Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson are to headline Amazon’s A Very Royal Scandal, starring as Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis.
According to Variety, production is already under way and, according to the official description will follow “Emily Maitlis’s professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist, leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew.”
The notorious 2019 interview saw the prince confronted with sex-trafficking allegations with Jeffrey Epstein and caused him to step back from royal duties and pay a financial settlement to his alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre, who was 17 at the time of the incident.
When asked why he would stay in the house of a convicted sex offender, Andrew called it a “convenient place to stay”. He added: “I admit fully my judgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that’s just the way it is.”
The anthology drama has previously focused on other tabloid scandals involving Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant, and Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll in A Very British Scandal starring Claire Foy.
Sheen continues to star in Amazon’s fantasy show Good Omens alongside David Tennant and is also known for roles in Frost/Nixon and The Queen. Wilson was last seen in the acclaimed TV drama The Woman in the Wall and is also known for her role in the long-running series The Affair.
The series will also star Joanna Scanlan as Andrew’s former aide Amanda Thirsk and Alex Jennings as Sir Edward Young. It will be directed by the British director Julian Jarrold whose credits include Kinky Boots and White Teeth.
Last year it was also announced that the Criminal Justice writer Peter Moffat was set to turn the interview into a film called Scoop. Earlier this year it was confirmed to be hitting Netflix and will star Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson.
