Emily Maitlis in battle of the blondes to sign up Grant

THE repercussions from Prince Andrew’s car- crash Newsnight interview continue.

Interviewer Emily Maitlis and her former friend, interview-fixer Sam McAlister ( far right) are locked in a rivalrous race to the screen with their versions of events.

And in a new twist, it seems that actor Hugh Grant is the common object of their passions. Sources say that Grant, 61, and Maitlis, 51, are ‘old friends’ and it’s thought that informal approaches have been made about Grant playing the Duke of York.

Representatives for former Newsnight presenter Maitlis ( right with the actor) deny that Grant has been shown a script — yet. But others connected to the project say there is already a connection between the A-list actor and the A-list interviewer, not hurt by Maitlis’s choice of the production company Blueprint to make her three-part TV show about the interview.

Blueprint also made A Very British Scandal, in which Grant played Liberal MP Jeremy Thorpe.

It was announced last month that Sam McAlister’s book Scoops had been optioned and is being made into a film called Scoop, written by Peter Moffat. It was speculated that Grant was on the wishlist to play the Duke of York.

Asked if he was involved, Grant said on Twitter: ‘No, I’m not. Never heard of it.’

However, a month later, it seems that he is considering taking on the role in a rival project.

Maitlis’s work is in the development stage. Her team say it will be a three-part TV show, to go out on a ‘major streaming service’, and will have a ‘Bafta-winning writer’.

Prince Andrew discussed his friendship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in the 2019 Newsnight interview. A source tells me: ‘Sam and Emily are two very alpha females. They were mutually supportive until the moment when all this happened. They are now no longer in contact with each other.’

Neither Maitlis nor McAlister were available for comment yesterday.