Ruth Wilson will play journalist Emily Maitlis in the series, which tells the story of her interview with the Duke of York over her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Monday 5 February 2024 13:30 UK
Welsh actor Michael Sheen will star as Prince Andrew in a series based on a shocking Newsnight interview.
Sheen is best known for convincingly portraying real people, having played former prime minister Tony Blair, journalist David Frost and football manager Brian Clough.
Ruth Wilson will play Emily Maitlis, a journalist who criticized the Duke of York in November 2019 over his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Amazon Studios’ three-part series is called “A Very Royal Scandal.”
The studio announced that the film will depict Maitlis’ “professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew.”
The show is in production in the UK.
Image: Ruth Wilson plays Emily Maitlis.Photo: Associated Press
Mr Maitlis, who left Newsnight to host the Newsagents podcast with former BBC journalists John Sopel and Lewis Goodall, is an executive producer of the show.
The 53-year-old broadcaster wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Blimey. First time I’ve seen this in print. What a great cast.”
The series will be written by The Last King of Scotland screenwriter Jeremy Bullock and directed by Becoming Jane director Julian Jarrold.
The cast also includes Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk, Prince Andrew’s former private secretary, Alex Jennings as Sir Edward Young, the late Queen’s private secretary, and Eanna Heard as BBC Newsnight editor Stewart Maclean. Also includes wick.
read more:
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Berry Royal Scandal is produced by Blueprint Television for Amazon Studios and executive produced by Karen Thrussell, Graham Broadbent, Pete Chernin, Diarmuid McCune, Mr. Block, and Mr. Jarrold. Josh Hyams serves as the conductor and producer of the series.
Maitlis is already the executive producer of a Channel 4 documentary about the interview, Andrew: The Prince in Trouble.
A Netflix film, “Scoop,” based on this interview, is also in production.
That version stars Sex Education star Gillian Anderson as Maitlis, and The Man in the High Castle actor Rufus Sewell as Andrew.
The Netflix adaptation is based on former Newsnight producer Sam McAllister’s memoir, Scoops: The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews From Prince Andrew To Steven Segal.
