The Crown: Who will play Tony Blair in The Crown season 5?

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The Crown: Josh O’Connor discusses playing Prince Charles

Netflix series The Crown is expected to start production on its fifth and penultimate series later in 2021. The new series sees another changing of the guards as The Crown’s third set of cast members take on the British Royal Family. However, some viewers have been curious to find out more about some of the other actors joining the show.

Who will play Tony Blair in The Crown season 5? Netflix has confirmed Imelda Staunton will be taking on the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Olivia Colman, while Jonathan Pryce replaces Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip. The Night Manager’s Elizabeth Debicki will portray an older version of Princess Diana following Emma Corrin’s performance. Finally, Lesley Manville will portray Princess Margaret and takes on the part from Helena Bonham Carter. But there are questions over who will be playing Prince Charles - a role currently inhabited by Josh O’Connor. READ MORE: The Crown disclaimer: 9 things which are true from The Crown

The Crown season 5 will likely feature Tony Blair

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The Crown season 5: Harry Melling has shown his versatility

READ MORE Queen stunned Thatcher with ’terse’ response after PM offered advice Another figure will be Tony Blair with season five expected to chart the rise of New Labour and the messy and very public divorce between Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The new series will see creator Peter Morgan going over familiar territory with the British screenwriter previously nominated for an Oscar for 2006’s The Queen, which charts the Royal Family’s response to Princess Diana’s death. Morgan is also known for covering New Labour repeatedly in his body of work with the Blair Trilogy - consisting of The Deal (2003), The Queen (2006) and The Special Relationship (2009). Therefore, it’s highly likely Blair is going to be a prominent figure in The Crown going forward with many potential candidates who could play him.

The Crown season 5: Callum Turner has starred across period and contemporary pieces

Good Omens and Masters of Sex star Michael Sheen portrayed Blair as part of Morgan’s trilogy, however, the star was in his mid-30s at the time and so it worked in the context of the character. Also, Sheen may have now moved on from playing Blair with another actor likely to be taking on the role - much like Dame Helen Mirren leaving behind the Queen after winning an Oscar for her performance and Staunton stepping in. Given prime ministers in The Crown have often been played by quite prominent, such as Gillian Anderson, Jason Watkins and John Lithgow, it seems likely a face already familiar to the British public could take on the part. Perhaps one actor who might fit the bill is former Harry Potter and The Queen’s Gambit star Harry Melling, who has shown his diversity in a range of roles. DON’T MISS…

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The Crown season 5: Andrew Garfield has the acting chops for the role

Luke Newberry could be another possibility after starring in last year’s ITV imperial satire The Singapore Grip and previously In The Flesh. War and Peace’s Callum Turner could be another option with other roles including The Capture and Queen & Country. At the older end of the spectrum is Ioan Gruffudd, who has carved out a career across film and television over the past 20 years. Irish actor Damian Molony has starred in the likes of Ripper Street, Being Human and more recently Brassic and has the range to go from period to modern pieces.

What happened to Michael Shea? Where is he now? The Crown fact-checked

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This Morning: Phillip says he has ‘issues’ with The Crown

Nicholas Farrell portrays Michael Shea in The Crown season four, episode eight. Shea was the former Press Secretary of Queen Elizabeth II (played by Olivia Colman), who left his post in 1987 after nine years in the role. Express.co.uk has everything you need to know about Michael Shea.

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What happened to Michael Shea? Michael Shea served as Press Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1978 until 1987. Before becoming Press Secretary, Shea served at the Institute of African Studies in Accra, Ghana before serving at posts at the Commonwealth Relations Office and as a second later first secretary in Bonn. Shea found himself at the centre of a ‘mole hunt’ in 1986. He was suspected of being the person who gave a press briefing to The Sunday Times which implied there had been a rift between Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson). As seen in episode eight of The Crown, Thatcher and the Queen squared off around the imposition of sanctions on South Africa for Apartheid. READ MORE The Crown’s Princess Diana star says ‘mad’ to call series ‘fiction’

The Crown season 4: Michael Shea served as the Queen’s Press Secretary

The Crown season 4: Michael Shea, The Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II

READ MORE Prince Charles and Camilla keep comments closed on Kate’s birthday It is true Thatcher was reluctant to agree to impose the restrictions on the South African government, with the other 49 nations originally agreeing to economic sanctions against South Africa, apart from Britain at the hands of Thatcher. In The Crown, the British press is portrayed as chasing rumours of tensions between the Queen and Thatcher, with the Queen instructing the Palace to report to press there was some truth to claims. The Sunday Times then published a story under the headline, Queen Dismayed by Uncaring Thatcher, quoting an unnamed senior from the Palace. Whether the Queen actually criticised Thatcher remains unknown as the Queen is technically meant to remain politically neutral. Nevertheless, the story did run across the British press.

