{"id":6607,"date":"2021-11-02T11:56:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T10:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1488255"},"modified":"2021-11-02T12:27:07","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T11:27:07","slug":"the-crown-casts-lydia-leonard-as-cherie-blair-in-season-5","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-crown-casts-lydia-leonard-as-cherie-blair-in-season-5\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crown casts Lydia Leonard as Cherie Blair in season 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lidia Molina-Whyte\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 02 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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We still have a while to wait before The Crown<\/a> season five lands on Netflix<\/a>, with the hit drama\u2019s release date set for November 2022, but casting for the key players in the next chapter of the royal family\u2019s affairs appears to be well under way.<\/p>\n

According to The Sun<\/a>, the latest addition to the cast is Lydia Leonard, who will reportedly be stepping into the shoes of Cherie Blair, Prime Minister Tony Blair\u2019s wife. Leonard is best known for playing Suranne Jones\u2019 lover Marianna Lawton in Gentleman Jack.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also been revealed that Jones\u2019 Doctor Foster co-star Bertie Carvel will play the Prime Minister himself. Carvel is no stranger to the royal drama, having already played Sir Robin Day in The Crown season two.<\/p>\n

RadioTimes.com<\/a> has reached out to Netflix for confirmation of the casting news.<\/p>

Leonard and Carvel would be joining Dominic West as the new Prince Charles<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana<\/a>. The events leading up to the couple\u2019s separation and the event itself will likely be the focus of the fifth series, with The Queen herself \u2013 who will be played by Imelda Staunton \u2013 famously calling 1992 an \u201cannus horribilis\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Though John Major \u2013 who will be played by Jonny Lee Miller \u2013 was Prime Minister at the time, the Blairs\u2019 casting for season five suggests the series will also cover Diana\u2019s death in 1997, when Tony Blair took over as PM.<\/p>\n

With a sixth and final season confirmed, however, it\u2019s likely Diana\u2019s death will take place at the end of season five, and the fallout and aftermath will be covered in series six.<\/p>\n