THE CROWN - DAMAGING MALICIOUS FICTION?

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major has become the first significant figure portrayed in The Crown to slam the hit series as 'damaging malicious fiction'.

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Not that his protests will make a jot of difference to the millions of fans eagerly preparing to binge on series five.

Netflix is reported to have seen a slump in recent months and will no doubt hope the return of the show will come to the rescue.

The streaming giant is almost certain to press ahead with the project, regardless of the fact that the former PM insists parts of the upcoming series never happened at all.

One scene, involving a private and potentially sensitive conversation between the prime minister at the time and Prince Charles, seems to have infuriated Sir John.

Not only does he refute what was said in this 'conversation', he also insists it never happened. Surely it should be made even clearer to viewers that some scenes are only included for the purposes of dramatisation?

Even Dame Judi Dench - who won an Oscar for portraying Elizabeth I-spoke out in support of Sir John's comments, accusing The Crown of blurring the line between history and 'crude sensationalism'.