Scoop: Netflix depiction of Prince Andrew interview is a welcome addition to the journalism film canon

By Sarah Lonsdale, City, University of London

The car crash interview with Prince Andrew was indeed a scoop for then BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis. Its depiction in the new Netflix film Scoop is a reminder of the power of the one-to-one interview where, as in a courtroom drama, the subject has nowhere to hide from a well-informed investigator.

The 2019 interview led directly to Andrew’s withdrawal from royal duties. But the Netflix version focuses less on the consequences for the royals, and more on the scaffolding that supports a great news story.

Gillian Anderson gives us a small glimpse of Maitlis’ brilliance as an interviewer. Although, beyond the uncanny physical resemblance, Anderson plays her far too steely and lacking in any warmth, doing her no favours.

Advised, just before the cameras roll, to go for the jugular, Maitlis is instead shown carefully paying out rope, yard by yard, allowing the over-indulged and spoilt Andrew to hang himself with his famous references to sweating and pizza.

The behind-the-scenes story is told from the point of view of Newsnight’s interview booker, Sam McAlister. Played by Billie Piper, McAlister is the middlebrow outsider who struggles to be taken seriously. The film lays bare the clashing egos and tensions in any news team. It’s refreshing to see how many cogs and wheels it takes to make a great piece of journalism, not just the heroic reporter or news anchor.

Scoop is highly watchable, but without serious jeopardy for Maitlis or McAlister, it doesn’t quite measure up to the greats in the history of journalism on screen. There is no “gotcha” moment – just confirmation of what we already suspected about the character of the late queen’s favourite son.

A long history

There is a long and honourable tradition of filmmakers turning real-life journalistic scoops into feature-length movies. By sprinkling cinematic stardust over otherwise dull procedurals – hours of careful note-taking, sleepless nights of patient watching and listening – directors have transformed newspaper and television investigations into mythic David and Goliath dramas.

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