Has The Crown become more difficult to watch? Olivia Colman weighs in

Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown. Photo / Netflix

Olivia Colman admits The Crown has become “more uncomfortable” to watch as time has gone on.

The 49-year-old actress played Queen Elizabeth II in the hit Netflix historical drama about the British royal family, however, as the show starts getting closer to present times, Colman has found it difficult to tune in.

However, she insists she loved her time on the show and praised showrunner Peter Morgan.

Speaking on The News Agents podcast, she said: “I feel uncomfortable answering questions about whether or not The Crown should have stopped before now because I loved the job. It was a great job. I’m not a spokesperson for the royal family, don’t know them. I can understand, I can feel that maybe it’s too close to home now.”

Imelda Staunton, 67, now portrays Queen Elizabeth II.

Olivia Colman portrays Queen Elizabeth II in a scene from The Crown. Photo / Netflix

Colman continued: “I haven’t watched the new ones yet … The first two with Claire [Foy], I particularly loved because they were historical stuff. I’d say, ‘I didn’t know that.’ I loved that. And it has become more uncomfortable, but Peter Morgan writes beautifully, and I had a lovely time doing the job.”

The sixth and final season, part of which is available to watch now, includes the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, played by Elizabeth Debicki.

The 33-year-old star admitted the pressure and “immense responsibility” of portraying Diana’s final days “woke us up in the night”.

Asked how seriously they approached the subject matter, she told Entertainment Tonight: “An immense, immense responsibility.

“It’s difficult to describe, it was something that we thought about, that we carried with us, that woke us up in the night.”

She continued: “We tried our very best to do [the story] properly.”

• Listen to the full interview on The News Agents podcast on Global Player.