Netflix users are eagerly anticipating the return of The Crown, which is releasing its fifth series on November 9.
The hit TV series, which has been portraying Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1952, is set to delve into King Charles and Princess Diana’s split and John Major’s time as Prime Minister.
With the show’s release date just two months after the death of the Queen, Judi Dench, 81, has hit out at Netflix for blurring “the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism”.
READ MORE: The Crown labelled a ‘barrel-load of nonsense’ and ‘malicious fiction’ by John Major
Dench penned a letter to The Times of London to share her protests against the show, admitting she fears that the series, which is quickly catching up to present day, will confuse the viewers into believing the dramatic depiction to be “wholly true”.
(Image: WireImage)
In the statement, the Oscar winner particularly disagreed with reports that the show will portray then Prince Charles plotting against his mother to take the crown, branding it “both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent”.
Dench wrote: “No one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged.
“Despite this week 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 of each episode.”
(Image: Liam Daniel/Netflix)
She added: “The time has come for Netflix to reconsider — for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve its reputation in the eyes of its British subscribers.”
The star’s letter was in response to John Major’s comments against the series, as he branded the show “a barrel-load of malicious nonsense,” as it focuses as his stint in 10 Downing Street.
(Image: Courtesy of Netflix/Supplied by WENN)
Netflix responded: “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events.
“Series Five is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family — one that has been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
