Following the success of Harry and Meghan and The Crown, Netflix has another show in the pipeline to capitalise on the excitement. Scoop, a new feature-length drama, will dramatise Prince Andrew’s infamous interview with Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis.
In the new production, Gillian Anderson will portray Maitlis. Meanwhile, Andrew is played by Rufus Sewell, famed for previous roles in The Holiday and A Knight’s Tale. The supporting cast includes Billie Piper, who appears as Sam McAlister, the Newsnight producer responsible for the interview, and Keeley Hawes, who portrays Amanda Thirsk, Prince Andrew’s former private secretary.
The interview was, by all accounts, a disaster for Prince Andrew’s public image. In November 2019, the Royal appeared on the show to discuss his sexual assault lawsuit with Virginia Guiffre, which was closed in 2022. During the interview, he said he had no regrets about his past friendship with convicted paedophile and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Furthermore, 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 cataclysmic interview, Prince Andrew stepped away from his public duties. Queen Elizabeth II later stripped her disgraced son of his military titles and patronages.
In 2022, McAlister published her memories of booking the interview in a short book. This was immediately optioned for a screen adaptation, which producers Lighthouse and Voltage pounced upon.
Meanwhile, Maitlis is working on another adaptation of the interview in cooperation with Blueprint Pictures for Amazon Prime streamers. Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson will head up the cast.
Scoop is set to arrive on Netflix on April 5th. Watch the official trailer below.
