La Plante, who initially worked on the TV version but left last year, today said she’d shared audience and critic dislike of ITV’s casting which said was “far from how I had written” the characters and complained that the series wasn’t “an accurate adaptation of my novel”.

In April the European Commission’s competition authorities ruled the proposed merger “would raise no competition concerns” but the UK Government is set to make its own decision on whether to allow the tie-up to proceed.

The matches will be available on TV as well as on skysports.com and the mobile and iPad app, making Sky the first UK broadcaster to show every game of the tournament. 

International news websites, along with social media and messaging channels used for accessing, sharing and engaging in the free flow of news and information online are routinely blocked by governments in many countries.