Princess Diana interview scandal forces The Crown creators to rewrite large sections of series five
THE Martin Bashir scandal has forced the creators of The Crown to rewrite large sections of series five, ahead of filming next month.
The new season pivots on Princess Diana’s bombshell Panorama interview in 1985, which was secured by the disgraced BBC reporter using faked documents.
Set during the early to mid-Nineties, The Crown examines the crumbling marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales and her growing animosity towards the Royal Family.
A TV insider said: “This has caused a major headache for the creators as the events before and after the interview formed the basis of so much of The Crown’s storyline.
“Although the writers constantly redraft scripts before and during filming, this provides them with a challenge on another level.
“Especially as they have to be poised to respond should any further revelations emerge in the coming weeks or months.
“If they do, then they may have to amend the scripts even further.”
Netflix maintain there will be no hold up in filming starting, insisting that it will go ahead at some point this summer. But they’ve stopped short of confirming a date.
In one of her first TV interviews after landing the role of the Queen, Imelda Staunton, 65, said: “I don’t start filming until next July and, of course, I’m working on it now.”
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The Night Manager star Elizabeth Debicki, 30, will play Princess Diana in the new series, taking over from Emma Corrin, 25, who played the princess in the last season opposite Josh O’Connor, 31.
Dominic West, 51, will portray Charles, but it’s not clear yet whether Bashir will be seen in the episodes or which actor would portray him.
A spokeswoman for Netflix said: “There is no delay to the filming schedule for The Crown series five and the script process continues as normal.”