Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell cast in Netflix's Prince Andrew film
Gillian Anderson has been cast as Emily Maitlis in Netflix's upcoming film about Prince Andrew's infamous 'Newsnight' interview.
The streaming giant has announced casting for 'Scoop', which is based on TV producer Sam McAlister's book 'Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews' and focuses on the prince's interview in November 2019 which saw him effectively banned from public events with the royals unless he could attend in a private capacity, stripped of various patronages and roles, and stopped from being known as 'His Royal Highness'.
Gillian will play former BBC news anchor Emily Maitlis, who conducted the interview, while Rufus Sewell has been cast as the disgraced royal.
Sam, who negotiated and secured the interview, will be portrayed by Billie Piper, while Keeley Hawes will play Andrew's former private secretary Amanda Thirsk.
Philip Martin - known for his work on 'The Crown' - will direct the film.
In the interview, Andrew - who thought it went well before it aired - was seeking to clear his name over his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as allegations of sexual assault made against him by one of Epstein's victims Virginia Guiffre, with whom Andrew later settled out of court.
During the disastrous interview, viewers saw the prince fail to show remorse for his friendship with Epstein or sympathy for victims.
The logline for Netflix's film adaptation reads: "The inside track of the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen’s ‘Favourite son'.
"From navigating Palace vetoes, to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal – to the jaw dropping interview itself.”
In a statement, Sam said: "It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix, and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage.
“Watching Billie Piper, one of my favourite actresses, play ‘me’ will be a pinch-myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film.”
And director Philip Martin added: "I’m thrilled to be directing this film for Netflix and – together with an extraordinary cast – to be bringing Sam McAlister’s revelatory insider’s account to the screen.
"Uptempo, immersive and cinematic, I want to put the audience inside the breath-taking sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew – to tell a story about a search for answers, in a world of speculation and varying recollections.
"It’s a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives and how – whether in glittering palaces or hi-tech newsrooms – we judge what’s true.”
