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Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell are to star in Scoop, a behind-the-scenes film about the BBC's historic Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew.

Anderson will play Emily Maitlis, the British journalist whose measured and forensic approach to the TV interview was widely praised. Sewell will portray Andrew, the second youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II, who faced a series of probing questions about his friendship with the sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The interview, titled Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal, originally aired on BBC Two on November 19, 2019. Following a largely negative response to the answers he gave, Prince Andrew announced the following May that he would be withdrawing from his public roles.

Billie Piper will co-star as Sam McAlister, the Newsnight producer who secured the headline-making interview, while Keeley Hawes will play the Prince's private secretary, Amanda Thirsk. The film is based on McAlister's book Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews.

McAlister has written the film, which is in the works at Netflix, with Philip Martin (The Crown) set to direct. "It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first-time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast," McAlister said. "Watching Billie Piper, one of my favorite actresses, play 'me' will be a pinch myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film."

Are you looking forward to Scoop?