The Crown producers respond to gender pay gap between Matt Smith and Claire Foy

The Crown star Claire Foy

The producers of Netflix series The Crown have released a statement regarding the pay gap between its stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith.
It emerged last week that Smith had been paid more than Foy on the show’s two seasons, despite her being the lead character.
They said that this was “due to his ‘Doctor Who’ fame, but that they would rectify that for the future”. In a statement to Variety, the production company, Left Bank, said:
“We want to apologize to both Claire Foy and to Matt Smith, brilliant actors and friends, who have found themselves at the center of a media storm this week through no fault of their own.

“Claire and Matt are incredibly gifted actors who, along with the wider cast on ‘The Crown’ have worked tirelessly to bring our characters to life with compassion and integrity.”
“As the producers of ‘The Crown,’ we at Left Bank Pictures are responsible for budgets and salaries; the actors are not aware of who gets what, and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues.”
Left Bank also stated: “We understand and appreciate the conversation which is rightly being played out across society and we are absolutely united with the fight for fair pay, free of gender bias, and for a rebalancing of the industry’s treatment of women, both those in front of the camera and for those behind the scenes.”