Amid online conspiracies around Kate Middleton’s whereabouts, Netflix has released a trailer for its new film about a famous “car crash” interview with another member of the royal family. The streaming giant has offered a new look at Scoop, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of Prince Andrew‘s infamous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Inspired by true events, the film delves into BBC producer Sam McAlister’s (Billie Piper) negotiations with Buckingham Palace, which led to the Emily Maitlis-anchored (Gillian Anderson) interview. During the remarkable conversation, she grilled Andrew (Rufus Sewell) about his relationship with the late, convicted sex offender, as well as the sexual assault allegations leveled against him.
Based on McAlister book of the same name, the film also stars Keeley Hawes as Andrew’s former private secretary Amanda Thirsk and Romola Garai as BBC editor Esme Wren.
In the original November 2019 interview, Andrew said knowing Epstein had “some seriously beneficial outcomes” following Andrew’s departure from the Navy. He also revealed that he’d spoken with Epstein’s ex-girlfriend and associate Ghislaine Maxwell earlier that year.
Perhaps most infamously, the Duke of York responded to allegations made by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who said she met, dined, danced, and later had sex with Andrew when she was 17 in 2001. Andrew denied Giuffre’s “very specific” allegations that he sweated on her at a London nightclub because he said he had a medical condition that didn’t allow him to sweat. He also claimed he’d spent that day with his daughter at a pizza restaurant, instead. Andrew settled the sexual assault suit with Guiffre in 2022.
Netflix’s The Crown notably tackled another heavily-watched BBC/Royal Family interview, this one with Princess Diana, in which she shared intimate details about her struggles with postnatal depression, bulimia, and her husband’s affair with now Queen Camilla. The Crown producer Philip Martin directed Scoop.
From Rolling Stone US