The Crown season 4: Michael Shea

The briefing stated Thatcher’s social policies and negative attitude to the Commonwealth of Nations caused the Queen ‘dismay’. The exact article ran in the Sunday Times on July 20, 1986. Per the New York Times, the article read: “The Queen has been described in recent press reports as worried that Mrs Thatcher’s firm opposition to sanctions threatened to break up the 49-nation Commonwealth. “The Queen reportedly also believes that Mrs Thatcher’s Conservative Party Government lacks compassion and should be more caring toward less privileged members of society, The Sunday Times said.” Following The Sunday Times controversy, the Queen’s Private Secretary, Sir William Heseltine, responded to the controversy in a letter to The Times confirming Shea as the mole. However, Heseltine insisted Shea’s comments had been misreported. In The Crown, it is suggested Shea resigned from the role as a result but in reality, it is unknown if this was the case. In 1987, Shea left the royal service and has continued to deny his exit had any relation to The Sunday Times fiasco. DON’T MISS…

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Where is Michael Shea now? Sadly, Michael Shea died in 2009. He was 71-years-old at the time of his death. Shea was never knighted, but was made Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) in 1985 and was promoted to Commander (CVO) in 1987. During his time as Press Secretary, Shea pursued a career as a writer under the pseudonym Michael Sinclair. His first novel, Sonntag, was published in 1971 and was the first of 20 books.

Did Australian PM Bob Hawke really call the Queen a pig? The Crown fact-checked

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Prince Charles: Bob Hawke discusses Royal in 1983

Episode six of The Crown season four focuses on Prince Charles (played by Josh O’Connor) and Princess Diana’s (Emma Corrin) six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand. In 1983, they met Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke (Richard Roxburgh), who was an open republican. Earlier in the episode, he referred to Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) as a “pig” but did he really make this comment in real life? Expres.co.uk has everything you need to know.

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Did Australian PM Bob Hawke really call the Queen a pig? Bob Hawke served a Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Labor Party from 1983 until 1991. In March 1983, Charles and Diana embarked on their six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand. In The Crown, it is suggested Hawke saw the arrival of Charles and Diana as a chance to advocate a republic but this was not true. Hawke and the Queen had a good relationship, with the politician arguing Australia should become a republic after the monarch’s reign ends. READ MORE What happened to Michael Shea? Where is he now? The Crown fact-checked

The Crown season 4: In The Crown, Bob Hawke calls Queen Elizabeth II a ‘pig’.

The Crown season 4: Princess Diana and Prince Charles visited Australia in 1983

READ MORE The Crown’s Princess Diana star says ‘mad’ to call series ‘fiction’ The beginning of episode six of The Crown opens with Hawke giving an interview to ABC’s Four Programme in February 1983. In The Crown’s version of events, Hawke appears angry about the upcoming royal visit and the British monarchy in general. He says: “I don’t think we’ll be talking about kings or monarchy here in Australia much longer – I think we’re past that now. I think we’re a bit more mature. “The desire is simply to have a head of state that embodies and represents Australia’s values and traditions. “A head of state that looks like us, sounds like us, thinks like us …[as opposed to] a pom.”

The Crown season 4: Bob Hawke did not call Queen Elizabeth II a pig in real life

He continues: “The royal family [are] for all their good intentions, a different breed. You wouldn’t put a pig in charge of a herd of prime beef cattle.” However, in reality, Hawke did not say those exact words and he most certainly did not call the Queen a “pig”. Following the premiere of The Crown season four, ABC’s Four Concerns took to Twitter to clear up the historical accuracy of The Crown scene. They tweeted: “(1/4) Hey @netflix. Huge fan. While we’re loving the fact that you’ve featured us in @TheCrownNetflix, we’re in the business of facts and there are a few things we want to clear up. “(2/3) Firstly, the 1983 Bob Hawke interview you recreated in season 4 was in fact from Feb 12, not Feb 26. We went back and found a TV guide just to check our archivists are as sharp as we thought, and they’re spot on (see attached. Thnx @canberratimes and @TroveAustralia). DON’T MISS…

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The Crown season 4: Bob Hawke was the Australian PM from 11 March 1983 until 20 December 1991

“(3/4) Secondly, the Hawke interview was in Melbourne, not in our Canberra studios as you say in the show (although we’re impressed with your knowledge of our nation’s capital). “(4/4) And while we’ve enjoyed your creative license, Hawke did not call the Queen a pig on our show and say, ‘You wouldn’t put a pig in charge of a herd of prime beef cattle, even if it does look good in twin set and pearls.’ Here’s what he really said. Thnx again @netflix” ABC’s Four Corners then attached a clip of the two-minute-long interview, where there is no reference to the Queen being called a pig. Express.co.uk has the full transcript of what Hawke actually said below. Hawke was interviewed by ABC in February 1983, before he was elected Prime Minister of Australia on March 11, 1983.