The new Netflix movie Scoop was based on Newsnight editor Emily Maitlis’ infamous interview with Prince Andrew. Despite the prince’s apparent satisfaction that the interview went well, the public reaction soon proved otherwise.
Scoop arrived on the platform on Friday, April 5th, and immediately soared through the charts. Viewers have commended Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson’s portrayals of the Duke of York and Maitlis, respectively, especially given the difficult topic at hand.
Speaking to Deadline in a new interview, Maitlis has opened up on the new movie, which was based on Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, a book by Sam McAlister.
Maitlis revealed that she kept her involvement in the adaptation process to a minimum. “I’ve left them very much to do their own thing because I think the last thing they want is me peeking around the edges offering my [thoughts],” she explained.
Scoop is also a rival production of sorts since Amazon has also adapted the story into a three-part series starring Ruth Wilson as Maitlis. The Newsnight anchor is much more invested in this adaptation as the executive producer.
Maitlis continued, noting how the Netflix movie is a more dramatised account, while the series is a more candid documentation of events. “It says it’s based on a fictional account, so I think it goes into different places and it does different things,” she said.
In November 2019, Prince Andrew appeared on Newsnight to discuss his sexual assault lawsuit with Virginia Guiffre, which was ultimately closed in 2022. During the interview, he said he had no regrets about his past friendship with convicted paedophile and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Additionally, Prince Andrew seemed to express very little in the way of sympathy for Epstein’s victims and gave absurd reasoning when trying to explain why he wouldn’t have had sex with Guiffre, including the claim that he had issues with his sweat glands and was working at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night he supposedly met the victim.
Following the disastrous interview, Prince Andrew stepped away from his public duties. Queen Elizabeth II later stripped her disgraced son of his military titles and patronages.
Watch the trailer for Scoop below.
