Should The Crown carry a fiction warning?

Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary fears The Crown viewers could mistake fiction for fact.

Viewers of hit Netflix series The Crown could be in danger of mistaking fiction for fact without a warning at the beginning of episodes, the Culture Secretary has said.

Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), praised the drama centred around the royal family as a “beautifully produced work of fiction”.

But he raised concerns that younger viewers might mistake fictional depictions for real-life happenings.

He told the Mail on Sunday: “It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.

“Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”

He is expected to write to Netflix this week to express his view.

Mr Dowden’s remarks come after a similar suggestion from Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

He told ITV’s Lorraine: “I think it would help The Crown an enormous amount if, at the beginning of each episode, it stated that: ‘This isn’t true but it is based around some real events’.”

He added: “I worry people do think that this is gospel and that’s unfair.”

What are your views? Have you been watching the new season? Do you think there should be a warning at the beginning of each episode?