Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell recreate a royal media disaster in ‘Scoop’

LONDON (AP)

As the past few weeks have shown, British royalty and the media can be an explosive mix.

The absence of the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton after abdominal surgery in January sparked uncontrolled online speculation that was first heightened by the release of a manipulated photo then eased by a video statement from her disclosing that she was being treated for cancer.

It is a reminder that when palace privacy meets public curiosity and the public interest, things can get messy.

For more evidence, watch Scoop, a behind-the-scenes Netflix drama about a disastrous interview Prince Andrew gave in 2019 in response to allegations of sexual misconduct. Set for release on April 5, it stars Rufus Sewell as Andrew and Gillian Anderson as journalist Emily Maitlis, who grilled the prince for the BBC’s Newsnight programme.

The feature-length drama is a return to royal themes for The X-Files star Anderson, who played a leading role in series four of The Crown as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Anderson says the “complex” relationship between royalty and media needs reassessment.

“Whether that’s (Prince) Harry and his cases against the tabloids and all of the truths around that that have come to the fore or other aspects that are becoming more public knowledge, it probably needs a proper rethink,” Anderson told The Associated Press.

Prince Andrew agreed to be interviewed to address reports about his friendship with financier Jeffrey Epstein — who was found dead in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges — and allegations by a woman that she had sex with Andrew when she was 17 and being trafficked by Epstein.

Scoop is based on a book by Sam McAlister, the tenacious producer who secured the interview. As played by Billie Piper, she promises the palace: “An hour of television can change everything.”

That proved grimly true for Andrew.

Under Maitlis’ gentle but determined probing, the prince denied all allegations, failed to show empathy for the exploited young women, and said Epstein had “conducted himself in a manner unbecoming”, which struck many viewers as an understatement.

He claimed that he couldn’t have been at a nightclub with his accuser on an alleged date because he was at a suburban Pizza Express restaurant with his daughter, Princess Beatrice. He couldn’t have been sweating on the dancefloor because an “overdose of adrenaline’’ during his time as a helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War had left him unable to perspire.

McAlister recalled the “extraordinary” experience of being in the room as the interview was recorded inside Buckingham Palace.

Andrew initially thought the interview had been a great success even giving Maitlis a tour of Buckingham Palace after it was recorded.

But he “stepped back” from public duties days after it was broadcast and has not returned. In 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, paying her an unspecified sum without admitting guilt.