The Crown ‘forced to rewrite’ script after major star pulls out

The Crown season six is reportedly in chaos after a major star announced she will not return to the Netflix royal drama.

Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher in The Crown Season 4. Picture: Netflix

Production of The Crown has reportedly been thrown into chaos after producers failed to bring back Gillian Anderson for the upcoming series.

The star, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has allegedly refused to reprise the role due to “scheduling issues”, The Sun reported.

A source told the publication that the actress not returning was a “blow” to production.

“Gillian’s portrayal of Thatcher was met with global critical acclaim and she was a huge asset to The Crown,” the source said.

“It had been hoped she would be able to make an appearance in scenes around the golden wedding but sadly that has not been the case due to scheduling issues.

“As ever with the series, clever scripting will mean viewers will be none the wiser.

“But it’s been another blow for producers in what’s already been a fairly dogged production.”

Gillian Anderson played Margaret Thatcher in The Crown season four. Picture: Netflix

Anderson won an Emmy for her portrayal of Thatcher. Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Season six of the Netflix royal drama depicts the events leading up to Diana, Princess of Wales’ 1997 death.

Script writers hoped Anderson would return to the show and had included Baroness Thatcher in an episode covering Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s golden wedding anniversary.

The original script depicted the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh sitting on golden thrones in front of distinguished guests including Baroness Thatcher, Princess Anne and The Queen Mother for a 1997 dinner.

At the time, the Prince gave a speech on the secret of their long marriage.

“The main lesson that we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage,” he said.

“It may not be quite so important when things are going well but it is absolutely vital when things get difficult and you can take it from me, The Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance.”

The dinner was on November 19, just three months after the Princess of Wales’ death.

Elizabeth Debicki portrays Princess Diana in season 6 of The Crown.

Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the The Crown. Picture: Netflix

Instead, producers have changed the scene to a second dinner, originally held on November 20.

Viewers will see a recreation of The Queen’s famous “strength and stay” speech about the Duke.

“He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know,” Her Majesty said of her husband at the time.

Baroness Thatcher was not in attendance at that second dinner, negating the need for Anderson to appear for filming.

The Sun contacted Netflix and Gillian Anderson for comment.

The Crown is one of the biggest shows produced by Netflix. Since its premiere in 2016, the series depicting the reign of Queen Elizabeth has been viewed on 73 million accounts around the world.

The drama was initially set to end after five series, however, due to demand and the complexity of the storylines a sixth and final series was added.

– with The Sun

Originally published as The Crown ‘forced to rewrite’ script after major star pulls out