The Crown: Joanna Lumley says series is 'not the truth'
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Annette Badland, 71, gave an insight into her time on The Crown acting opposite Emma Corrin, 26, who played the late Princess Diana. The Midsomer Murders actress spoke about how the series was still a dramatised version of the royal family’s lives in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.
Annette played Doctor Margaret Heagarty in a season 4 episode of The Crown entitled War.
The episode shows Prince Charles growing more determined to separate from Princess Diana as their marriage unravels.
One of the most pivotal scenes in War is when Diana (Emma Corrin) goes to visit the paediatric AIDS unit of Harlem Hospital, where she hugs a 7-year-old boy with AIDS and substantially changes the public attitude towards the illness.
While this moment also played out in real life, Annette, who acted as the director of paediatrics in the episode, pointed out that not everything you see in The Crown is an accurate depiction of reality.
When asked if she ever worried people would think The Crown is completely true to life, she replied: “Yes, I do.
“But it is a drama. I mean, none of us really know, do we?
“And it is based on fact, but it’s a drama and it’s what people surmise.
“It’s what Peter (Morgan) wants to say about people.”
Annette also praised the woman on which her character was based, saying: “She was a wonderful woman, Margaret Heagarty, the doctor I played.
“She started the AIDS unit for children and was a force to be reckoned with, so it was great to play her.
The actress went on to joke that she was always unlikely to be the main focus of the scene when Emma was onscreen.
“What I did realise is: never act with Lady Di, because you can have the words but she has all the pictures!
“Because they’re always going to watch Lady Di aren’t they?”
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Nevertheless, she seemed thrilled to get some screen time on the hit Netflix show, adding: “I’d wanted to be in The Crown for a long time so I was just absolutely delighted to be there.”
She also praised Emma’s acting skills, exclaiming: “Oh, stunning! It really was like being on the other side of the bed with Lady Di, it really was.”
Season 5 of The Crown is set to air in November of this year, with Imelda Staunton taking on the role of Queen Elizabeth II.
Elizabeth Debicki will take over from Emma as Princess Diana, while Prince Charles actor Josh O’Connor will be replaced by Dominic West.
Meanwhile, Annette has starred in plenty of other high-profile shows over the years, including EastEnders as the infamous Babe Smith, Mrs. Glenna Fitzgibbons in the first season of Outlander, Mae the no-nonsense pub landlady in Ted Lasso and villainous slitheen Margaret Blaine in the BBC’s Doctor Who.
She has also made her mark as Fleur Perkins in Midsomer Murders, proving to be a hit with fans since she joined the show in 2019.
Aside from all her acting endeavours, Annette is also taking part in a fundraiser for Diabetes UK, which will see her swim 22 miles (the equivalent distance of the English Channel) over the course of the next month.
Donate to her fundraiser on behalf of Diabetes UK here: https://swim22.diabetes.org.uk/fundraising/annette1425#share-page
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