Prince Andrew during the infamous interview. Photo / BBC
Prince Andrew during the infamous interview. Photo / BBC
A Hollywood heavyweight has been cast in Netflix’s upcoming film about Prince Andrew’s infamous Newsnight interview.
Gillian Anderson - known for her roles in The Crown, Sex Education and The First Lady, is set to take on another massive role as she slips into character playing BBC news anchor Emily Maitlis who conducted the infamous interview.
Netflix announced the casting for Scoop, which is based on TV producer Sam McAlister’s book Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, and focuses on the prince’s interview in November 2019, which led to him being effectively banned from public events with the royals unless he could attend in a private capacity, stripped of various patronages and roles, and stopped from being known as “His Royal Highness”.
Gillian Anderson has been cast as BBC news anchor Emily Maitlis. Photo / Getty Images
Other casting decisions include Rufus Sewell who Netflix revealed has been cast as the disgraced royal.
McAlister, who negotiated and secured the interview, will be portrayed by Billie Piper, while Keeley Hawes will play Andrew’s former private secretary Amanda Thirsk.
Philip Martin - known for his work on The Crown - will direct the film. In the interview, Andrew - who thought it went well before it aired -was seeking to clear his name over his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as allegations of sexual assault made against him by one of Epstein’s victims Virginia Guiffre, with whom Andrew later settled out of court.
During the disastrous interview, viewers saw the prince fail to show remorse for his friendship with Epstein or sympathy for the victims.
The logline for Netflix’s film adaptation reads: “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’.
Rufus Sewell has been cast as the disgraced royal. Photo / Getty Images
“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.”
McAlister said: “It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first-time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage.
”Watching Billie Piper, one of my favourite actresses, play ‘me’ will be a pinch-myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film.”
And director Philip Martin added: “I’m thrilled to be directing this film for Netflix and – together with an extraordinary cast – to be bringing Sam McAlister’s revelatory insider’s account to the screen.
“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.”
