The Crown dealt with one of most sensitive eras of the Royal Family – and I found it harrowing

Published

5 months ago

December 17, 2023

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Love it or hate it, Netflix has given viewers an early Christmas present this weekend.

For fans there are six more new episodes of The Crown to binge-watch, featuring all your favourite characters: Charles, Philip, Wills, Anne, Diana, Margaret, The Queen and more.

Those who denounce the series as a deplorable and inaccurate intrusion into the private lives of the British Royal Family can celebrate that this is the finale. After six series and a total of 60 episodes beginning in November 2016, it’s over.

It seemed appropriate that this cheeky exercise in lese majeste made its first appearance shortly after the Brexit referendum which overturned so many establishment norms, allegedly shared by the nation’s elite.

The seeds which germinated into The Crown were actually planted earlier in 1997, with two events which also transformed Britain’s view of itself and the world’s view of us, both of which also drive the narrative of series six: the election of Tony Blair’s New Labour government and the death of Princess Diana.

The Crown has been one of the major television events of the past decade.

The quality of its scripts, acting and production have made it superbly entertaining, while perhaps a guilty pleasure for British audiences, His or Her Majesty’s subjects.

Inevitably The Crown is remoulding how the public views the monarchy, to the fury of its critics who insist that it is made-up fiction even though it is about real people and actual events, all within the lived experience of many of its viewers.

Stephen Frears, probably Britain’s greatest living director, takes the credit or blame for kicking off the trend in reality drama.

Peter Morgan, The Crown’s creator, wrote the script for The Deal, Frears’ 2003 TV movie about the so-called Granita pact between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown over the Labour leadership.

Morgan and Frears then made the film, The Queen, about the aftermath of Diana’s death, with Helen Mirren winning an Oscar in the title role and Michael Sheen continuing as Blair. One of the challenges for Morgan, who initially expressed doubts about going ahead with the current series six, has been going over the same events concerning Dodi Fayed and Diana for a second time.

Morgan specialises in making drama out of the challenges faced by real people of influence including David Frost, President Nixon, Bill Clinton, Freddie Mercury and the anti-porn campaigner Lord Longford.

After The Queen, his successful stage play The Audience, was effectively a dry run for The Crown, imagining Elizabeth II’s weekly private encounters with numerous prime ministers during her long reign.

Reviewing the Crown finale, The Guardian’s critic Jack Seale identified “the overriding theme… that has underpinned Peter Morgan’s scripts all along: a life of public service, we are told, is a burden that demands great personal sacrifice, with the main loss being one’s happiness”.

This certainly colours the portrayal of the main male members of the Royal Family.

Charles, the late Duke of Edinburgh, and William are treated with more sympathy and understanding of their dilemmas than is commonplace in commentary about them.

“You do sort of fight for your guy,” Dominic West who plays Charles told Kate McCann and I on Times Radio, adding: “You give your character the benefit of the doubt”.

Sir Jonathan Pryce, who takes the role of Prince Philip, agreed: “I talked to the carriage driving people I trained with and they all absolutely loved him.”

As a viewer I found the interactions between the three men in the months after William’s loss of his mother, depicted in episode five, harrowing to watch. One of Dominic West’s sons played the role of William in the last series but, he told us: “I was glad my son wasn’t playing in this season just because of the very heavy nature.”

There has already been much comment about Morgan’s decision to bring back Diana and Dodi Fayed from the dead to speak briefly to other characters as ghosts in the early episodes of this final series.

In my opinion this was done tastefully and helped with the exposition of the narrative. Perhaps I am being indulgent because of my own small part in what The Guardian identifies as “the riskiest moment in the new episodes, a dream sequence in which the Queen imagines her reign being ended by the new king, Tony Blair”.

At the coronation, choristers sing an eerie a cappella version of Things Can Only Get Better.

Her Majesty’s nightmare is shown as a news bulletin item – voiced by me.

Other broadcasters are heard in the series often reporting events which really happened. My few lines in The Crown are fantasy to a purpose. I have also played versions of my broadcast persona on Spooks and in several other TV series and on screen in a touring theatrical production.

Of my old colleagues, Bob Friend played a newscaster in Mission Impossible and Jeremy Thompson reported in Volcano and Shaun Of The Dead. I also seem to remember Andrew Marr popping up outside Downing Street in an episode of Doctor Who.

In each appearance we were lending what credibility we have as real-life journalists to make a fiction seem more realistic. This is of a piece with the criticisms of The Crown for turning the real Royal Family into TV drama.

Such moonlighting is fun but worth thinking about before you commit to doing it. For me, it all depends on the quality of the show. I admire The Crown and Peter Morgan’s work for its insight into issues of the day.

The series has also had very high production values throughout. I defy anyone not to be impressed by the magnificence and the wit of the Blair coronation scenes. I’m glad I lent my voice to them.

Through the six series the royals have been played by a succession of actors, not always to the taste of some Royalists.

When Olivia Coleman took over from Claire Foy as the Queen, Baron Charles Moore of Etchingham famously took to the pages of The Spectator to complain that she had a “left-wing face”.

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The surviving members of the real Royal Family have stuck to protocol wisely and not commented about the way The Crown has depicted them. Their fictional avatars have been shown characters sensitively in the round and have probably increased public understanding of them.

At a preview screening of some episodes, one member of the audience leant over to Sir Jonathan Pryce commenting: “That’s the Royal Family saved for another 50 years then.”

Having played Prince Philip – “a wonderful father and grandfather, apart from Charles” – Pryce is more measured: “If we are going to have a Royal Family, I think this one with Charles and William is a good one to have.”

Entertainment

BAFTA TV Awards 2024: Top Boy, Happy Valley and The Sixth Commandment among the big winners – as The Crown misses out

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8 hours ago

May 12, 2024

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BAFTA TV Awards 2024: Top Boy, Happy Valley and The Sixth Commandment among the big winners - as The Crown misses out

Top Boy, Happy Valley and The Sixth Commandment are the big winners at this year’s BAFTA TV Awards, taking home two prizes apiece.

The final season of the critically acclaimed Netflix series Top Boy was named best drama, with star Jasmine Jobson also named best supporting actress for her portrayal of Jaq Lawrence.

Happy Valley picked up the award for most memorable moment, the only prize voted for by the public, while star Sarah Lancashire was named best actress once again for her portrayal of no-nonsense police sergeant Catherine Cawood – after first winning the prize for the role in 2017.

The Sixth Commandment picked up the awards for best limited drama and best actor for its star, Timothy Spall.

Despite leading the nominations race with eight nods in total, royal drama The Crown left empty-handed.

‘You changed my life’

Crime drama Top Boy follows the lives of Sully (Kane “Kano” Robinson) and Dushane (Ashley Walters) and deals with themes of crime, drugs and violence on the Summerhouse estate in Hackney, east London.

Picking up the best drama award ahead of Happy Valley, Slow Horses and The Gold, producer Charles Steel paid tribute to stars Walters and Robinson.

Jobson also took the chance to tell the BAFTAs audience: “I just want to say I am the woman who has been standing in a group full of men, you have shown me what it is to be strong and independent and how important it is to stand out in a crowd full of people where it’s easy to be invisible.

“Netflix, Top Boy, you changed my life.”

Yorkshire-based crime drama Happy Valley was another show that came to an end in 2023, bringing to a close the story of Sgt Cawood and Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), the criminal who destroyed her family.

Accepting the award for best actress, Lancashire said it was an honour to win and praised Sally Wainwright, the writer and creator of the show.

“I would like to acknowledge my fellow nominees and their tremendous work,” she said. “Sally Wainwright, I shall forever be grateful to you for this opportunity.

“I feel very, very privileged to have been surrounded by these brilliant actors and I thank each and every one of you.”

The series also won the memorable moment award for her character’s explosive final kitchen showdown with Royce, beating fellow shortlisted moments including David Beckham teasing wife Victoria about her “working class” roots in the Beckham documentary, and Logan Roy’s death in Succession.

‘Look it up on IMDB’

Picking up the leading actor award for The Sixth Commandment, a true crime drama exploring the murders of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin in Buckinghamshire in 2014 and 2017, as well as the subsequent investigation and trial, veteran British star Timothy Spall joked: “Look it all up on IMDB and you will see who was involved because to each and every soul of them, they are brilliant.”

He continued: “Acting is a stupid thing, it’s a soppy old thing, standing up pretending to be someone and p*ssing around in costume. Sixty-seven and you think ‘am I still doing this?’

“But sometimes you get the chance to play people that have had a terrible thing happen to them and all they wanted was love, and it’s a beautiful thing to be able to tell a story about that. It’s about crimes but it’s also about love.”

Looking at his award, he added: “I’ve always wanted one of these. I’m just so pleased to be amongst you lot.”

Elsewhere, Matthew Macfadyen won in the supporting actor category for his performance in the final series of Succession, the conclusion of the drama about the struggle for power in a media dynasty, while Strictly Come Dancing won the best entertainment prize in its 20th year on the air.

Tess Daly, who co-hosts with Claudia Winkleman, described the win as “the best birthday present”.

Squid Game: The Challenge was named best reality TV series, while last year’s Eurovision Song Contest won the award for live event coverage.

And there was a surprise in the international category, when French series Class Act beat huge shows including The Bear and Succession.

Comedy prizes include the hosts

In the comedy categories, Mawaan Rizwan won the award for best male performance for his role in Juice, about a young gay man who desperately wants to be the centre of attention as his family continuously steals his thunder, while Gbemisola Ikumelo won the female performance award for Black Ops.

