It’s one of the most anticipated films of the year, but you can almost guarantee Prince Andrew won’t be watching it.
Last night stars gathered at the Curzon in Mayfair for the world premiere of Scoop – about the stunning interview that forced the shamed royal family to step back from public life.
The film tells the story of how Emily Maitlis’ TV grilling about the royal family came about.
Starring Gillian Anderson as Maitlis and Rufus Sewell as the Duke of York, the film focuses on part-time BBC producer Sam McAlister’s key role in securing the Newsnight interview that aired in November 2019.
Single mum McAlister, played by Billie Piper, 41, spent months negotiating with the royal family’s former press assistant Amanda Thirsk, played by Keeley Hawes, 48, to make it happen.
Billie Piper (right), who plays BBC producer Sam McAlister in Netflix drama Scoop, alongside the real McAlister at last night’s premiere
Gillian Anderson, who plays Emily Maitlis, and Billie Piper alongside Rufus Sewell, who plays Prince Andrew in the streaming version
Anderson and Sewell in a scene from Scoop, based on a book by McAlister about how the interview came about
Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper laugh together on the red carpet at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair
Keeley Hawes, who plays former royal press assistant Amanda Thirsk in Scoop, at the film’s premiere at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair on Wednesday
Sam McAlister is the BBC producer who spent months negotiating with royal aides to land the interview with Andrew. She is pictured at the premiere
A scene from Scoop featuring Billie Piper in her role as BBC producer Sam McAlister. The film will be released on April 5
Ms. Maitlis was later accused of being dismissive of Ms. McAlister’s persistent work and failing to mention the producer in a magazine interview she gave after it was shown.
The pair then went on to present their own version of events.
Netflix opted for Ms McAlister’s book about the affair – which turned into Scoop – while Ms Maitlis began making her own series for Amazon last year.
It has yet to be released, but this version will star Ruth Wilson as Maitlis and Michael Sheen as the Prince.
However, there was no sign of any hard feelings between the actresses playing Mrs Maitlis and Mrs McAlister at the premiere of Scoop at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair last night.
Dressed in a dark green lace dress, Gillian, 55, beamed as she posed with Billie, who wore daring black pinstripe shorts and a matching jacket, and Sewell, 56.
They were joined by Romola Garai, who plays former Newsnight editor Esme Wren in the film, in a quirky white suit.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prince Andrew actor Rufus said he thought he could ‘get behind’ the role, but panicked when he was offered the role and confessed he thought ‘what have I done?’
Rufus opened up about his story when he appeared on Wednesday’s episode of Good Morning Britain, where he explained that he “obsessively watched the Newsnight interview for hours.”
He said: ‘I watched the interview obsessively. I watched it like everyone else at the time, I was a bit fascinated for several reasons. Like most people, I had my own judgments.
‘But it’s another thing to do it and try to put yourself in the position of someone like that and figure out what their reasoning and justification might be in their own head. Because that’s what people do.
“And I spent hours and hours every day trying to figure out what he was thinking. You could only guess. When there was a hesitation or a stutter, or a certain movement of the head – what was behind that?’
Scoop launches on Netflix on April 5 and is billed by Netflix as ‘the inside account of the tenacious journalism that produced an earth-shattering interview: Prince Andrew’s infamous BBC Newsnight appearance’.
The streaming giant says: ‘From the tension of producer Sam McAlister’s high-stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace, all the way to Emily Maitlis’ stunning forensic showdown with the prince, SCOOP takes us inside the story, featuring the women who would quit at nothing to get it.
‘It takes guts to get such a big interview.’