John Lydon was reportedly snubbed from the forthcoming Sex Pistols series Pistol for being “too difficult to work with”.

Jordan Mooney, the band’s former muse, has claimed that the notorious frontman was not included in the development of Danny Boyle’s biopic series over his attitude.

“He would just be a saboteur and he wouldn’t bring much to the table,” Mooney said in an interview with The Sun. “John argues for the sake of arguing. He’s a difficult person and I can’t say that part of him has changed at all.”

She continued: “As he’s got older, he’s only got more difficult – he’s contrary… John has got a few issues about his importance in the world so him not being involved is the best thing that can happen.”

John Lydon recently spoke out about the show, calling it “the most disrespectful shit I’ve ever had to endure” and explaining he would be seeking legal action as the show did not request his participation of consent.

“I think that’s the most disrespectful shit I’ve ever had to endure,” the frontman said in an interview with The Sunday Times, reacting to recent publicity shots promoting the six-part series.

“I mean, they went to the point to hire an actor to play me but what’s the actor working on? Certainly not my character. It can’t go anywhere else [but court].”

Pistol has been created for TV by Craig Pearce (Moulin Rouge!) and written by Pearce and Frank Cottrell-Boyce (24 Hour Party People), with Danny Boyle on directing and executive production duties.

The show began filming last month, although no official premiere date has been confirmed yet. Anson Boon stars as Lydon, going by his stage name Johnny Rotten, alongside Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious.