You saw Frost/Nixon. Now prepare for Andrew/Maitlis. The stunning BBC interview that heralded Prince Andrew’s expulsion from Britain’s royal family is to be made into a movie, with Hugh Grant being linked to the role of Prince Andrew. Variety says the film is being written by The Night Of and Criminal Justice writer Peter Moffat, will be called Scoop and will enter production this year. It is based on parts of the book Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews by Sam McAlister, a producer on the show. The interview saw Andrew face presenter Emily Maitlis. In it, he failed to express sympathy with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims; said he had never met Virginia Giuffre, whom he later paid a reputed $12m to in an out-of-court settlement; and said he didn’t regret his friendship with Epstein. It remains one of the most watched news shows in the BBC’s history. Moffat was quoted by Variety as saying: “What the hell did he think he was doing? Who got him to do it? Why, when the rest of the world was so appalled, did he think it had gone so well? What kind of a man is this? In researching the film and talking to those on the inside of this extraordinary story I got the answers to all these questions. They’re provoking, often surprising, sometimes disturbing—and I think they make for a compelling story about power and abuse and journalistic courage.” Deadline said that Hugh Grant was being considered for the role of Andrew but his reps, sadly, have denied it.
