Netflix has released the first trailer of its upcoming drama Scoop, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of Newsnight’s notorious interview with Prince Andrew.
The one minute-clip shows Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell as Emily Maitlis and the Duke of York, looking uncannily like their real-life counterparts. The dramatic trailer sets the tone for the upcoming film: Anderson’s Maitlis says to her producer Sam McAlister (Billie Piper) – the person who arranges the high-profile interview – that “this is the story. The only story. I want it for us.”
The clip then shows the Buckingham palace interview room being set up: “Two chairs in the middle of the room, six feet apart,” says McAlister. A restless classical score accompanies the remaining clips which consist of close ups of McAlister, Maitlis and Prince Andrew.
The film is based on the book Scoops by Sam McAlister who was instrumental in negotiating the real-life interview.
Set to be released next spring, the film will act as a tribute to the work of the four women responsible: in addition to McAlister and Maitlis' roles, Keeley Hawes plays the Duke’s right-hand woman Amanda Thirsk and Romola Garai plays Newsnight editor Esme Wren.
Sewell spent three hours a day in the make-up chair to achieve his look, The Telegraph reports.
Meanwhile, Anderson said she studied the interview and other Newsnight episodes to make sure she had mastered Maitlis’s mannerisms.
Scoop’s director Philip Martin said: “Sometimes people can do a really brilliant impersonation but not capture something about the person. What Gillian and Rufus have done so brilliantly is get the spirit of the people that they’re playing, so that it feels real.”
McAlister told the Telegraph: “It’s rare that you see a representation of women, all in their 40s and 50s. This is an opportunity to see hard-working women behind the scenes at every stage.”
In the interview, Andrew says he does not deny consorting with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein because the opportunities which came from it “were actually very useful”.
The Duke also says he has “no recollection” of ever meeting Virginia Giuffre, who has accused him of sexually abusing her – allegations he vehemently denies.
He argues against her claims, which include descriptions of him “profusely sweating”, by insisting that he cannot sweat.
Andrew also tells Maitlis that, on the night he is accused of having sex with Giuffre, he had actually taken his daughters to a Pizza Express in Woking.
In a 2023 Channel 4 documentary called Andrew: The Problem Prince, Maitlis said Queen Elizabeth II realised the interview had gone badly for Andrew before he did.
In the second episode, Maitlis said: “It was only on the Saturday when the Queen had reportedly read the whole transcript that he received a tap on the shoulder by his security detail.
“And they said, I think, ‘Sir, you might have to come with us’. It was after the Queen had seen what the interview contained that I think it dawned on her before it dawned on him.”
