SCOOP on Netflix tells the extraordinary inside story of Prince Andrew’s disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis.
Starring Keeley Hawes, Rufus Sewell, Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper, the one-off drama takes us behind the scenes of the now notorious TV exchange to shine a spotlight on the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade.
Directed by The Crown’s Philip Martin, Scoop has been adapted from Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s book, Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews (opens in new tab), in which she reveals what happened behind the scenes of the interview, which resulted in the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen’s ‘favorite' son.
In the interview in November 2019, the prince discussed his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and sought to clear his name over accusations of sexual assault made against him by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Guiffre. But it became the nail in the coffin of his public role. Following the broadcast, Andrew was stripped of many of his patronages and forbidden from using the title His Royal Highness.
Here’s everything you need to know about SCOOP on Netflix…
SCOOP release date
It’s still early days for production on SCOOP, and with filming only starting in February 2023 we imagine Netflix won’t be streaming the film until some time in 2024. We'll course update with the release date when we get news.
SCOOP plot
The Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew in November 2019 was certainly an unforgettable 58 minutes of TV. But SCOOP tells the story of the women who made it all happen. It chronicles the whole story of the interview, from navigating Palace vetoes to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, through the high-stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal to the jaw-dropping interview itself.
The drama SCOOP focuses on the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through the highest of ceilings right into the inner sanctum to show how they orchestrated a sensational interview with a man who had everything to lose.
SCOOP director Philip Martin says: "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 breathtaking 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."
SCOOP cast
Here are the main cast and characters in SCOOP...
Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis
Emmy Award winner Gillian Anderson, who played British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Crown season 4, will star as Emily Maitlis, Newsnight’s former lead presenter who conducted the now infamous TV interview.
Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk
The Durrells star Keeley Hawes plays Amanda Thirsk, the former Private Secretary to Prince Andrew. She’s a well-known British name with roles in Bodyguard, It’s a Sin and most recently ITV1’s Stonehouse, which also starred her husband Matthew Macfadyen.
Billie Piper as Sam McAlister
Billie plays Sam McAlister, who negotiated and secured the bombshell booking. She played Rose Tyler in Doctor Who and Belle de Jour in Secret Diary of a Call Girl. She’s also starred in Penny Dreadful and I Hate Suzie and I Hate Suzie Too.
Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew
Rufus Sewell plays the disgraced royal. His other TV credits include The Man in the High Castle, Victoria, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and The Pale Horse.
Who else is starring in SCOOP?
The remaining cast of SCOOP has yet to be announced by Netflix but we'll update here as soon as we hear.
Is there a trailer SCOOP?
A trailer won't be ready for SCOOP for some time. We'll post one here as soon as it arrives. In the meantime do take a look at Prince Andrew's disastrous Newsnight interview below which is what the drama is based on...
Behind the scenes and more on SCOOP
SCOOP is produced by Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville (Luther, The Night Of, MotherFatherSon) for The Lighthouse Film & Television, with Sanjay Singhal (Bin Laden: The Road to 9/11, Trouble at Topshop) for Voltage TV. Emmy and BAFTA winner Philip Martin (The Crown, Prime Suspect, Wallander, Mo) directs the project.
Sam McAlister, played by Billie Piper in SCOOP, is the BAFTA-nominated Producer who negotiated many of the Newsnight seminal exclusives that shaped and captivated public conversation over the past decade. A trained criminal defense barrister, and ‘Booker Extraordinaire’ she has had a backstage pass to the most unforgettable journalism of our times.
Sam McAlister says: “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 favorite actresses, play “me” will be a pinch myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film.”
