The Crown could make shock return with series about scandalous King after Netflix hit
THE Crown could be poised to return as a mini-series or a movie following the huge success of Netflix’s Prince Andrew film, Scoop.
The one-off drama starring Gillian Anderson as Newsnight host Emily Maitlis and Rufus Sewell as the disgraced Duke of York, has reminded execs how much of a draw the royals remain for viewers.
Now it is expected that new instalments of The Crown are likely to be in bite-size helpings, starting with the reign of Edward VII — the only 20th Century monarch not to have featured in the series.
A TV insider said: “The consensus was that the royal drama seemed to wane the closer it came to modern day and retelling multiple stories that so many were familiar with.
“But Scoop showed that rather than doing this in a drawn-out, ten-part series, focussing instead on one moment in time seemed to hook people.
“If they can repeat that pattern by delivering prequels in a shorter form, they believe they may have come up with a winning formula for a new incarnation of The Crown.”
Like Prince Andrew, King Edward VII was considered a playboy, both as Prince of Wales under his mother Queen Victoria and as monarch from 1901 to 1910.
He was always surrounded by scandal, largely due to the 55 affairs he’s believed to have had, including his most famous with Queen Camilla’s great, great grandmother, Alice Keppel.
The womaniser and gambler had to give evidence in court as a witness after playing in an illegal card game and his son, the Duke of Clarence, was once rumoured to be infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper.
The creators of The Crown, Left Bank Pictures, have already featured major flashbacks to the Edwardian era in recent episodes.
Series one and two featured the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII, played by Alex Jennings, which led to the reign of King George VI, played by Jared Harris.
The fifth series featured George V, played by Richard Dillane, during the Russian revolution of 1917.
A FRESH start for Doctor Who begins with a new series this weekend – on Friday at midnight if you can afford a subscription to Disney+ or Saturday night if you’re not so flush.
But it looks like the cast have just finished filming the end of the season with incoming doctor Ncuti Gatwa in situ while Millie Gibson, aka his sidekick Ruby Sunday, appeared to be doing all the work.
Filming in Cardiff, she seems to be in an alternative universe where Jonah Hauer-King ditches his usual pin-up image to play a baddie called Conrad.
Fingers crossed it’s all enough to save the ailing brand . . .
Gatwa plays the 15th Time Lord.
Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord, the first two episodes of an eight-part series, drop in a double bill on May 11.
Sisters split – to Spain
MUCH-LOVED legal drama The Split is returning – with a two-part special set in Barcelona.
The show, which featured a superb cast, is now in production and is set to air on BBC One and iPlayer this year.
It will pick up from the last series when separated husband and wife Hannah (Nicola Walker) and Nathan (Stephen Mangan), were attempting to navigate through a “good divorce”.
Annabel Scholey and Fiona Button will return as Hannah’s sisters, Nina and Ruth.
They will be be joined by former James Bond villain Toby Stephens – the son of Dame Maggie Smith.
The new show comes ahead of writer Abi Morgan creating spin-off, The Split Up, a six-part drama that leaves London behind and focuses on Manchester’s divorce law circuit.
Which will be a bit of a comedown after Barcelona.
Medics’ healthy restart
BELOVED hospital comedy Green Wing’s surprise return as an audio-only series has gone down a storm.
Some 17 years after it last aired on Channel 4, the show was reimagined – and has hit the top three in the podcast charts since its release last week.
Six-parter, Green Wing: Resuscitated, reunites cast including Tamsin Greig, Michelle Gomez and Sarah Alexander as the East Hampton Hospital crew.
Creator Victoria Pile said the new version was the only way to reboot it, because the actors are all too busy.
She said: “Everyone was moving off in different directions and it was becoming a logistical nightmare getting everyone in the same place.”