Andrew the movie
» Newsnight interview to be made into film » Hugh Grant in running to play the prince
THE Pizza Express in Woking should brace for a new global fanbase... as Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis is turned into a film with an A-list cast.
Hugh Grant could be sitting in the hot seat – but definitely not sweating – in the role of the royal as he is grilled about his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Other contenders who might be called on to say “just a straightforward shooting weekend” with a straight face are thought to include The Crown stars Tobias Menzies and Dominic West, Homeland star Damian Lewis, and Bridget Jones heartthrob Colin Firth.
Another star of The Crown, Gillian Anderson, is being considered to play the former BBC journalist whose calm and patient questioning allowed to make a series of claims that astounded the nation. Others in the running for the plum role in the film, called Scoop, are Green Wing star Tamsin Greig, Luther’s Ruth Wilson and Ozark actress Janet McTeer. Scoop will be based on the book Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, which was released yesterday by former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister.
It will tell of the astonishing 2019 interview with the royal, who was under intense scrutiny after claims made by Virginia Giuffre.
Writer Peter Moffat – whose previous credits include TV shows Silk and Your Honor – told entertainment news website Deadline it would cover the whole process of how the team landed the scoop and then carried it out.
He said: “How was it he decided it was a good idea to do a great big long interAndrew view with Emily Maitlis on the BBC?”
Giuffre, a victim of Epstein and his lover Ghislaine Maxwell, went on to bring a civil suit against Andrew, who she accused of abusing her three times in 2001 when she was 17. Andrew, who has always vehemently denied her claims, settled her case out of court for a reported £12million this year.
In the interview he was asked about a picture of him with his arm around the teenager at the time, alongside Maxwell, but he said he did not recall meeting her.
He refused to condemn his friendship with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was jailed for 20 years in New York last month for aiding Epstein’s abuse of underage girls.
In the interview Andrew also failed to apologise to Epstein’s victims, claiming he had had no idea about his abuse.
The film, by production firm The Lighthouse, is due to shoot in November.
How was it he decided it was a good idea to do a great big interview with Emily Maitlis? PETER MOFFAT WRITER OF UPCOMING FILM SCOOP