SCREEN ROYALTY WEIGHS IN

Dame Judi Dench (87) wrote an open letter to The Times newspaper laying into the show.

“The closer the drama comes to our times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism,” she says. “No one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged.

“Despite stating publicly that The Crown has always been a ‘fictionalised drama’, the programme-makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start.”

Producers, under huge pressure in the run-up to the show’s 9 November release, eventually carried a disclaimer at the end of the trailer, saying it was a “fictional dramatisation”.

A few days after Judi’s letter appeared, insiders said she’d been in talks with The Crown to play the Queen Mother, a part that went to Marcia Warren. There was reportedly a conflict between the actress and producers over the Queen Mother being a relatively small part, as well as alleged disputes over payment.

‘THE CLOSER THE DRAMA COMES TO OUR PRESENT TIMES, THE MORE FREELY IT SEEMS WILLING TO BLUR THE LINES’