Keira Knightley drops out of Apple series and reported 6-figure salary over COVID-19 concerns

• Keira Knightley has left the Apple TV Plus show "The Essex Serpent" weeks before the show was to begin shooting, according to the Daily Mail.
• The actress pulled out due to concerns over childcare for her two kids as coronavirus cases in the UK, where the show was to be shot, is on the rise.
• Knightley, who was to play the lead role and have an executive producer credit, was to take in a six-figure salary, according to the Mail.
• The show is now on hiatus as it recasts Knightley's role.

Actress Keira Knightley has exited Apple TV Plus' adaptation of "The Essex Serpent" due to concerns of childcare during the coronavirus pandemic, the Daily Mail has reported.

Knightley, who along with starring in the series was also an executive producer, was set to begin filming in just six weeks, but the rise in coronavirus cases in the UK, where the show would be shot, has caused her to bow out, according to the Mail.

"There wasn't a comfortable scenario for Keira that could be put in place for an extended period of childcare required for the four-and-a-half month production," a spokesman for Knightley told the site.

Knightley was looking at a six-figure salary for being on the show, the Mail reported. The show is now being put on hiatus as the lead role for the late 1800s Gothic tale will need to be recast.

Knightley, 35, has two children with husband, musician James Righton.

Knightley's concern comes as coronavirus cases are spiking in the UK and new lockdown measures could be put in place.

Reps for Knightley and Apple did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

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