With the petition continuing to pick up steam, the producers of The Crown have now issued an apology to both Smith and Foy over the pay disparity.

“We want to apologise to both Claire Foy and to Matt Smith, brilliant actors and friends, who have found themselves at the centre of a media storm this week through no fault of their own,” says a spokesperson for Left Bank Pictures.

“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.”

Foy was reportedly paid $40,000 (£28,000) per episode for the first two series. Smith’s salary has not yet been disclosed.

From the BBC to the NHS, in recent months the sheer scale of the gender pay gap has started to be exposed across multiple industries.

A similar petition was created last year when it was revealed that Michelle Williams was paid a lot less for reshooting scenes in All The Money In The World compared to her co-star actor Mark Wahlberg. The petition was successful as Wahlberg donated his salary to the Time’s Up fund.

It’s of importance to note that these petitions are not just calling on the actors to make change happen, but for agents (who negotiate salaries), producers and CEOs to ensure women are paid an equal wage to their male counterpart.

Since its inception in January this year, the Time’s Up Legal Fund has raised more than $21 million (£15 million) and has taken on 1,000 cases, according to CNN.

You can read more on the gender pay gap here.

Images: Netflix

The Crown producers apologise to Claire Foy and Matt Smith over gender pay gap