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Glen Matlock told Danny Boyle exactly how he felt about 'wrong' Sex Pistols TV show

The original bassist of the Sex Pistols said he came across as 'a bit wet' in Danny Boyle's limited series Pistol

Watch: Trailer for Disney+ TV series Pistol

Glen Matlock — original bassist for the Sex Pistols — was not a fan of last year's TV series Pistol, and made his displeasure very clear to director Danny Boyle.

The 66-year-old star is credited as a writer for 10 of the 12 songs on the group's only album, despite leaving the band in 1977 prior to the release of Never Mind the B*****ks.

Read more: Classic FM won't play Glen Matlock's punk aria album

But he has gripes with the 2022 TV series, telling Metro that he "didn’t like the way I was portrayed" and was "not happy" with the show as a whole.

"Nothing to do with the actor, but the script. It makes me look a bit wet. It comes across as a quasi-documentary but there are so many things that are wrong," said the performer.

Sex Pistols star Glen Matlock has some complaints about Danny Boyle's TV series Pistol. (Michael Tran/AFP/Getty)
Sex Pistols star Glen Matlock has some complaints about Danny Boyle's TV series Pistol. (Michael Tran/AFP/Getty)

Matlock was played by The Phantom of the Open star Christian Lees in the series, alongside Anson Boon as John Lydon and Toby Wallace as Steve Jones — upon whose book the story was loosely based.

He added: "One of the stories is that our manager Malcolm McLaren persuaded Steve Jones to fire me.

"That wasn’t true. It was put to me that I’d got to get on more with [Lydon] and I said I couldn’t, so I left."

Read more: Pistol cast discuss chaos of filming live performance scenes

Matlock has revealed that — much like Lydon — he didn't keep his concerns to himself and voiced them to director Danny Boyle, who directed all six episodes of the limited series.

The guitarist said his director "knows exactly what I think" when it comes to Pistol.

Christian Lees played Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock in the Disney+ series Pistol. (FX/Disney)
Christian Lees played Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock in the Disney+ series Pistol. (FX/Disney)

Matlock added: "I hooked up with Steve Jones in Los Angeles and we went to a red carpet event together.

"Danny Boyle was there and it was the first time I’d seen him since I’d seen the series and I told him what I thought of him. Later that night there was a dinner in his honour and he didn’t come.

Read more: Steve Jones urges Lydon to "grow up" over series criticism

"I like to think that he was sitting in his hotel room by himself eating a cheese sandwich, because he knew darn well that I wasn’t happy with him.

"I think he might have been frightened to see me again. He ought to be."

Glen Matlock was part of the original line-up of Sex Pistols in the 1970s. (Redferns)
Glen Matlock was part of the original line-up of Sex Pistols in the 1970s. (Redferns)

Pistol was unveiled in May 2022 on Disney+ in the UK and via Hulu in the USA, with the six parts delving into the rise and fall of the short-lived punk rock pioneers.

As well as the stars playing the Pistols themselves, the cast included Thomas Brodie-Sangster as manager Malcolm McLaren and Talulah Riley as the late fashion legend Vivienne Westwood.

Read more: Pistol cast discuss meeting their real-life counterparts

The series received mixed reviews from critics, with a 62% approval rating from reviewers on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Collecting the various viewpoints, the site's critical consensus calls it "something of a misfire".

Watch: Anson Boon is excited to hear John Lydon's response to Pistol