The Crown star Imelda Staunton has reflected on how it felt returning to work on the Netflix drama following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Imelda is the last actor to portray the late monarch in the award-winning drama, the final season of which will begin streaming later this week.
Filming on the new series was still underway in September 2022, when the news broke that the Queen had died at the age of 96.
The Crown bosses made the decision to briefly pause filming “out of respect”, with Imelda admitting that she didn’t find it easy getting back into character when production resumed.
“It was quite difficult, to be honest,” Imelda Staunton told the new issue of Radio Times.
“We carried on with as much dignity and grace as they have always had on The Crown, but obviously there was a very different temperature in the world, in England and even more so on set.”
She added: “We couldn’t do anything differently; I had to carry on. But we were all a wee bit sad.”
Imelda is the third actor to play Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, following on from Claire Foy and Olivia Colman.
While the show has largely received a glowing critical reception – including Bafta and Golden Globe nominations for Imelda herself – the show has also been at the centre of plenty of debate due to its fictionalised depiction of real events.
The sixth season of The Crown will be split into two parts, the first of which will start streaming on Thursday 16 November.
Read more in the latest issue of Radio Times, on sale now.
