Filming on The Crown has shut down early after eight crew members have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19.
Production on the hit Netflix drama, which is based in the UK, has been curtailed by bosses at the streaming giant to ensure cast and crew ‘safety’ amid a surge in cases.
“The Crown finished filming one day earlier than planned for the Christmas break following a few positive cases within the team, thus ensuring others’ safety and so that everyone on production can enjoy a festive break with their loved ones,” a statement from Netflix read.
According to The Independent, eight crew members tested positive for the virus.
The fifth season of The Crown will star Imelda Staunton as the latest incarnation of Queen Elizabeth II, with Elizabeth Debicki portraying Princess Diana, and Dominic West playing Prince Charles.
The Covid outbreak on the set comes just one day after Doctor Foster star Bertie Carvel was spotted filming scenes as then-Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The actor was seen walking with his on-screen wife Lydia Leonard, who plays Cherie Blair, as the show depicted the high-profile moment the Blairs were pictured casting their votes in the 1997 election, which Labour won in a landslide.
Filming is due to restart in the New Year, and this series will be set in the mid-1990s, focusing on Charles and Diana’s bitter public divorce.
Writer Peter Morgan has already penned the episode that will feature Dian’s tragic death in August 1997, and he has insisted that it will not show the crash in the tunnel in Paris.
It was recently reported that Prince William voiced his displeasure at The Crown featuring a re-enactment of Diana’s controversial interview with former BBC journalist Martin Bashir for Panorama.
Earlier this year, an independent inquiry found that ‘deceitful behaviour’ was used to secure the interview with Diana, and both William and Harry poured scorn on the motives for the infamous interview, which saw the princess discuss the end of her marriage.
And Eton College, which was attended by both princes, recently refused to let Netflix film scenes on its grounds.
The fifth series of The Crown will air in November next year, while series one to four are available to stream now.
