Miriam Margolyes has revealed she has some strong feelings about The Crown, going as far as she thinks the Netflix drama should not have been made.
The Bafta-winning star, who is known for her forthright opinions and always speaking her mind, told My Weekly magazine that she doesn’t agree with dramas being made about public figures who are still alive – including the Royal Family, who Miriam said she feels “very protective” towards.
“I don’t watch The Crown and I feel very protective about the Royal Family,” she explained.
“They shouldn’t have their life made into a soap opera as they’re still living it.”
She added: “I don’t like seeing people’s lives on TV who are still alive. I think that’s quite wrong.”
The fifth season of The Crown debuted on Netflix earlier this year, with Imelda Staunton taking over the role of Queen Elizabeth II, who was previously portrayed in the show by Claire Foy and Olivia Colman.
While the show was met with a mixed response from critics, celebrities including Joanna Lumley and Judi Dench also condemned The Crown over its depiction of the Royal Family’s history.
And if we’re discussing Miriam and the royals in the same breath, shall we all just remind ourselves of the Harry Potter star’s infamous encounter with the late Queen Elizabeth II?
Speaking live on This Morning back in 2020, Miriam recalled: “I was invited to the Palace as part of British Book Week, and when the Queen came over to me and she asked me what I did, in a very nice way, I said, like a twat, ‘I’m the best reader of stories in the whole world’.
“And she immediately left me and went to the next person, and said, ‘what do you do?’, and he said, ‘ma’am, I teach dyslexic children to read, and we’ve noticed that if you put the letters in different colours and the pages are printed in different colours, it helps the children read and absorb the information more quickly and easily’.
“And I said, ‘really? How fascinating!’. And she turned to me and said, ‘be quiet!’. Which she had every right to do, but it’s a bit discombobulating, as you can imagine.”