In 2019, Prince Andrew’s BBC interview heralded the royal’s deep fall. The Netflix film “Scoop” now sheds light on the background.
It was an interview with serious consequences: About five years ago, rumors of a friendship between Prince Andrew and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became a scandal. The son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip decided to take the stand in front of the BBC cameras. The “Newsnight” interview was a disaster for Andrew in November 2019 and led to his deep fall. With “Scoop – A Royal Interview” Netflix will show a film adaptation of the events from April 5th.
The streaming service explains in advance of the film that it offers “based on true facts, insights into the persistent research that ultimately led to Prince Andrew’s scandalous BBC ‘Newsnight’ interview.” The film will feature the “nerve-wracking negotiations that producer Sam McAlister” had to conduct with Buckingham Palace, right up to “Emily Maitlis’ showdown with the prince.” The film wants to show the background to the interview and put the spotlight on the women who made the interview possible.
Prince Andrew and his scandalous interview with the BBC
Producer Sam McAlister is played by Billie Piper, known from “Doctor Who” and “Collateral”. “Newsnight” editor Esme Wren is portrayed by Romola Garai and journalist Emily Maitlis is portrayed by “X-Files” star Gillian Anderson.
This is Anderson’s second time on board in a royal drama. The actress received a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her role as Margaret Thatcher in the series “The Crown”. The actor Rufus Sewell can be seen as Prince Andrew in “Scoop”.
In the film, viewers will see McAlister, Wren and Maitlis as they set up the interview after difficult negotiations with Prince Andrew’s private secretary, Amanda Thirsk (played by Keeley Hawes).
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That is the real background of the film
The film is based on McAlister’s book Scoops. The producer initially asked for a television interview with Andrew about an economic initiative by the royal. His team rejected this. A few months later, the palace reportedly said he was now interested but would not comment on Epstein under any circumstances. This time Newsnight said no.
“Eight weeks later, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested. Twelve weeks later he was dead. Twenty weeks later, I had managed to convince Amanda Thirsk that Prince Andrew’s position – his silence in the face of the global investigation – was untenable,” writes McAlister in her book. Andrew’s daughter Princess Beatrice is also said to have been involved in the negotiations for the interview. She is played in “Scoop” by Charity Wakefield.
When Emily Maitlis finally asked Prince Andrew on camera why it was the right time to speak out and give a rare public interview, he replied: “Because there is no good time to talk about Mr. Epstein and everything that goes with it to speak.”
There had previously been rumors for years that Prince Andrew was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein. In a 2015 civil lawsuit, Virginia Roberts Giuffre accused Epstein of forcing her to perform sexual acts on Prince Andrew when she was 17. Buckingham Palace rejected the allegations. In August 2019, Epstein, who had already been convicted of prostitution of minors in 2008, died by suicide in prison. He was there awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
What happened in the conversation?
Instead of distancing himself from Epstein in the BBC interview, Prince Andrew said he had no regrets about his friendship with the wealthy businessman as it had led to “opportunities” that had been “very useful actually.” In December 2010, after Epstein had completed the prison sentence imposed on him in 2008, he was photographed with Prince Andrew in New York’s Central Park. The royal admitted that he stayed at Epstein’s Manhattan home for a few days.
In the “Newsnight” interview, Maitlis also talked about a photo in which Prince Andrew had his arm around Virginia Giuffre’s waist. The prince explained: “That’s me, but whether that’s my hand… I just don’t remember the photo ever being taken.” He also said that from the research his team has conducted, it cannot be proven whether this photo is fake or not. The Queen’s son said he couldn’t remember ever meeting Giuffre.
When asked about Giuffre’s allegations, Andrew provided alibis that drew much ridicule. He couldn’t have been sweating profusely while dancing with Guiffre in a London nightclub, she claimed. Because that day he drove his daughter, Princess Beatrice, to a pizza shop. He also added that he was “not sweating at the time” because he was suffering from a “strange illness.”
These were the consequences
For Prince Andrew, the interview, which he initially said he liked so much that he even gave Maitlis a tour of Buckingham Palace, turned into a PR disaster. He became a figure of fun in Britain. Lisa Bloom, a lawyer who represented five Epstein victims, also pointed out the serious background: She described Andrew as a person who “completely lacks compassion.” Soon afterwards, the Queen’s son announced that he would be stepping back from his public duties as a member of the royal family.
In August 2021, Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew in the United States, accusing him of sexual abuse. Andrew denied all allegations. In January 2022 he was forced to relinquish his titles and patronage and has since then no longer been called “His Royal Highness”. An out-of-court settlement was reached in February 2022. Andrew is said to have paid Guiffre a sum in the millions.