‘Scoop’ depicts Prince Andrew’s infamous interview. These were the women behind it

Emily Zemler April 5, 2024

In 2019, Prince Andrew agreed to a sit-down interview with Emily Maitlis on Newsnight, a BBC current events program. The conversation was catastrophic for the British royal, who attempted to defend himself from allegations that hed had sex with a 17-year-old girl trafficked by his pal, the American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrews bizarre responses, including a claim that hes unable to sweat, became global headlines and memes, altering his reputation and status in the royal family.

But what happened behind the scenes is just as compelling. The interview, which was orchestrated by Newsnight booker Sam McAlister, took a lot of planning to bring to life, as seen in Netflixs Scoop, a drama premiering Friday that was inspired by McAlisters 2023 book Scoops: The BBCs Most Shocking Interviews

F

rom Steven Seagal to Prince Andrew. Directed by

Philip Martin

with a screenplay by

Peter Moffat

, Scoop reveals the events that transpired leading up to and during the famous interview.

Newsnight is a very famous brand here in the United Kingdom, McAlister says. In terms of very serious journalism at the BBC, its one of a small number of outlets that do this kind of hard-hitting interview content. And, in a sense, thats the reason he shouldnt have agreed to do it.

In the film, Billie Piper plays Sam, a Newsnight interview booker and single mom from a working class background. After Epsteins arrest, she convinces Prince Andrews private secretary

Amanda Thirsk

(

Keeley Hawes

) that the troubled royal (Rufus Sewell) could clear his name on television. The Newsnight team, including Maitlis (Gillian Anderson) and producer Esme Wren (Romola Garai), scramble to make the most of the opportunity with only 72 hours to prepare.

It almost seems too convenient for the story purposes, but it really was four very different women working out a way together to give the victims a voice, Piper says. Working on behalf of people who cant or who wouldnt have that access otherwise or cant speak up for themselves, and forcing someone in a position of power to be accountable for his behavior. Its a remarkable piece of journalism.

In reality, it was the tenacity and skill of McAlister and Wren, and the journalistic prowess of Maitlis, that successfully derailed Prince Andrew. Anderson points out that the BBC has historically been run by men, so having women at the top making decisions was an important moment. Although the interview is part of recent history, as Anderson says, documenting its creation is a reminder of what journalists like this can do.

The film is a fun, thrilling ride, but at the end of the day the interview [is] for a very specific and dark reason, Anderson says. Part of what the film is about is the importance of independent journalism, and the ability to create a platform and a forum for the difficult questions to be asked of the people who are untouchable.

The release of Scoop this week feels particularly relevant as the British royal family continues to struggle with how to engage with the media. As evidenced by the recent fervor over the whereabouts of Catherine, Princess of Wales, culminating in her pre-recorded cancer announcement, there remains a tension between the royals and the press.

Here McAlister, Piper and Anderson break down the four women involved in the Prince Andrew interview, as depicted in Scoop.

The booker

McAlister, who was trained as a lawyer, spent a decade as an interviews producer for Newsnight. Her job, as she puts it, was to get bums on seats. She identified potential interviewees and then negotiated their appearances on the show.

It’s high risk coming on a program like that on live television with incredible presenters and extraordinary producers who are looking to basically call people to account and to make sure that they’re given rigorous interviews, McAlister says. So my job was basically to persuade people to do something that was effectively against their interests.

Prince Andrew was the most notorious interview McAlister secured on Newsnight, but she landed many other big names, as detailed in her book. They included Sean Spicer, Stormy Daniels, Julian Assange, Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk. Everything across the board, McAlister says. But obviously this is the one that attracted some attention.

McAlister, who left Newsnight in 2021, was heavily involved in Scoop, which meant that Piper could ask her questions, like how often she chewed gum (frequently).

I didn’t have the pressures that Gillian and Rufus had because Sam wasn’t terribly public facing, Piper says. There were a few things online that I could dig into, but otherwise, [Sam] was a bit of an enigma. But I did get to spend a great deal of time with her before we started filming and then in the rehearsal period. [Sam

was

] just a gift as an actor because she has so many wonderful quirks that you blindly and ignorantly wouldn’t necessarily expect from someone working in that world. When you meet her shes just very much her own person and quite uncompromising about that.

The U.K. remains a class-based society and where someone went to school can

affectimpact

where they end up working. This classism was something McAlister faced while at the BBC, which tends to hire people from upper-class backgrounds.

