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Gillian Anderson calls report saying she refused to reprise role on The Crown 'absolute bollocks'

The actress won an Emmy for her portrayal of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher on the Netflix series.

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Published on April 11, 2023 10:39AM EDT

Gillian Anderson has refuted a report that she declined to reprise the role of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Netflix's The Crown, calling the allegation "absolute bollocks."

On Saturday, British news outlet Metro published a piece claiming that The Crown producers were forced to rework scripts after Anderson refused to play Thatcher on the show's sixth and final season. The X-Files star portrayed Thatcher on season 4 of the series, winning a Best Supporting Actress Emmy for her performance.

Gillian Anderson won an Emmy for her turn as Margaret Thatcher in 'The Crown'. Gareth Cattermole/Getty; Sophie Mutevelian/Netflix

According to Metro, which published quotes from unnamed sources previously secured by The Sun, the plan had been to show Thatcher attending a dinner with the Queen and Prince Philip, but Anderson had declined because of scheduling issues. Metro included a quote from a Netflix spokesperson who said "Gillian Anderson was never intended to return as Margaret Thatcher."

Anderson herself denied the allegation on Wednesday when she retweeted the Metro article along with the message "Absolute bollocks."

EW has reached out to Netflix for comment.

The upcoming season of The Crown will deal with the 1997 death of Princess Diana, who is played on the show by Elizabeth Debicki.

In 2020, Anderson spoke with EW about the research she did ahead of her portrayal of Thatcher, who was prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and died in 2013.

"I started with her childhood, reading about her parents, her sister, her childhood, going to school in Lincolnshire, and working in the shop and all of that," says Anderson. "I read biographies, Charles Moore's biography, and her autobiography. There's so much stuff out there, there's so much video, she's really well covered. I watched pretty much everything I could get my hands on. There's a doc that came out last year (Thatcher: A British Revolution), that's a good one. And then obviously [I] worked with people on voice and movement and collaborated with hair and makeup and costume teams. Full on!"

Anderson also revealed there was one item of clothing which she was particularly glad to remove at the end of a day spent shooting on The Crown.

"I have to say the stockings that they found for me to wear were some of the most uncomfortable I've ever put on in my life," says the X-Files star. "I wore a bit of a body suit to pad me out a bit. That wasn't particularly comfortable. It wasn't about my comfort or my sense of style, but it certainly put together a look for Thatcher that I think everybody was pleased with."

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Gillian Anderson calls report saying she refused to reprise role on The Crown 'absolute bollocks'

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