Peter Morgan, creator of the hit TV series, explains how the 1966 catastrophe raised questions about the nature of storytelling and the monarchyOne of the sets built for the new series of The Crown on a backlot at Elstree Studios was held in sombre reverence by both actors and crew. Between the model of the gilded gates of Buckingham Palace and a mock-up of 10 Downing Street lay a bleak pile of brick, coal dust and rubble: a replica of the school in the Welsh village of Aberfan that was destroyed in 1966.
The decision to portray the catastrophe, in which 116 children and 28 adults were killed after the collapse of a mining waste tip, was made by writer Peter Morgan when he first drew up plans for the hit television show. But making the episode last year forced him to face up to the distortions of historical drama more seriously than before, he told the Observer.