The photographer on the Newsnight interview about Prince Andrew’s car crash has opened up about Emily Maitlis and the Duke’s ‘tense’ conversation after filming and the moment the crew knew they had a ‘huge’ scoop.
Mark Harrison, from London, appeared on Talk Today this morning to discuss his involvement in the disastrous royal interview, which is the subject of Netflix’s new drama Scoop.
Speaking to presenters Nicola Thorp and David Bull, the photographer explained that he was not informed of the assignment before arriving at Buckingham Palace and was simply told to ‘wear shiny shoes’.
Before the interview started, Mark said the crew was “tense” and was told to “keep filming no matter what happened.”
He added: ‘There was even talk that he might even be able to walk.’
During his Newsnight interview in November 2019, the Duke of York refused to apologize for his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
When Emily and Andrew were both present, Mark said he accidentally “broke the ice” in the room when he told the crew their breakfast was scheduled.
Mark said: ‘So everyone burst out laughing, including Prince Andrew.’
As the interview began, the photographer said it didn’t take long for the “stunned” crew to realize they had a “huge” scoop.
He continued, “When the thing got going, my eyes stayed on the cameraman.
“I was standing right behind one of the cameramen, and I could see the other one on the other side, and I was just fixated on catching his eye, and eyebrows went up and hands went over my mouth.”
The photographer said he covered his mouth when Prince Andrew claimed he was at Pizza Express in Woking on the day he was accused of meeting with prosecutor Virgina Roberts.
Mark added: ‘I then thought, “That’s a headline”. And then another one came and said, “Oh, that’s a cup.”
“I certainly didn’t know it would be a headline in five years, but here we are.”
Mark Harrison took this photo of Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis after filming for the Newsnight segment wrapped
Mark Harrison, from London, appeared on Talk Today this morning to discuss his involvement in the disastrous royal interview, which is the subject of Netflix’s new drama Scoop
After the interview wrapped, Mark explained how he took a few more photos with Prince Andrew and Emily, who he described as “edgy.”
He added, “All my photos taken after the interview show no smiles. There is nothing. It’s all tense of her.’
After walking down the hallway of Buckingham Palace together, Mark said the trio ended up in a “bizarre group” at the end.
He then claims that Prince Andrew told Emily: ‘Well, that was just wonderful, wasn’t it? That was amazing. It went really well.’
Mark continued, “She pauses for a moment and says, “Yes sir, that was a walk in the park,” and there’s kind of a tumbleweed moment.
‘I’m sitting between the two of them and finally he says, ‘Yes. The Park, New York. The park. And he picks up on her joke (about his walk with Jeffrey Epstein in Central Park, which Emily questioned him about).
‘At that point I thought, “I can’t believe you thought this was going well because the rest of us are all in the spotlight,” and I was told to just go out and press the button to make.’
Scoop (starring Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew) is released on Friday, putting his shocking interview back into the royal spotlight
Mr Sewell as the Duke of York and Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis in Scoop, left, retelling the story of his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview – widely regarded as the most disastrous in royal history
Prince Andrew – who attended the Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel with his siblings and ex-wife on Sunday – is bracing for the release of new Netflix film Scoop.
The drama – starring Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper and Rufus Sewell – delves into the royal family’s Newsnight car crash interview over his relationship with pedophile Jeffery Epstein.
The new Netflix film will be a repeat of what is widely regarded as the most disastrous interview in the history of the royal family, in which Emily Maitlis grilled the Duke over sexual allegations made against him by Mrs Giuffre.
The film is released on Friday and will give King Charles another headache as he continues his battle with cancer.
It will also bring Andrew’s powerful interview, in which he made no apologies for his friendship with Epstein, to a new audience of millions around the world.
Scoop will show the moment at which the Queen’s son naively stated after the interview “that went well, didn’t it?” and how he joked about the meeting with Epstein in New York.
It was said at the time that the King and his son Prince William were instrumental in the Queen’s decision to strip him of all military titles and protection, but recently the Duke has been welcomed back into the royal spotlight.
Sunday’s event proved to onlookers that the Duke of York is well and truly back in the royal fold and will no longer shy away from the public spotlight at a time when fewer seniors royal houses are at hand.
It marks an extraordinary turnaround just two years after his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, banned him from royal duties and stripped him of both his HRH and military titles.
The extraordinary move came after Andrew settled a sexual assault case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre – a sex slave victim of Andrew’s close friend Epstein.
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