Scoop Star on the Prince Andrew and Epstein Controversy Behind the Netflix Film

Netflix is bringing a very different royal drama to screens in Scoop this April. As the home of The Crown, the streamer has been fully invested in the British Royal family for several years, but this story is even more controversial, and star Romola Garai recently explained the story behind the movie.

In November 2019, months after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died, Prince Andrew faced intense scrutiny for a televised interview conducted by journalist Emily Maitlis. Viewers were outraged by the royal’s lack of regret for associating with Epstein. Scoop looks to provide an inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed the infamous BBC Newsnight appearance and the subsequent showdown with Andrew. Following the interview, Andrew withdrew from public royal duties and lost his military titles and patronages.

Romola Garai appears in the star-studded film as Esme Wren, who served as the Newsnight editor in 2019 (she is now the editor of Channel 4 News). We recently spoke with Garai about the upcoming film and the controversy at the center of its plot:

“It’s a dramatization of the interview that was conducted by Emily Maitlis, who’s one of the biggest news anchors in the UK for Newsnight with Prince Andrew. That interview became a sort of global sensation because he was interviewed about the Jeffrey Epstein case over the course of this interview. The show dramatizes the putting together of that interview. How they got the palace to agree to it. It really is, I guess, about the British media’s relationship with the crown. So, in that sense, it’s interesting and always topical. It’s a really interesting show. It’ll be interesting to know what journalists who obviously operate in this kind of space think of it.”

Scoop’s Star-Studded Cast

Scoop is adapted for the screen by Peter Moffat and Geoff Bussetil from former Newsnight editor Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews. Billie Piper portrays McAlister in the film, which also stars Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew, Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis, the Newsnight reporter interviewing the disgraced royal, Connor Swindells as Jae Donnelly, the photographer who captured the picture of Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein together in Central Park, Charity Wakefield as Prince Andrew’s daughter Princess Beatrice, Lia Williams, Amanda Piper, and Keeley Hawes.

Garai has earned praise for roles in multiple BBC series, including Emma, The Crimson Petal and the White, and The Hour. Her film credits include Vanity Fair, Atonement, As You Like It, Glorious 39, and Suffragette. She will next helm the Bella Ramsey-led period drama, Monstrous Beauty.

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Scoop is directed by Philip Martin (The Crown). It is produced by Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville for The Lighthouse Film & Television, with Sanjay Singhal for Voltage TV.

The connection between Epstein and Prince Andrew has been explored in several films. Netflix’s 2020 docuseries Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich featured Virginia Giuffre’s allegations that Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew; in late 2022, Peacock released Prince Andrew: Banished, which detailed his scandals and friendship with Epstein; in 2023, A+E unveiled Secrets of Prince Andrew, a two-episode docuseries that included an in-depth look at the Newsnight interview.