Billie Piper and Gillian Anderson front Netflix film Scoop tracking Prince Andrew’s car crash Epstein interview
BILLIE Piper and Gillian Anderson will front Netflix film Scoop tracking Prince Andrew's car crash Epstein interview.
The country was left stunned in November 2019 when Prince Andrew sat down with journalist Emily Maitlis to discuss his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The Royal also discussed the allegations made against him about his own conduct, and infamously said he "doesn't sweat" and recounted a memorable trip to a Pizza Express in Woking.
Now, Netflix is going to detail the behind-the-scenes account of the ";news interview of the decade", with an all-star cast as the key players.
Scoop will star Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew, while Gillian Anderson will play journalist Emily.
Meanwhile Keeley Hawes will portray Amanda Thirsk, the former Private Secretary to Prince Andrew, and Billie Piper will take on the role of Sam McAllister, who negotiated and secured the bombshell interview.
Scoop is based on Sam's memoir, Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews.
The film synopsis reads: "The inside track of the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen’s ‘Favourite son’.
"From navigating Palace vetoes, to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal - to the jaw dropping interview itself, SCOOP is the insider account of the inner workings of the Palace and the BBC, twin bastions of the British Establishment, spotlighting the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through the highest of ceilings - and into the inner sanctum and calculations of a man with everything to lose."
Sam McAlister said: "It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix, and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage.
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"Watching Billie Piper, one of my favourite actresses, play “me” will be a pinch myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film.”
Meanwhile Bafta winner director Philip Martin, who will helm the project, added: "I’m thrilled to be directing this film for Netflix and - together with an extraordinary cast - to be bringing Sam McAlister’s revelatory insider’s account to the screen.
"Uptempo, immersive and cinematic, I want to put the audience inside the breath-taking sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew - to tell a story about a search for answers, in a world of speculation and varying recollections.
"It’s a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives and how - whether in glittering palaces or hi-tech newsrooms - we judge what’s true.”
