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Netflix Has 'No Plans' To Add Disclaimer Before Episodes Of The Crown

Netflix Has 'No Plans' To Add Disclaimer Before Episodes Of The Crown

There have been calls for the streaming giant to make viewers aware that it's a work of fiction

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Netflix has said it sees 'no need' to add a disclaimer before episodes of The Crown, following calls from some to ensure viewers are made aware that it's fiction.

Last month, culture secretary Oliver Dowden said Netflix should share a 'health warning' before each episode so viewers know they are watching a work of fiction.

Netflix

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Dowden said: "It's a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.

"Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact."

While Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer told ITV's Lorraine Kelly: "I think it would help The Crown an enormous amount if, at the beginning of each episode, it stated that: 'This isn't true, but it is based around some real events.'

"Then, everyone would understand it's drama for drama's sake."

He went on to say that viewers from outside the UK might be particularly inclined to think the show was factual, as they didn't grow up with the same cultural references.

"We're British, so we grew up with certain things on our TV and the news etc," he told Kelly.

"So with The Crown I gather that Margaret Thatcher is very strongly there, etc, but we have already put Margaret Thatcher into context in our minds, or Diana or whoever it is.

"But for a global audience, which... you know, this is a hugely globally significantly series, and for any movie that does this, it's playing fast and loose with history without saying that.

"Nobody cares if they say this is what we're going to make of it, whether it's a movie or a TV series, but you just have to be honest with the consumer."

Netflix

However, in a statement to the Daily Mail, Netflix has now said: "We have always presented The Crown as a drama, and we have every confidence our members understand it's a work of fiction that's broadly based on historical events.

"As a result, we have no plans - and see no need - to add a disclaimer."

The Crown star Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Princess Margaret in the series, said she and the cast and crew have a 'moral responsibility' to ensure people know that it's an historical drama, not a documentary.

Netflix

During an interview on the official The Crown podcast, she said: "It is dramatised. I do feel very strongly, because I think we have a moral responsibility to say, 'Hang on guys, this is not... it's not a drama-doc, we're making a drama.' So they are two different entities."

Fellow star Emma Corrin, who plays Princess Diana, has also stressed that the show is fiction.

Corrin said that while the show 'has its root in reality and in some fact', the 'scripts are works of fiction'.

LADbible has contacted Netflix for comment.

The fourth season of The Crown is streaming on Netflix now.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: TV and Film, Netflix, UK