The Prince Andrew abuse allegations have been one of the biggest British scandals in decades so it comes as no surprise that Netflix is now turning the story into a new original film. The Scoop will focus largely on the infamous Newsnight interview of Andrew with journalist Emily Maitlis, and the impressive cast includes Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell, Keely Hawes and Billy Piper. There’s no release date yet, but it’ll inevitably be highly publicised and controversial on release.
The Newsnight interview aired late in 2019, lasting just under an hour and focused on Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and accusations from Virginia Giuffre. Andrew’s claims about being at Pizza Express and not being able to sweat became notorious- and you can expect to see it all dramatized in detail. Now former Newsnight anchor Maitilis will be portrayed by Gillian Anderson, who starred in Netflix’s The Crown, with the official Netflix synopsis teasing that you’ll get “the inside track on the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade”. Piper plays Sam McAlister, the Newsnight producer who negotiated Andrew’s booking for the interview and also wrote Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, which the script is adapted from.
Sewell, meanwhile, plays Andrew, as the public pressure and interview lead to his fall from grace as “the Queen’s favourite son” as Netflix puts it. Everything in the lead-up to the interview looks to be covered, from the negotiations and palace pushback to the rehearsal and actual interview. Hawes, who recently appeared in BBC One’s Crossfire, portrays Amanda Thirsk, who was previously Andrew’s private secretary. The film’s being directed by Phillip Martin, who has previously won A BAFTA and an Emmy for Wallander and Prime Suspect, respectively, as well as having worked on The Crown. Netflix quoted him as saying “I want to put the audience inside the breathtaking sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew — to tell a story about a search for answers… … it’s a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives.”
The film’s announcement has already caused something of a stir, which will no doubt increase closer to release, but the creators promise to focus more on Maitlis and how the interview came about than the Prince himself. Scoop is currently in production, likely arriving sometime next year and will stream on Netflix.