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But the Netflix show landed in the middle of a royal scandal itself when it used a house where a soft porn film was shot starring Koo Stark.
The series, which stars Wolf Hall’s Claire Foy as The Queen and Doctor Who’s Matt Smith as The Duke of Edinburgh, had to find locations to double up as Buckingham Palace, which was off limits.
One of their choices was Wilton House in Wiltshire.
But little did bosses realise their fake Buck House was the source of a real royal shocker, as Prince Andrew’s ex girlfriend Koo shot a porn flick there called Emily.
It is often claimed that when word leaked about the saucy flick, this caused the pair’s break-up as the royal family would never have allowed him to marry her.
Wilton House was not the only doppelganger used in The Crown.
Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire stood in for Westminster Abbey, parts of Surrey doubled up as Rhodesia and 10 Downing Street and its cabinet rooms were sets built at Elstree TV Studios.
The second series of The Crown will focus on The Queen and Philip’s “marriage woes”, The Suez Crisis, The Profumo Scandal and the public’s fondness for the royals fading in the 1960s.
All 10 episodes of the new series are released on Netflix today.
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ITV
Emmerdale
Show bosses have promised an unusual festive treat for viewers, with a very different Christmas Day episode.
It will focus on-off gay couple Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle (Ryan Hawley and Danny Miller) and will be a cross between A Christmas Carol and Groundhog Day.
Viewers will see Robert pushed to the limit as he keeps waking up on Christmas morning to a different reality.
Series producer Iain MacLeod said: “We’re constantly thinking of ways to push the boundaries of storytelling and keep Emmerdale fresh.
“We’ve all acknowledged the risks of filming such a standalone episode, but we hope the audience will appreciate we’ve tried to do something a bit different in the same way we devoted an episode to Ashley’s story last Christmas.
“Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a healthy dose of the Dingles and a comedy cameo which we hope will please our viewers.”
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NC
Robert Powell on the Real Jesus of Nazareth
In 1977, actor Robert Powell famously took the lead role in the ITV mini-series Jesus Of Nazareth and ended up becoming a global superstar as a result.
Forty years on, he has revealed he still gets recognised as Christ, even though he is now 73 and looks completely different.
He said: “I still get stopped in the street now, with short hair, no beard and glasses!”
Tonight he appears in a new series on History at 9pm, where he travels the world in a bid to discover the truth behind the story of Jesus.
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LIMEPICTURES
Hollyoaks: Cast’s tunnel terror
Hollyoaks cast members will be dreading new year.
It looks like some of them might be on their way out of the C4 soap.
Misbah Maalik crashes her car in a tunnel – and Diane Hutchinson, Harry Thompson and Kim Butterfield are all caught up in the carnage.
It will leave some of them close to the edge.
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Hollyoaks' Hottest Babes
Friday Night Feast
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill went on a strict diet to get in shape to play Luke Skywalker again in the blockbuster movie franchise.
But it seems all his efforts in giving up cakes and sweets were in vain.
He explained: “I lose this weight and I go and get in wardrobe and they give me big robes. I said, ‘I could be the size of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, nobody would know’.”
STEVE RYAN
The actor also tells Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty how he and co-star Harrison Ford avoided a certain English dessert in a café.
He added: “I went in with Harrison one time and I looked at the menu and I went: ‘Oh look at this. Hey Harrison, if you order this I’ll give you £5’ and he looked at the menu and went: ‘I’m not saying steamed spotted dick’.”
The show is tonight Channel 4 at 8pm.