‘Scoop’ re-creates disastrous interview with Prince Andrew
As the past few weeks have shown, British royalty and the media can be an explosive mix.
The absence of the Princess of Wales after abdominal surgery in January sparked uncontrolled online speculation that was first heightened by the release of a manipulated photo, then eased by a video statement from Kate disclosing that she is being treated for cancer.
It’s a reminder that when palace privacy meets public curiosity and the public interest, things can get messy.
For more evidence, watch “Scoop,” a behindthe-scenes Netflix drama about a disastrous interview Prince Andrew gave in 2019 in response to allegations of sexual misconduct. Now streaming, it stars Rufus Sewell as Andrew and Gillian Anderson as journalist Emily Maitlis, who grilled the prince for the BBC’s “Newsnight” program.
Anderson says the “complex” relationship between royalty and media needs reassessment.
“Whether that’s (Prince) Harry and his cases against the tabloids and all of the truths around that that have come to the fore, or other aspects that are becoming more public knowledge, it probably needs a proper rethink,” Anderson said.
Prince Andrew agreed to be interviewed to address reports about his friendship with financier Jeffrey Epstein and allegations by a woman that she’d had sex with Andrew when she was 17 and being trafficked by Epstein.
“Scoop” is based on a book by Sam McAlister, the tenacious producer who secured the interview. As played by Billie Piper,
she promises the palace: “An hour of television can change everything.”
That proved grimly true for Andrew.
Under Maitlis’ gentle but determined probing, the prince denied all allegations, failed to show empathy for the exploited young women and said Epstein had “conducted himself in a manner unbecoming,” which struck many viewers as an understatement.
Andrew initially thought the interview had been a great success. But he “stepped back” from public duties days after it was broadcast, and has not returned. In 2022 he reached an out-ofcourt settlement with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, paying her an unspecified sum without admitting guilt.
Sewell said he tried to find “all of the contradictions” in Andrew.
He saw a man whose self-image was forged through a lifetime of deference from those around him, and who played up to his tabloid image as a “naughty scamp” — “Randy Andy” in his bachelor youth, “Air Miles Andy” in his role as a British trade emissary.
Sewell said he felt Andrew’s self-image was “dependent on the other
party acquiescing to the idea that he is the prince.”
The show’s re-creation of the infamous interview is remarkably tense, even for viewers who have seen the real thing.
“We prepared completely separately and, and there was no rehearsal,” Anderson said. “So when we came together to shoot the interview, it was on our first day of work together and we started the day sitting across from each other in those chairs and the cameras rolled. And so there was tension in and of itself.”
Anderson is proud that “Scoop” is a story with “four strong female leads in the ensemble.” The cast also includes Keeley Hawes as Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk and Romola Garai as “Newsnight” boss Esme Wren.
As for what the palace can learn from it, she said: “If this tells us anything, it would be that the royal family should never do an interview at all.”
“But actually,” she added, “I think what is amazing and what stands out is the importance of independent journalism, to hold authority to account and to at least attempt to get some semblance of the truth.”