A BBC employee who worked covering Prince Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview claims to have a photograph that could shatter the Royal Family if it was ever made public. Andrew agreed to sit down with presenter Emily Maitlis on November 14 2019 at Buckingham Palace, where he was questioned about his association with paedophile and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Photographer Mark Harrison, who was present during the BBC sit down, took a snap that would cause serious embarrassment if it ever got out, it has been claimed. A source said the image was ‘jaw-dropping’ - but offered little more detail.
The Duke of York’s car crash interview is reportedly set to be turned into a movie and could star Hugh Grant - and in-the-know producers may want to recreate their own version. It is understood Andrew insisted the picture taken on the day never becomes public but an insider close to the show teased that everything has a price, reported Mirror Online.
A source said: “It’s the kind of thing which would make the public drop their cornflakes, it is definitely not what Andrew would want out there and apparently he insisted that it remained secret. Our jaws dropped to the floor when we saw it. It would cause Andrew much embarrassment.
“There is, of course, a chance that it will at some point come out for all to see, perhaps if the price is right and of course the movie about the interview is happening so that is a possibility.”
A spokeswoman for the Prince declined to comment. The story of how the BBC obtained the bombshell interview is set to become a film, with the title Scoop.
The fall out from the interview led to the Duke of York pledging to step back from public life - and he made no public appearances at his mother the Queen’s recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations. According to entertainment website Deadline, Scoop could star Hugh Grant as the prince - although casting has not begun and a director has not yet been appointed.
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The film is being written by British screenwriter Peter Moffat, who told the publication the movie will be “about how the BBC’s Newsnight team got the scoop, then the actual filming of it”.
He added: “The other thing is, ‘why did he agree to do it?’. How was it that he decided it was a good idea to do a great big long interview with Emily Maitlis on the BBC?”
In the interview, Andrew declined to say he regretted the friendship with Epstein, with his memorable answers including details of his visit to Pizza Express with daughter Princess Beatrice and saying he was medically unable to sweat. Andrew vehemently denied any accusations of wrongdoing over his links to Epstein, including allegations he had sex with Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 years old.
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