She broke the mold, Piper says. We actually had a quite similar background in that sense. But her roots are the thing that clinched this interview. Because unlike the other people and the other women, who are wonderful but maybe less emotionally available, its her warmth, curiosity, and wit and good nature that I think [Prince Andrew] really responded to.

McAlister was in the room at Buckingham Palace when the interview took place and she says it was her legal training that allowed her to keep a straight face. You can’t show any emotion because it would be deeply unprofessional and it could put the interview in jeopardy if you share a reaction or you scoff, she says. I deserve some kind of award for not laughing.

The journalist

Maitlis, who was not involved in the making of Scoop, was the lead anchor on Newsnight. McAlister compares her to Christiane Amanpour. Shes had a massive career here in the United Kingdom, McAlister says. She’s an icon of journalism. She is relentlessly clever and relentlessly stylish, that strange mix of intellect and celebrity, which is quite rare in this country.

Anderson prepared to play Maitlis by listening to segments of the Prince Andrew interview on repeat, which she had an assistant edit together. For the actual interview sequence, she studied and attempted to re-create Maitlis

s

real movements. We knew which bits of the interview we were going to be doing, so therefore we memorized that in words and, for me and I think for Rufus too, in action, Anderson says. In gestures and tilts of heads to try and make it as accurate as possible.

In the film, Maitlis wears a pantsuit to the interview and Prince Andrew comments on the trousers when she arrives. Although he didnt actually say that, McAlister says the line represents how women in the media can be treated.

Like many women in journalism, every element of Emily’s appearance is

poredpoured

over on social media, McAlister says. It was definitely important we felt, sadly, that she wore something that was very conservative so we didn’t have an onslaught of criticism about her attire being inappropriate given the seriousness of the interview and the content. [That line] is the spirit of the situation.

Looking back, Anderson can see why the interview was so successful for Maitlis. The

actoractress

notes that the anchors voice was unexpectedly soft, even as she asked tough questions and circled back when she didnt get the answers she wanted. As portrayed in the film, Maitlis purposely let Prince Andrew talk without interruption to allow him to feel heard and create trust.

She’s a tough interviewer, Anderson says. She doesn’t let people off. She doesn’t suffer fools. But she was gentle. And, obviously, that would have been on purpose and must have contributed to why he felt relaxed enough to answer in the way he did. She was definitely on her toes and calculating in a good way, and strategic in how she moved it forward.

Maitlis left the BBC in 2021. She now co-hosts daily podcast The News Agents alongside fellow journalists

Jon Sopel

and

Lewis Goodall

. She runs on a regular basis and sometimes she does interviews while running, Anderson says. Ive listened to it for a while. Everybody is familiar with her.

The editor

Wren, editor at Newsnight, had led the news program since 2018, when she moved over from Sky News. McAlister describes her as the big boss who led Newsnight in its coverage.

She was the top of the food chain on our program, McAlister says. There were people above her at the BBC in terms of managers, most of whom we never knew what they did but they seemed to be paid a great deal of money and to have a great time. But she was the real deal. Imagine an editor who was so cool she didnt even come to Buckingham Palace for the interview. Thats a woman with no ego.

In the movie, as in reality, Wren stays at the BBC office while Maitlis and the crew head to the palace to interview Prince Andrew. She didnt come to any of the negotiations, McAlister says. She stayed behind and, in a sense, she sacrificed herself because of her relentless professionalism. And I think thats a real point of difference to a lot of people in the media.

Today, Wren is the editor of Channel 4 News, a rival to Newsnight, and

,

in fact, McAlister notes that none of the protagonists in the film have remained in our jobs.

The aide

In the film, McAlister’s relationship with Thirsk is complicated. Thirsk was Prince Andrews private secretary for six years, eventually stepping down from the role after the BBC interview. But while it was her job to protect Prince Andrews interests and public image, she and McAlister bonded on a human level.

Sam was a really big fan of Amanda and I think they spoke a few times even when everything had happened, Piper says. Sam has a lot of respect for her, and I don’t think there’s bad blood there. They’re both single moms. They’re both working women in relatively high-power positions. There was a lot that they connected over, and they seemed fond of each other.

McAlister says she was impressed by Thirsk, noting that she’s an icon of integrity and good behavior.

But ultimately, she believed in Prince Andrew, and that’s the job, McAlister says. And she did her job so well. But that created the problem for her because she thought perhaps that he would do a brilliant interview. And he thought he had done a brilliant interview. But, obviously, the public perception of that interview was very different from his perception.