The 2019 interview between Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis
(Picture: PA)Prince Andrew must be wishing the world would forget his car crash interview with Emily Maitlis, but unfortunately for the Duke of York it is being turned into a film.
Netflix has announced it will be streaming Scoop later this year, which is based on the Sam McAlister book Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews.
Rufus Sewell will play the under-fire royal duke as he is questioned by the former Newsnight host, who will be played by Gillian Anderson, while Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes will also star.
Hugh Grant had originally been attached to the role, to the reported surprise of the actor, before the star of M Night Shyamalan’s new release, Old, was announced.
Netflix has not confirmed when Scoop will be on screens or if it will be getting a limited cinema run, in the same way some of its films do.
What emerged from the interview?
Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal was broadcast as a Newsnight special in November 2019.
The duke had been facing increasing press scrutiny over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein who was by then a convicted sex offender. He was also stung by allegations from Virginia Giuffre who said in 2001, when she was 17, that the Queen’s second son had sex with her on three occasions when they were both part of the group of people around Epstein.
In the interview, Andrew explained how he came to know Epstein through the US financer’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell in the late 1990s, saying he did not regret meeting him. He denied having sex with Ms Giuffre and also debunked her account that he touched her with sweaty hands in a London nightclub because he had lost his ability to sweat due to an adrenaline overdose. Andrew also said he had spent three days in Epstein’s apartment in New York in 2010 after his friend’s actions had become widely known. He said that his purpose of the visit was to break ties with Epstein.
The Duke of York had apparently been happy with the interview once it had finished and offered to show Maitlis around Buckingham Palace. However, the Prince’s lack of remorse was picked up by viewers while his claims about not being able to sweat and his timeline of events were also questioned.
He was stripped of royal duties and has become a background figure within the royal family. Last year he came to a private settlement with Ms Giuffre over her claims to avoid court action.
