Lesley Manville 'thought' she'd be cast as Queen on The Crown

Lesley Manville has admitted she ‘thought’ she was going to play Queen Elizabeth II on , before being cast as in the upcoming fifth series.

The actress, 66, was convinced she’d be playing the late matriarch when she was asked to meet with creator Peter Morgan — before the part went to Imelda Staunton.

She explained how she initially was unsure whether she could become the sovereign’s late sister, because she doesn’t see herself as ‘glamorous’.

The Mum star told : ‘When my agent called and said, ‘Can you go to Peter Morgan’s house on Monday?’ — that’s how it happened for me, and I think it happened for Imelda — I never thought of myself as a Margaret. My immediate thought was the Queen, the Queen!

‘My agent said, ‘He wants to talk to you about playing Margaret.’ I thought, ‘Hang on a minute. Margaret? I can’t do Margaret.’

‘Because in my head I saw Margaret as young and glamorous, when Vanessa [Kirby, of series one and two] played her, and glamorous and still quite young, but a bit older, when Helena [Bonham Carter, of series three and four] played her.’

Lesley concluded that doesn’t see herself in that way, admitting it’s a ‘problem with her own self-image’, but was ‘really chuffed’ to take on the role anyway.

With the previous two seasons of The Crown covering the three decades before the Nineties the entire team have been recast for this series’ 13-year time frame of 1990 to 2003.

Focusing heavily on the fallout between Princess Diana and King Charles (then Prince of Wales) the new series will showcase a number of low points for the royals.

Among them are Charles and Diana’s marriage breakdown, the late royal’s controversial Panorama interview and the notorious ‘tampongate’ phone call between the King and Slot Deposit Pulsa Tanpa Potongan Queen Consort.

One of the most controversial aspects of the series is how it will tackle the death of Diana, with Netflix facing scrutiny over the decision to recreate the final days of Princess Diana, shooting some scenes in Paris, where she died.

The streaming giant was recently forced by the row to add a disclaimer to its trailer for season five saying it was a ‘fictional dramatisation… inspired by real events’.

It followed accusations of callousness amid reports the show will recreate the Paris car chase that resulted in Diana’s death and scenes of young princes William and Harry following their mother’s coffin in a future season. The exact moment of the crash will not be shown.

Acting royalty Dame Judi Dench, who is close to King Charles and Camilla, has accused the programme of being ‘crude and hurtful’.

Dame Judi, 87, who has played Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, told The Times the series risked damaging the monarchy. The Oscar-winning actress blamed it for ‘crude sensationalism’ and blurring fact and fiction.

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major criticised a scene which shows him having a conversation with then Prince Charles about the possibility of the Queen abdicating as ‘malicious nonsense’.

The previous fourth series of the drama was criticised for not doing enough to tell viewers it was a work of fiction.

The Crown has been a hit for Netflix since it was first released in 2016 with the main characters being regularly recast to follow the age of the royals in their respective timelines.

Earlier this month a trailer for season five showed the royal family in crisis during the new episodes, detailing the events leading up to Princess Diana’s 1997 death.

The sneak peek shows Elizabeth Debicki whizzing away from paparazzi as she drives at full speed in a tense car chase scene.

Being released on November 9, another scene from the new season displays the character floating in a pool in a skimpy swimsuit — as she battles the crisis of royal protocol and family scandal in front of the nation.

, emphasis is placed on pressure the royal family faced during the 1990s as the marriage between Prince Charles and Princess Diana broke down — while also covering the late Monarch (Imelda Staunton) and her reaction to the Windsor Castle Fire of 1992.

It will also include an entire episode focusing on Diana’s controversial sit-down interview with BBC journalist Martin Bashir in 1995, in which she sensationally said ‘there were three of us in the marriage’ — a reference to Charles and Camilla.

Over the first three series of The Crown, the Netflix hit has become well known for bending facts to suit its narrative, and while some artistic license is inevitable, some critics have been outraged in its rewriting of history and relationships.

But in its most controversial series yet, the brand new trailer declares that the ‘royal family is in genuine crisis’, as it depicts at-the-time Prince Charles and Diana’s divorce.

Actress Elizabeth’s voice can be heard explaining that Diana ‘never stood a chance’ in the trailer, as shots show the royal whizzing down a street while driving a black car at high speed to avoid paparazzi.

The dramatic scene shows an overwhelmed Diana at the wheel, donning a red puffer jacket as she struggles to keep control of the wheel.