Mystery of Gove’s ex-wife and Scoop premiere invite
Sarah Vine speculates as to why invitation to unveiling of film about Duke of York was allegedly rescinded
MICHAEL GOVE’S ex-wife has suggested her invitation to the premiere of the film Scoop was rescinded because of his friendship with the writer.
Sarah Vine said she had been looking forward to attending the screening last week of the Netflix dramatisation of the car-crash Newsnight interview with the Duke of York.
But she claimed the invitation to the star-studded event at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair, London, on Wednesday was rescinded at the last minute without explanation.
Writing in her column in the Mail on Sunday, Ms Vine said: “Anyone but Sarah Vine was the message relayed by Netflix’s publicity department.
“I can only think it was because the Newsnight producer, Sam Mcalister, was photographed several times with my ex-husband shortly after we announced our divorce. I always thought it was just some silly rumour but now I’m not so sure.”
Mr Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, was seen with Ms Mcalister in July 2021, weeks after he and his wife said they were finalising their divorce.
He was also pictured leaving a Christmas party with her the same year.
At the time, a source close to Mr Gove insisted that the pair were just friends.
Ms Mcalister, who is a trained criminal barrister, was the BBC journalist who helped persuade the Duke of York to give his infamous interview about his relationship with the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The fallout from the interview, which was conducted by Emily Maitlis, led to him stepping back from royal duties and public life.
The Netflix film, starring Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell, is based on the bestselling book she wrote about her negotiations to land the scoop.
A spokesman for Netflix refused to comment on Ms Vine’s claims, but sources at the platform denied that her invitation had been rescinded.
One source said: “Sarah was never invited to the premiere. She had been forwarded a clearly marked non-transferrable invitation from a colleague and there was simply not enough space. Her claims are all rather bizarre.”
On the red carpet at the premiere, Anderson, who stars as Ms Maitlis in the film, revealed the trouble she had with the dog who plays the Newsnight presenter’s whippet. The Mail on Sunday reported that she said: “It just would not stay by me and whined all the time. The dog didn’t really want to be there.”
Scoop, which stars Billie Piper as Ms Mcalister, is due to hit the screens on April 5 and explores the negotiations that took place between the BBC and the Palace. During the interview, the Duke was also grilled about claims that he had sex with Virginia Giuffre, the 17-year-old who claimed she had been trafficked to London by Epstein.
The Duke has always denied the claims. In 2022, he agreed an out-ofcourt settlement with Ms Giuffre, estimated to be worth £12million.
Mr Gove refused to comment. Ms Mcalister’s representatives were contacted for comment.
‘Sarah was never invited to the premiere ... her claims are all rather bizarre’