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The Londoner: Emotion beats research, says Crown creator Peter Morgan

<p>Gillian Anderson and Peter Morgan</p> (Getty Images)

Gillian Anderson and Peter Morgan

(Getty Images)

Peter Morgan, the creator of The Crown, says if he only focuses on research then “the drama suffers”, as the latest series of the Netflix show takes fire from all sides.

This series, which also features Morgan’s partner Gillian Anderson, right, as Margaret Thatcher, has been lambasted for invented scenes, including one in which Lord Mountbatten writes a letter to Prince Charles warning him off an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. “When I write ... there are the things that I want to be the case and there are the things that are the case,” Morgan said. “There is a constant push-pull ... I’ve learnt, to my cost, that when you’re really only focused on research, the drama suffers. You have to come at it as a dramatist.”

Friends of the royals have criticised Morgan for parts of the show that are “just not historically accurate”.

Morgan earlier this month defended himself, saying “everything that’s in the letter that Mountbatten writes to Charles is what I really believe”. Now in the Sydney Morning Herald, he explains: “You have to come at that almost from an emotional perspective... rather than ‘where were they on which particular day.’” Just don’t expect his critics to be silenced.

Feline blue? Don’t bring your cat to therapy…

<p>Philippa Perry</p>Dave Benett

Philippa Perry

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PHILIPA PERRY has banned pets from her psychotherapy sessions as they are inconsistent assistants. Although she had one client who refused help “unless he had the cat on his lap”, Perry’s cat, Baddie, nearly scuppered her work with another. Perry told a Salon audience that the client had a long ponytail, which swung as she spoke about her problems. Perry said she would think of her cat: “he’s going to attack.” When there are three in the relationship...

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<p>Jo Brand</p>Dave Benett

Jo Brand

Dave Benett

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Toussaint HazareesinghGETTY
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Revenge: Ken Clarke branded the PM 'disingenuous' as MPs debated Brexit in the CommonsPA
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