A new drama will be premiering on Netflix this week starring Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper.

The film showcases the events leading up to Prince Andrew’s explosive 2019 BBC Newsnight interview when journalist Emily Maitlis (played by Gillian) probed the royal family member (played by Rufus Sewell) about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Due to the response from the British public and the rest of the world, Prince Andrew announced that he was stepping back from his public duties days after the interview was broadcast. 

Netflix explains: “Scoop highlights the women who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring one of the biggest news stories of the decade to light.

“In the drama, Sam McAlister, Maitlis, and editor Esme Wren (Romola Garai) track the story from beginning to end, navigating palace vetoes, tense negotiations with Prince Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes), and hours of research and rehearsal leading up to the interview itself."

“The interview is so significant, but it’s 5% of the story,” Sam told Netflix's Tudum.

“What we do is we take you on the journey to how this all began.”

Is Scoop on Netflix based on a true story?

Scoop, directed by Emmy and BAFTA winner Philip Martin (The Crown) is based on a true story and tells the real-life events that happened before Prince Andrew’s famous interview.

Sam’s insider account of her time booking talent for BBC’s prestigious Newsnight program, as its primary source.

Netflix added: “Additionally, the film’s producers meticulously researched the events at the BBC and Buckingham Palace during this time. There are some dramatized differences, of course. Unlike in the film, in reality, McAlister spent 13 months building a relationship with Thirsk, turning nos into maybes, and maybes into that final yes.”

Sam who was on set for both the real interview and the film commented: “It was like being there all over again.”

She added: “The level of detail, putting together exactly the same room, the camera angles, the lighting, the specifics of the table, the cables, the types of cameras, the carpet — everything is so ridiculously close.”

Full cast for Scoop on Netflix

  • Billie Piper as Sam McAlister
  • Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis
  • Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk
  • Romola Garai as Esme Wren
  • Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew

How to watch the trailer for Scoop on Netflix

Recommended reading:

When is Scoop on Netflix? How to watch on TV

Scoop will be available to watch in the UK on Netflix from Friday, April 5.

Sam said: “There are real crucial moments in the history of journalism that remind you of the difference that these kinds of interviews can make.”

“Journalism at its best does something quite profoundly extraordinary that nothing else can do, and this movie is in honour of that,” she went on to say.