The Crown has featured some huge British stars over the course of it’s four series, but there’s one TV legend who we shouldn’t expect to see on there any time soon.
Joanna Lumley has hit out at the hit Netflix series, branding it “ghastly”.
The Absolutely Fabulous star admitted she does not agree with the way it dramatises the royal family, insisting many people do not know the difference between what is real and what is fictional.
Joanna made the comments on Chopper’s Politics podcast for The Telegraph, beginning by admitting she has not been following recent developments with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
She said: “I find that all ghastly. I don’t watch The Crown, I find it all ghastly.
“Lots of people love it and lots of people know it’s mostly made up, but lots of people don’t know it’s made up which is awful.”
Joanna continued: “I put myself in the shoes of the people, in this case, the royal family where people imagine how you speak to your husband.
“If you imagined how Stevie and I talk to each other and tried to write it down it makes me feel faint with laughter.
“Well some people say ‘Oh everybody knows it’s made up’ – they don’t, they think its the truth. I couldn’t watch it because I feel if you don’t agree with something don’t watch it and go ‘oooh I hate that.’ Just don’t watch it.”
Asked if she would ever appear in it, Joanna said: “No. No, I didn’t watch it or see it or do it.”
Joanna’s comments follow a recent debate about whether Netflix should carry a disclaimer before each episode of The Crown stating that it is a work of fiction despite being based on history.
Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer has criticised the show’s artistic licence, while culture secretary Oliver Dowden is among those who think Netflix should be made to add a disclaimer – an idea stars Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor have spoken out against previously.
Prince Harry recently said he is “way more comfortable” with The Crown than some of the stories that are written about him and Meghan in the media.
“They don’t pretend to be news. It’s fictional,” Harry said of the show. “But it’s loosely based on the truth. Of course, it’s not strictly accurate, of course not, but loosely it gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle, the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that.”
The Crown is streaming on Netflix now, while Chopper’s Politics is available on podcasting platforms.