05 February 2024 , 16:01
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Do you recognise the Hollywood heart-throb starring as Prince Andrew in Netflix's new drama about that car crash Newsnight interview?
Yes, it's the one where the royal sat down with journalist Emily Maitlis in 2019 to discuss his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The Duke of York famously had no regrets about his friendship with the disgraced financier, and to widespread ridicule he claimed being shot at in the Falklands rendered him 'unable to sweat'. But perhaps one of the most enduring revelations was him simply dining at Pizza Express in Woking.
And now a behind-the-scenes account of this 'news interview of the decade' is set to drop on Netflix later this year, with none other than Rufus Sewell starring as the prince.
The 56-year-old is perhaps best known for festive rom-com The Holiday as well as TV shows including The Man In The High Castle and The Diplomat. The X-files' Gillian Anderson will play Emily while Billie Piper takes on the role of Sam McAlister who secured the bombshell interview. The film is based on her memoir, Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews.
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The film synopsis for Scoop reads: "The inside track of the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen’s ‘Favourite son’.
"From navigating Palace vetoes, to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal - to the jaw dropping interview itself, Scoop is the insider account of the inner workings of the Palace and the BBC, twin bastions of the British Establishment, spotlighting the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through the highest of ceilings - and into the inner sanctum and calculations of a man with everything to lose."
When the film was announced in 2023, Sam said: "It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix, and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage.
"Watching Billie Piper, one of my favourite actresses, play “me” will be a pinch myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film.”
Scoop is helmed by BAFTA winner Philip Martin, who previously said: "Uptempo, immersive and cinematic, I want to put the audience inside the breath-taking sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew - to tell a story about a search for answers, in a world of speculation and varying recollections. It’s a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives and how - whether in glittering palaces or hi-tech newsrooms - we judge what’s true."
*Scoop will be released on Netflix this Spring.