‘Scoop’: From Prince Andrew to Emily Maitlis, Comparing the Cast of the New Netflix Film With Their Real-Life Counterparts

Netflix’s Scoop recounts a recent slice of British history that many know well: Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview with Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis in 2019—the one in which the Duke of York, facing tough questions about his association with Jeffrey Epstein, spoke about his inability to sweat, his fateful visit to Pizza Express in Woking, and described his former friend’s conduct as, er, “unbecoming,” eventually resulting in him having to step back from his public duties. Except, this is the story you don’t know: directed by The Crown’s Philip Martin and penned by Peter Moffat, it follows the women who fought to secure the global exclusive and hold the embattled royal to account.

Among them is, of course, the quietly commanding Maitlis herself, who took a restrained but incisive approach to the interrogation which left her subject utterly exposed, but also the booker who convinced the prince and his private secretary to agree to the interview, as well as the editor who oversaw proceedings and got sign-off from the bosses of the BBC before the program aired. As for who plays them? A who’s who of British acting talent, of course, with an American thrown in for good measure.

Ahead of the film’s release on April 5, we compare the formidable cast to their distinguished real-life counterparts.

Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis