Edinburgh TV Festival: Diana, Princess of Wales' death ‘will be covered sensitively’ in The Crown season six

An executive producer of The Crown said Diana, Princess of Wales's death in season six will be recreated sensitively.

Speaking yesterday as part of a panel at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Suzanne Mackie told the Edinburgh TV Festival it was important for the team behind the hit series to be "sensitive".

She said: "The show might be big and noisy, but we're not. We're thoughtful people and we're sensitive people.

"And so there was a very, very careful, long, long, long conversation about how we do it – and I hope, you know, the audience will judge it in the end, but I think it's been delicately, thoughtfully recreated.

Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales in The Crown. Picture: PA

Diana will be portrayed by Elizabeth Debicki, known for her work in The Great Gatsby and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3.

Ms Mackie credited Debicki as an "extraordinary actress". She said: "She was so thoughtful, considerate and loved Diana. So there was a huge amount of respect from us all. I hope that's evident when you see it."

Debicki was joined by Andy Harries, also an executive producer for The Crown.

Mr Harries was asked if the passing of the late Queen had impacted the show in any way.

He said: "I think that the passing of Her Majesty undoubtedly impacted on us all and [writer Peter Morgan] in particular."

Mr Harries added: "It didn't change fundamentally, but it did change in a sense and when you see it I think you'll know what I mean."

Ms Mackie said writer Mr Morgan told her the show was a "love-letter to the Queen".

She said: "I remember when she died, the news, and you can feel that it was bound to happen on that day. It was just an awful moment of when, and I couldn't get a hold of [Mr Morgan] for hours."

The Crown debuted in 2016 and has so far aired five successful seasons.

Season six will be the last and will air later this year on Netflix.

The final season is expected to show the premiership of Sir Tony Blair, and the early relationship between Prince William and Kate Middleton – now the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The creator of hit TV series Succession has meanwhile confirmed the show’s original script was based on Rupert Murdoch, following many years of speculation by fans and media.

Jesse Armstrong, creator, executive producer and writer of the popular series, said he wrote about the real-life media mogul and his family years before the HBO show came into fruition.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the 52-year-old writer, also known for comedy series Peep Show and Fresh Meat, said: “I wrote a script about Rupert Murdoch and his family – the real people, which was the predecessor.

“A distinct entity ended up as a sort of screenplay that started at Channel 4 as a sort of docu-drama and it evolved into a sort of screenplay.”

He said he originally stopped working on the script, but added “many years later” he thought it was a “really great idea” and began working on what would eventually become Succession.

The British writer admitted it “felt very possible” the show would only run for one season.

It became a hit, with Scottish actor Brian Cox playing foul-mouthed global media tycoon and family patriarch Logan Roy, and aired for four seasons, scooping up numerous accolades during its run, including the outstanding drama series Emmy last year.