In 2019, BBC's explosive interview with Queen Elizabeth II's son Prince Andrew wherein he talked about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, made headlines around the world. The interview is widely credited as being the final nail in the coffin of Prince Andrew's public role.
Cut to 2023, Netflix has started production on 'Scoop'-a new movie based on the infamous interview, which provides a behind-the-scenes account behind the drama. The film is adapted from McAlister's book 'Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews', which shares details of what actually happened behind the scenes of the interview.
Now, Netflix has revealed that it has cast Gillian Anderson to play former BBC news anchor Emily Maitlis, who conducted the infamous exchange. The actress is best known for her roles in the TV series The X-Files, The Fall and Sex Education.
Meanwhile, Rufus Sewell has been cast as the disgraced royal, Billie Piper as TV producer Sam McAlister, who negotiated and secured the interview, and Keeley Hawes as Andrew's former private secretary Amanda Thirsk, Variety reported. Emmy and BAFTA winner Philip Martin is set to direct the project.
In a tweet, Netflix UK and Ireland shared the update and wrote, ''Gillian Anderson, Keeley Hawes, Billie Piper and Rufus Sewell will star in SCOOP - a film based on Sam McAlister's memoir giving the inside account of Newsnight's bombshell interview with Prince Andrew.''
See the tweet here:
Netflix said the film will give viewers the "inside track" on how Price Andrew came to be grilled by presenter Emily Maitlis over his relationship with late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in November 2019. In the same interview, he was also asked questions about Virginia Giufffre's claims that she was forced to have sex with him under the orders of Jeffrey Epstein. He strongly denied the claims throughout the interview. However, Prince Andrew infamously claimed that he had remained friends with Epstein, even after he had been released from prison.
Following the interview, the Duke stepped down from public life and was stripped of many of his patronages and roles.
"The inside track of the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen's 'Favourite son. From navigating Palace vetoes to breaking through to Prince Andrew's inner circle, the high stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal - to the jaw-dropping interview itself.,' reads the film's logline, according to Hollywood Reporter.
No set release date has been given for 'Scoop' yet, and the film is currently in production.
Philip Martin, who directs Scoop, said in a statement, "Uptempo, immersive and cinematic, 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, in a world of speculation and varying recollections. It's a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives and how - whether in glittering palaces or hi-tech newsrooms - we judge what's true.''
