The Crown makers apologise to Foy, Smith

Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind Netflix’s royal drama ‘The Crown’, has apologised after it was revealed that the show’s lead actor Claire Foy was paid less than her male counterpart Matt Smith. In a statement obtained by Variety, the company apologised to both Foy and Smith, and said, “they cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues.”

“We want to apologise to both Claire Foy and to Matt Smith, brilliant actors and friends, who have found themselves at the centre of a media storm this week through no fault of their own. Claire and Matt are incredibly gifted actors who, along with the wider cast on The

Crown have worked tirelessly to bring our characters to life with compassion and integrity,” the company said.

“As the producers of The Crown, we at Left Bank Pictures are responsible for budgets and salaries; the actors are not aware of who gets what, and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues,” it added.

Last week, during a panel at the INTV conference in Jerusalem, Left Bank creative director Suzanne Mackie had said that Smith made more money than Foy, because he was already famous after playing the 11th Doctor on the British TV show ‘Doctor Who’ while Foy, who played Queen Elizabeth in the drama, was a relative newcomer.