and Tobias Menzies all nabbing trophies.
The fan favourite show was the night's biggest winner, with seven awards including a sweep of the dramatic acting categories.
The series beat out The Boys, Bridgerton, The Handmaid's Tale, Lovecraft Country, The Mandalorian, Pose, and This Is Us for the accolade. The trophy also gave Netflix its first win in the most elite of Emmy categories.
