The Crown stars Dominic West and Olivia Williams have addressed comments that they’re “too hot” to play King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla in the new series of the Netflix show.

The fifth season of the royal drama dropped on the streaming service earlier this week and sees the two actors take over the roles of the now-married couple from predecessors Josh O’Connor and Emerald Fennell.

In a new interview with Variety, Dominic and Olivia were posed with comments from some social media users labelling them “too hot” for their characters, who are depicted in the 90s, when the then-Prince Charles was still married to Diana, Princess Of Wales.

“Well I think there’s something in that, you know. I’ve had worse,” Dominic joked.

Olivia continued: ”[The producers] will just have to try and suppress how very deeply hot we are for season six.”

She added that she was not taking much feedback on board as she has an “astonishing ability to ignore all press”, unlike Dominic, who said he “reads every single” review.

He continued: “Because I always find if you don’t read it and then you go in – I remember doing a play on Broadway once and I thought, ‘Well, I’m not gonna read the reviews.’ And I came into the theatre and it was like a morgue. Everyone looked at me as if my dog had just died.

“And from then on I’ve read reviews. I think what’s obvious is this season, probably more than previous ones, has stirred up a lot of controversy, partly because the Queen has died. And also because it’s about probably the most tumultuous time of their lives and over a time that more people remember than ever before.”

Reviews for the new season of The Crown dropped earlier this week, and critics couldn’t seem to agree about the award-winning drama’s latest outing.

While many have said it is a strong start for its third cast – led by Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II – others have absolutely torn it to sheds.

It was described in different reviews as “boring”, “dull”, “tawdry” and “addictive”, with some referring to it as a low-point for The Crown, while others hail it as strong as ever.

Meanwhile, one headline claims The Crown is “struggling to stay relevant”, while another states the new series proves the show is “as relevant as ever”.

Take a look at all the reviews here.

The Crown is available to stream on Netflix now.