The Royal Famly have been trying to keep Prince Andrew out of the limelight since he was sued by Virginia Giuffre. In the end, the case was settled out of court, with Prince Andrew paying a hefty amount to Giuffre.
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Since then, the Duke of York has lost his honorary titles and no longer goes on official Royal duties. However, he has been seen being gradually welcomed back into the family, if not the institution. He was spotted, along with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, taking part in the royals' Easter celebration earlier this month.
Sadly for the Royal Family, the drama is not over for them as Netflix has produced a film about Prince Andrew’s infamous Newsnight interview where he denied being friends with convicted criminal, Jeffrey Epstein.
Netflix’s production?
As per The Telegraph, the new Netflix film about Prince Andrew’s interview will focus more on the women behind the scenes who allowed the interview to happen.
The film is set to be released on 5 April and will show how the interview was secured. It will pay tribute to Esme Wren, the Newsnight editor, Emily Maitlis, the woman who interviewed Prince Andrew as well as Sam McAlister, who secured the interview and wrote the book Scoop which shares how she secured the interview.
For the sake of accuracy, Gillian Anderson, who will play Emily Maitlis, studied the Newsnight interview and watched other episodes to capture Maitlis’s mannerisms. Rufus Sewell will play Prince Andrew, and in order to look like the Duke of York, Sewell spent 3 hours in the make-up chair, as reported by the Telegraph.
Speaking about the upcoming film, Sam McAlister told The Telegraph:
It’s rare that you see a representation of women, all in their 40s and 50s. This is an opportunity to see hard-working women behind the scenes at every stage.
The goal of the film is to reflect on the ‘absurd elements’ of the Newsnight interview as well as the grave issues.
The Newsnight interview and the Royal Family
The original Newsnight interview aired in 2019, three months after Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell. During the interview, Emily Maitlis directly asked Prince Andrew about the allegations made against him.
Prince Andrew denied the allegations and had claimed he had a condition that meant he couldn’t sweat and that he was not friends with Epstein.
Shortly after the interview, Prince Andrew received immense backlash and he was shunned from public duty. Queen Elizabeth stripped her son of his titles and he was forced to step down as a working royal.
Moreover, it is almost guaranteed that the Netflix film about the interview will cause even more problems for the Royal Family as well as Prince Andrew. Firstly, it will bring the interview back into the hands of the media.
Secondly, it will show the behind-the-scenes of the interview, which may bring to light some unknown elements about the infamous exchange. The Royal Family will likely not comment on the upcoming show as they typically don't when scandals break out.
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Sources used:
The Telegraph: ‘Prince Andrew Netflix film to put the spotlight on women’
The Guardian: ‘Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson to star in film about Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview’
Tatler: ‘I felt terrified’: Emily Maitlis reacts to her infamous Newsnight interview being dramatised by Ruth Wilson in A Very Royal Scandal’
MailOnline: Prince Andrew interview hits the big screen: Gillian Anderson, Keeley Hawes and Billie Piper at world premiere of Scoop - the film about the bombshell BBC broadcast that forced shamed Duke to step back from public life...as palace braces for its release
