Emma Corrin has shared her thoughts on the “mad” argument suggesting The Crown should carry a warning alerting viewers to the fact it’s largely fictitious.
The British actor – who plays Princess Diana in the fourth series of the royal Netflix drama – has said that the row does “does a disservice to creativity, and imagination, and screenwriting, and scriptwriting”.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden is among those who think Netflix should be made to add a disclaimer to The Crown, previously saying: “It is a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.
“Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”
However, in a new interview with The Daily Beast, Emma revealed she’s definitely not in agreement.
“The Crown is accurate insofar as it’s about a family over a period of time, and we have factual information about what happened to the country—and to the family,” she said.
“So, you can write down all the facts as if it were a timeline, but all the substance is fictitious.”
She continued: “We can know that Diana and Camilla went to a restaurant called Menage A Trois – which is hysterically ironic – but it happened, but we obviously don’t know what was said, so that is fiction. But that’s how a lot of series operate.”
Emma added: “It’s mad that they want to label it as “fiction” when you have Diana: In Her Own Words [a documentary currently streaming on Netflix] where she talks about everything, and it’s much more harrowing.”
Last month, Emma’s co-star Josh O’Connor – who plays Prince Charles in series three and four of The Crown – blasted Oliver Dowden’s comments, insisting: “In my opinion, it’s pretty outrageous that he came out and said what he said.
“Particularly in this time when he knows that the arts are struggling and they’re on their knees, I think it’s a bit of a low blow.”
Netflix recently made it clear that no such warning would be added to The Crown.