The rumours are true: Gillian Anderson is joining the cast of The Crown – and she’s going to be portraying Margaret Thatcher, aka the UK’s first female Prime Minister.

As fans of the show will no doubt be aware, series two of The Crown concluded in 1964, after the birth of the Queen’s fourth and final child Prince Edward.

The third series will pick up in the 1970s, and is expected to continue exploring the relationship between the Queen and Prince Philip, as well as giving her children more prominent roles. Thanks to a slip up from star Tobias Menzies, who will play the Duke of Edinburgh, we finally know when the third season will be returning to screens: Sunday 17 November.

Speaking to BBC Radio earlier this summer, Menzies confirmed that the new episodes “start in November”, and that they are currently at work on series four.

That series will be diving into even more recent history, with the show’s writers set to explore the reportedly frosty relationship between the Queen and Thatcher. And Anderson – who recently won critical acclaim for her stint in Netflix’s Sex Education – will take on the role of the former Conservative prime minister in series four of the show, with filming due to begin over the summer.

Netflix’s The Crown: Gillian Anderson will play Margaret Thatcher – and the internet has thoughts