Neil Hamilton finally has something to be proud of - Charles Dance agreed last night to play him in the BBC drama of his High Court libel case against Mohamed Al Fayed.

The suave actor, best known for his Bafta-award winning performance in 'Jewel in the Crown', will be part of a star line-up in the major BBC 2 five-week series.

As the disgraced politician, Dance, 53, will spar across the witness box with Nadim Sawalha, playing the victorious Harrods boss.

The BBC team has been delayed finding an actress to play Christine Hamilton. Zoe Wanamaker has been offered the role and is expected to make a decision over the weekend. The roles of George Carman, QC, who brought Al Fayed victory, and Desmond Browne, for Hamilton, have aiso yet to be cast.

A BBC insider said: "We are extremely pleased to have Charles and it is a very flattering casting which will add a bit of glamour."

Sawalha, father of Ab Fab's Julia and former EastEnder Nadia, is best known for his role m the BBC's Dangerfield. Ironically, the 64-year-old actor met a sticky end playing an Egyptian in the 1977 Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me".

The new series will document a battle that left former Tory MP Mr. Hamilton destitute. It is due to hit screens in March and will be the first in a line of news-related dramas planned by the BBC.

A new unit, the Drama Lab, has been set up to respond quickly to major court battles and other events. BBC 2 controller Jane Root said of the first project, to be called Hamilton vs Al Fayed: "It is an exciting, fast-response dramatisation that takes the audience right to the heart of this extraordinary story."

Producer Richard Fell, who will head the new unit, said: "Dramas like that based on Hillsborough or the Stephen Lawrence inquiry have shown they can make a contribution to the public's understanding of these events."

© Katherine Griffiths

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