Netflix is adapting Sam McAlister’s book into Scoop, telling the story of the infamous Prince Andrew TV interview – and the streamer has revealed the film’s starry cast.
McAlister was the TV producer who secured the interview, and she will be played by British TV royalty Billie Piper as reported by Variety.
Gillian Anderson will play Emily Matlis, the former BBC news anchor who conducted the interview. Rufus Sewell will play Prince Andrew, and Keeley Hawes will be his former assistant, Amanda Thirsk.
The Netflix film is based on McAlister’s book “Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews,” which chronicled the behind-the-scenes operation to arrange the interview. The interview, which aired on the BBC in November 2019, led to Prince Andrew being forced to step back from his public role.
Rufus Sewell. Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
The interview focused on Prince Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. In the original interview, it was widely reported that the prince showed a disturbing lack of remorse and didn’t seem to see what was wrong with their friendship in the first place.
Prince Andrew also denied the allegations that he had sex with a woman called Virginia Giuffre at one of Epstein’s parties while she was 17.
Philip Martin, who directed episodes of The Crown in its first and second seasons, has been attached to direct.
“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,” Martin said of the project.
Billie Piper has most recently appeared in Sky’s I Hate Suzie Too. Credit: Sky
“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,” he added.
“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,” said McAlister of Netflix’s announcement of the film and its cast. “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.”
