James Norton admits 'making things up' in BBC drama row

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James Norton has defended BBC One's King and Conqueror after fierce viewer backlash over its historical accuracy. The actor, who stars as Harold Godwinson alongside Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's William the Conqueror, admitted the production team had to "make things up" due to limited source material.

The eight-part drama tells the story leading to the 1066 Battle of Hastings. However, viewers have flooded social media with complaints about the show's use of modern language and phrases that feel anachronistic for the 11th century setting.

One frustrated viewer wrote: "Was looking forward to King And Conqueror but what a disappointment. What is this trend of using modern language and phrases that would never have been heard in the times portrayed. The BBC used to be the best at this kind of drama. Not anymore."

Norton's Defense

Speaking on This Morning, Norton acknowledged the creative liberties taken while defending the show's approach. He explained that the major historical events remain accurate, but interpretation was necessary due to gaps in historical records.

"The majority of the history - the big story beats - are all true," Norton said. "Of course, you have to interpret between the lines because we don't have very much. We have the bear tapestry, we have often conflicting accounts of what actually happened."

Norton, who also served as executive producer, made a frank admission about the writing process. "We honour the history but we only have a limited amount of source material so we extrapolate from that and we have had to add things, make things up to make a great drama," he said.

Poor Reception

The show has struggled with audience ratings, with YorkshirePost reporting scores of just 1.9 out of 5 stars on Google and 5.9 out of 10 on IMDb. The criticism extends beyond dialogue concerns to broader historical representation.

According to YorkshirePost, historian Annie Whitehead criticised the series for perpetuating myths about the Anglo-Saxon world being "brown and dirty". Another viewer compared it unfavourably to Vikings, calling it "typical BBC nonsense and utterly unrealistic".

Norton remains optimistic that viewers will distinguish between historical truth and dramatic interpretation. "Hopefully people will come along and recognise what is part of the truth and that will educate them and they'll enjoy the drama," he concluded.

Sources used: "Mirror", "Edinburgh Live", "YorkshirePost", "Manchester Evening News"

Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.

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