Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ in chaos after losing major actor in upcoming season 6

Producers of Netflix’s hit show, The Crown, are reportedly in a frenzy after they were unable to bring back a main cast member to the show’s upcoming season 6.

According to The Sun, Gillian Anderson, who portrayed Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the royal drama, has allegedly refused to reprise the role for the new series.

Despite winning an Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy award for the role, the outlet claimed that “scheduling issues” is the main reason cited to not return to the show.

According to the outlet, casting trouble appeared to cause issues behind the scenes, with a source revealing to the outlet that Gillian 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 insider 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.”

Assuring that altered scripts mean that viewers won’t notice any issues behind the scenes, the source added, “It’s been another blow for producers in what’s already been a fairly dogged production.”

Per the reports, the original script was to recreate a dinner held by Queen and Philip, attended by Thatcher, Princess Anne, and others. But without Gillian to play the former Prime Minister, executives are said to have switched it to a different dinner.

The Crown was created and written by Gillian’s ex-partner Peter Morgan, with the pair dating for four years until 2020 and sparking rumours of a rekindled romance earlier this year.

Highly-anticipated, the sixth and final season of The Crown will see the return of Elizabeth Debicki’s Princess Diana – in scenes depicting the year of the late Princess’ death.