‘The Crown’ has wrapped production on season four "a few days" early.
The Netflix regal drama is the latest big-name programme to call a halt to filming amid the coronavirus pandemic but producers have confirmed all principal photography has been completed after cast – including Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Corrin – and crew pulled together to get ahead of schedule.
A spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: "’The Crown’ has now completed principal photography on season 4 having pulled the final shoot date forward by a few days."
The confirmation comes a few days after it was reported that Left Bank Pictures only needed to "tie up loose ends" with the filming.
It was previously announced the show will come to an end after five seasons, with Imelda Staunton following in the footsteps of Claire Foy and Olivia as Queen Elizabeth.
Showrunner Peter Morgan recently explained he decided to call a halt there because there "has to be distance" between real life and the show, despite having considered further storylines beyond season five.
He said: "You can’t fully examine incidents that happened yesterday. There has to be ten to 20 years’ distance. And in some instances much longer."
Peter promised the final series, which won’t be filmed until 2021 or 2022 will be "explosive" and will culminate with Britain entering the new millennium.
However, the showrunner admitted he would like to visit the royal family again in five to 10 years time, but to examine a different period.
He said: "I don’t know yet, but I might go further backwards in time, perhaps before this Queen."
Although the show is drawing to a close, Peter admitted there’s a lot going on with the family at the moment – including Prince Andrew being embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepping back from royal duties – and he doesn’t think things have been "so turbulent" since the monarch’s infamous ‘annus horribilis’ in 1992.
He said: "It’s a dangerously turbulent time and the only reason there hasn’t been more of a clamour is out of respect for the Queen and Philip."
The Crown wraps production early
