Netflix has dropped the first images of its forthcoming movie Scoop, which focuses on an infamous interview Prince Andrew gave when trying to explain his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew gave the interview to UK journalist Emily Mailtis in 2019 for the Newsnight show after allegations were first made against him. The interview was described at the time as a ‘car-crash’ for its content and is said to have severely damaged the Prince’s reputation.
Scoop focuses on the interview but also how it came about and what happened behind the scenes before, during and after it.
In the drama, Rufus Sewell takes on the role of Prince Andrew, while Gillian Anderson portrays Maitlis. The pictures released by Netflix indicate that the interview portion of the movie will be a faithful recreation of events – Anderson’s outfit is almost identical to that worn by Maitlis.
At the time of the original interview, it created headlines around the world as the Prince sought to explain his relationship with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite who has since been convicted for her role in helping Epstein abuse girls.
The Prince also denied any involvement with Virginia Giuffre, who made the allegations against him, memorably claiming he had been in the Woking branch of Pizza Express at the time of the alleged incident.
Since then, Prince Andrew agreed an out-of-court financial settlement with Giuffre to end the civil case against him, and as part of that settlement he accepted no liability and he has always denied any claims of wrongdoing.
Scoop has a star-studded cast in addition to Sewell and Anderson, including Billie Piper (Dr Who) as former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister and Keeley Hawes (Ashes to Ashes, The Midwich Cuckoos) as Prince Andrew’s former private secretary, Amanda Thirsk. Its exact release date hasn’t been named yet, but it is expected to drop in the Spring.
