He boldly came...then he went again.

Star Trek legend William Shatner has withdrawn from an upcoming film about the death of T.E. Lawrence – claiming the fact he was involved was “fake news”.

The Dorset Echo reported on Monday how Mr Shatner, whose most famous role was Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek, had joined the cast of Lawrence After Arabia, which is scheduled for a studio shoot in Dorset later this month.

The casting of the star was announced by director, Mark J.T Griffin and reported by the Echo in good faith.

Mr Griffin said he was thrilled to have the Hollywood star on board. He was to voice the character of Lowell Thomas, the North American publicist of T.E. Lawrence.

However, Mr Shatner announced on Wednesday he was not associated with the film. Referring to the Echo article he took to Twitter stating: “This is NOT TRUE at all #fakenews”.

Mr Shatner said the article should have been “fact checked”.

Mr Griffin says he’s disappointed by Mr Shatner’s decision to suddenly withdraw. He says Mr Shatner had recorded a voice-over for the film – this has now been deleted.

The Echo has attempted to contact Mr Shatner and his representatives for further comment.

Mr Griffin said in a statement: “On Monday, a story was printed in the Dorset Echo regarding actor William Shatner’s casting in the role of Lowell Thomas in the forthcoming feature film Laurence after Arabia.

“The director and producer Mark J.T Griffin contacted Mr Shatner’s fan club on February 21 asking if Mr Shatner would be interested in recording a voice-over for the role of Lowell Thomas for the movie.

“Mr Shatner’s PA responded that he would. On February 22 a fee was paid to Mr Shatner’s charity which was agreed. On February 27 the sound

file of the recording was sent by Mr Shatner’s PA.

“Mr Griffin checked the recording quality and thanked Mr Shatner through his PA adding that a credit would be included for the movie.

“The recording was then held on file for post-production and Mr Shatner’s involvement was added to the film’s sites and IMDB.

“Following the story on Monday in the Dorset Echo, Mr Shatner objected to the story and withdrew his approval for the use of the recording.

“At his PA’s request the recording was deleted, and his inclusion on the film’s sites were removed within an hour of the request.”

The statement adds: “We are very disappointed by Mr Shatner’s

withdrawal. While we are not totally clear as to the exact reasons, we respect his decision and are in the process of re-casting.

“We have told Mr Shatner’s PA that the fee which was paid to Mr Shatner’s charity for the recording need not be refunded as it was paid in good faith and was in support of animal charities, which we would support in any case.”