SCOOP on Netflix.
Scoop is finally streaming on Netflix. The royal drama chronicles the nail-biting behind-the-scenes events leading up to Prince Andrew’s infamous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019. But how much does Scoop stay true to what happened in real life?
Directed by Philip Martin (The Crown), Scoop follows journalist Sam McAlister, the interview booker for the BBC show Newsnight, who secured the infamous interview with Prince Andrew. The movie is based on the first-hand account of McAlister, who chronicled the events in her 2022 memoir Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the Most Shocking Interviews.
McAlister, portrayed in the film by English actress Billie Piper, told Netflix’s Tudum that Piper “encapsulated that mix between seriousness and the lighter side of my character.” She continued, “To watch her literally transform, change her voice, [and wear] the extraordinary wig, my nails, the makeup, the roster of black clothing — it’s exactly the same. So meta and surreal.”
In the drama, Gillian Anderson plays British Journalist Emily Maitlis, Rufus Sewell portrays Prince Andrew, and Keeley Hawes stars as his then-private secretary, Amanda Thirsk. So, what's the real story behind Netflix’s Scoop? Read on to find out.
Is Netflix’s Scoop Based On A True Story?
SCOOP on Netflix.
Yes, Netflix’s film Scoop is based on the true story of the BBC’s interview with Prince Andrew. Although the film is dramatized, Scoop closely follows what really happened leading up to the conversation, and it relied on McAlister’s memoir as its primary source. The film’s producers also “meticulously researched the events at the BBC and Buckingham Palace during this time,” according to Netflix.
However, there are a few differences between the film and the actual events in 2019. For example, unlike in the movie, McAlister spent 13 months building a relationship with Thirsk until she received that final yes.
Who are Sam McAlister and Emily Maitlis?
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 03: Sam McAllister & Emily Maitlis winners of The BBC News and Factual ... [+]
Sam McAlister was a criminal lawyer before becoming an interview producer and guest booker for the BBC’s news program Newsnight. Meanwhile, Emily Maitlis is a British Journalist who joined the BBC in 2001. McAlister left the corporation in July 2021, while Maitlis parted ways in 2022.
McAllister was trying to arrange an interview with Prince Andrew on the BBC news program for more than a year, according to The New York Times. She finally met with the royal’s private secretary at the time, Amanda Thirsk, who said there could be no questions about Epstein.
Circumstances changed in August 2019, when Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail, where he was being held on federal sex trafficking and sex conspiracy charges. After that, McAlister and Thirsk started to discuss the need for Prince Andrew to explain his relationship to Epstein.
Ultimately, Maitlis — the lead anchor for Newsnight — conducted the interview with Prince Andrew (which you can watch in full here). Maitlis now hosts the daily podcast “The News Agents” on Leading Britain's Conversation (LBC) Radio.
Why Was Prince Andrew’s BBC Interview So Controversial?
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 07: Prince Andrew The Duke of York arrives at the Headquarters of CrossRail ... [+]
In the explosive interview, Prince Andrew discussed his friendship with financier and convicted sex offender Jefferey Epstein and denied the allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.
In 2015, Giuffre brought a defamation case against Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, alleging that the pair had sex-trafficked her starting in 2000 when she was known as Virginia Roberts. She claimed that Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew in his New York mansion, in London, and on Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands when she was 17 in 2001.
However, the allegation was thrown out and struck from the record by a U.S. federal judge, who said it was “immaterial and impertinent to the central claim.” It wasn’t until 2019 when Giuffre’s allegations against Andrew were made public, and the documents from the 2015 defamation case were unsealed.
Perhaps one of the most shocking moments from the interview (there are quite a few) was when Prince Andrew said that he didn’t regret his friendship with Epstein because it led to “opportunities” that were “actually very useful.”
After Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 and served jail time for soliciting prostitution, Prince Andrew was also spotted in Central Park with Epstein. He said that he stayed at the sex offender’s Upper East Side mansion because “it was a convenient place to stay.” Additionally, when asked by Maitlis about the underage girls photographed leaving the house, Prince Andrew responded, “As far as I was aware, they were staff.”
Maitlis also showed Prince Andrew a photograph of himself with his arm around Guiffre’s waist. He responded, “That’s me, but whether that’s my hand … I have simply no recollection of the photograph ever being taken.”
Virginia Roberts holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Palm Beach multimillionaire ... [+]
The prince also offered bizarre alibis in response to Giuffre’s claims. For example, he said he couldn’t have sweated while dancing with Guiffre at a nightclub in London because, on that day, he had taken his daughter to get pizza. He also claimed that he “didn’t sweat at the time” because of a “peculiar medical condition.”
Following the interview, Prince Andrew received immense backlash from the public, British and international media. On November 20, 2019, he announced that he would be resigning from public duties. He was consequently stripped of his military titles and the right to be called “His Royal Highness.”
“I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure,” Prince Andrew wrote in a statement at the time. “I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”
In February 2022, Prince Andrew settled the sexual assault lawsuit and paid an undisclosed amount to Giuffre and her charity to support victims’ rights, according to BBC. He also said he “never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character” and he recognized she had “suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks."
Scoop is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
