Prince Andrew character cracks sick Jimmy Savile joke in new Netflix drama about his infamous Jeffrey Epstein Newsnight interview
Prince Andrew is portrayed cracking a sick joke about Jimmy Savile in the new Netflix film Scoop - which recounts the backstory to his infamous 2019 interview with Newsnight.
The movie, starring Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis and Rupert Sewell as the beleaguered prince, recreates the lead-up to the BBC's exclusive talk with Andrew about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
In the drama, written by Peter Moffat, the Duke of York tells the Newsnight team: 'I don't quite understand why everyone is so obsessed with my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. I knew Jimmy Savile so much better.'
He then laughs at his joke.
Although Savile had a friendship with Andrew's brother, the then Prince Charles — and boasted about it — it's not clear whether he knew Prince Andrew at all or whether the prince made such a joke.
Prince Andrew (played by Rufus Sewell) is portrayed cracking a sick joke about Jimmy Savile in the new Netflix film Scoop - which recounts the backstory to his infamous 2019 interview with Newsnight
Gillian Anderson has been hailed as 'astonishing' in her upcoming role as Emily Maitlis after transforming into the Newsnight host
Savile died in 2011, and only after his death was he unmasked as a prolific paedophile.
Scoop streams on Netflix from next Friday. Billie Piper stars as BBC producer Sam McAlister, who set up the interview, and Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk, the prince's head of press.
In another scene from the movie, Prince Andrew appears taken aback when Maitlis arrives at the palace wearing trousers, rather than a dress or a skirt, ahead of the interview.
Other scenes show him yelling at a female employee for incorrectly arranging teddy bears and a toy kangaroo on his bed.
Most shockingly, an eye-popping scene shows the prince stepping out of the bath fully naked, with Sewell wearing prosthetics.
Within four days of the interview's broadcast in 2019, the prince announced that he had stepped back from royal duties, and was subsequently stripped of his military roles and barred from using his HRH title.
Scoop had its premier at The Curzon Club in Mayfair on Wednesday night, with stars of the drama in attendance.
Gillian Anderson joined her co-stars Billie Piper, Rufus Sewell, Romola Garai and Keeley Hawes for the evening as they celebrated the launch of the show.
The Duke of York pictured leaving Windsor Castle this morning after spending an hour with King Charles III
The Prince was photographed this morning just days before the film Scoop, which recounts his disastrous Newsnight interview, is released on Netflix
Gillian Anderson, 55, wowed in a strapless green dress as she attended the world premiere of Scoop in The Curzon in Mayfair, London on Wednesday night
The actress, who plays the role of Emily Maitlis in the upcoming Netflix drama, was the woman of the hour on the star-studded red carpet
Gillian oozed glamour in a classic bodycon midi dress and elevated her frame with stylish silver high-heels
The Sex Education star joined her co-stars Billie Piper , Romola Garai and Keeley Hawes for the evening as they celebrated the launch of the show
Scoop - which releases April 5 - recreates the car crash Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew
Anderson has been hailed as 'astonishing' in her upcoming role as Emily Maitlis after transforming into the Newsnight host in the new Prince Andrew film.
One person branded Gillian the 'female Michael Sheen' after seeing her in action as Maitlis, claiming 'she could literally transform into anyone'.
Based on the book Scoops, by Sam McAlister, the film (according to the trailer) shows captures the tension behind booking the royal for the interview, as well as the tension among the cast during the interview.
The film is due to hit Netflix screens in the Spring and explores a behind-the-scenes look at how the interview was secured and how events surrounding it unfolded framed as a tribute to the work of the four women responsible.
It is based on Scoops by Sam McAlister who is also known as the 'Booker extraordinaire' on Newsnight having successfully negotiated and secured the interview which quizzed the Duke about his friendship with the late-convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein.
Ms Maitlis discussed Virginia Giuffre's claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 under the orders of Epstein.
The prince strongly denied the claims throughout the interview.
