Jon Hamm has described the 18-month Mad Men hiatus as "incredibly frustrating".
Hamm, who stars as Don Draper in the 1960s ad agency drama, spoke about the disputes between AMC, Lionsgate TV and show creator Matthew Weiner, which meant that the gap between the fourth and fifth season has been extended.
Mad Men's fourth season ended in the US in October 2010. It returns to screens in March on AMC in the US and on Sky Atlantic in the UK.
Speaking at a BAFTA Q&A event at the Curzon Mayfair, Hamm commented on the delay: "I think there are studio people here so I have to watch my ass. The show was picked up piecemeal. So the pilot was made and then they had to wait for a season to be made.
"The first season was made, won awards and then they had to wait for a second season. After the second season they made two more seasons and then we had to wait again.
"The wonderful thing about the world of media consumption we live in now is that everything is monetised. The people who own things have to determine how the money gets split up. That was a discussion at a far higher level than my pay grade. The deals had to be made for the people who write in the show and then all the people who act in the show. And that took a long while."
He added: "It was incredibly frustrating, but it's part of the business. I wish at the start of the show we had just said that we were picking up for seven years. I understand it's frustrating as a fan of a show. The closest I can remember is when The Sopranos was off the air for a year and a half. I remember saying, 'Make the show again, goddamit'."
Season five of Mad Men starts on AMC on March 25. It premieres in the UK on Sky Atlantic on March 27.
