Imelda Staunton responds to The Crown accuracy criticism: ‘I’d like to allow the audience a bit of intelligence’

Actor will play Queen Elizabeth II in series five and six of The Crown

Imelda Staunton says that Netflix viewers should be encouraged to “use their imagination” when it comes to The Crown’s accuracy.

The Harry Potter actor will be taking over from Olivia Colman in playing Queen Elizabeth II on the fifth series of Netflix’s historical drama.

When the fourth series of The Crown was released in November, the show came under criticism for the accuracy of its portrayal of royal history, with Conservative politician Oliver Dowden saying that the streaming service should add a warning making it “very clear at the beginning” that the show is not real.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour on Monday (4 December), Staunton said that she believed it was “up to producers and directors to decide” whether to add a disclaimer to the show or not.

“Surely [what] you want to say to people is… this isn’t verbatim, this isn’t taken from diaries,” she said.

“You’ve got to use your imagination, I think. I’d like to allow the audience a bit of intelligence and go, ‘Well, you can’t know that’s what Margaret and Elizabeth were talking about.’”

Elsewhere in the interview, Staunton admitted that playing a version of the Queen so well-known by the audience was an “extra challenge” in itself.

“I’m now doing the Queen that we’re all a little more familiar with,” she said. “With Claire Foy, it was almost history, the Fifties, Forties. I’m playing one where people can say, ‘Well, she doesn’t do that, she’s not like that.’ That’s my personal little bête noire for me to deal with.”

Other members of The Crown’s cast have dismissed claims that the show should include a “health warning”, with Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles in series three and four, calling Dowden’s comments “outrageous”.

Echoing Staunton’s viewpoint, he continued: “My personal view is that audiences understand. You have to show them the respect and understand that they’re intelligent enough to see it for what it is, which is pure fiction.”