Accepting his award, Rizwan said: “Thank you to my therapist – we had a conversation last week where we said I had to stop relying on external forms of validation.”

There was even an award for the ceremony hosts, comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan, who took home the comedy entertainment prize for Sky show Rob And Romesh Vs.

Former Play School children’s presenter Baroness Floella Benjamin was presented with BAFTA’s highest honour, the Fellowship, by newsreader Clive Myrie, while daytime TV queen Lorraine Kelly was also honoured with a special prize, presented by Succession’s Brian Cox.

“Don’t pull up the ladder” to those from working-class backgrounds, Kelly told the crowd as she accepted her prize.

The ceremony also paid tribute to the stars of TV we have said goodbye to in the past year, including talk show host Sir Michael Parkinson, Lord Of The Rings actor Bernard Hill, newsreader George Alagiah, Hairy Biker Dave Myers, film and TV director Roy Battersby and Friends star Matthew Perry.

Entertainment

Eurovision: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu praises Eden Golan as Irish singer Bambie Thug criticises organisers and broadcaster

Published

11 hours ago

May 12, 2024

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Eurovision: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu praises Eden Golan as Irish singer Bambie Thug criticises organisers and broadcaster

Israel’s prime minister has paid tribute to the country’s Eurovision performer – as Ireland’s contestant continues to criticise organisers and an Israeli broadcaster.

Switzerland won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in a competition fraught with last-minute changes, backstage incidents and boos for the boss.

Israel’s Eden Golan was clapped, cheered, booed and jeered when she took to the stage to perform her song Hurricane at the Malmo Arena in Sweden.

Despite only scoring 52 points from jury votes, the 20-year-old finished in fifth place after receiving an audience score of 323 points – including 12 points from the UK’s public vote.

Ms Golan told Sky News she was “over the moon” with the result and had ignored all of the controversy surrounding her performance.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Ms Golan and said she had brought “honour” to the country.

He said: “They booed you and we shouted ‘douze points’.

“I saw that you received almost the highest number of votes from the public and this is the most important thing, not from the judges but from the public, and you held Israel’s head up high in Europe.

“You have brought immense pride to the state of Israel and the people of Israel. Congratulations.”

Ms Golan responded that she was “proud to have the privilege” of representing Israel.

She added: “We accomplished the impossible and it was a great privilege.

“I felt our country’s love and everyone’s support, and it was unforgettable.”

Meanwhile, Bambie Thug has accused the contest’s organisers of not supporting Ireland over a row with Israel.

The “ouji pop” star secured a sixth place finish with their song Doomsday Blue in Ireland’s first grand final of the music event since 2018.

The performer, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, has been outspoken about their pro-Palestinian views and has accused Israeli broadcaster Kan of a rule break.

They said they have been waiting to hear back from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about what action would be taken against Israel – in hope that “next year they won’t be able to compete”.

Bambie Thug – who missed a dress rehearsal amid the row – accused the EBU of allowing Ireland to be “scapegoats”.

They said: “They waited to the last minute, we still haven’t gotten statement back to us, allowed us to be scapegoats, allowed us to be the spokesperson for standing up for ourselves.

“And yeah, the broadcaster has disobeyed the rules and I hope next year they won’t be able to compete because of that.”

Bambie Thug also spoke of pressure and stress behind the scenes, but said they were proud of Switzerland’s non-binary performer Nemo for winning, adding: “I just want to say we are what Eurovision is. The EBU is not what the Eurovision is.

“F*** the EBU, I don’t even care anymore. F*** them.”

The EBU has been contacted for comment.

The UK’s Olly Alexander has also broken his silence after placing 18th in the competition with his song Dizzy.

Although the Years & Years singer received 46 points from the jury, he was awarded zero points in the public vote.

On Instagram on Sunday, he shared a post from the official Eurovision account announcing Switzerland as the winner, adding: “Nemo! You did it! I’m so, so proud of you.

“It’s been such an honour to be on this journey with you. You broke the code!”

Entertainment

BAFTA TV Awards red carpet 2024: Nominees and celeb VIPs arrive in style ahead of ceremony

Published

14 hours ago

May 12, 2024

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BAFTA TV Awards red carpet 2024: Nominees and celeb VIPs arrive in style ahead of ceremony

This year’s BAFTA TV Awards ceremony is under way, with stars hitting the red carpet ahead of the ceremony this afternoon.

Happy Valley, The Gold, Slow Horses and Top Boy are the four shows battling it out to be named best drama, while stars including Brian Cox, Sarah Lancashire, Kane “Kano” Robinson, Dominic West, Sharon Horgan, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Ramsey and Steve Coogan are among the big names in the running for acting awards.

The ceremony will be hosted by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan and takes place at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank this afternoon, before being broadcast this evening.

Here are the pictures from the red carpet as they come in.