Real-life Newsnight producer reveals initial reaction to Prince Andrew interview

McAlister describes hearing Prince Andrew’s answers as an ‘extraordinary experience’

The producer who secured the now infamous Newsnight interview with the Duke of York has said it was “hard to keep a poker face” while he was speaking.

New Netflix film Scoop tells the story of how Sam McAlister arranged the controversial interview with journalist Emily Maitlis, in which Prince Andrew discussed his friendship with the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

The interview, which aired in November 2019, featured the astonishing moment Andrew was forced to deny he’d had sex with Virginia Giuffre when she was 17.

McAlister told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that she realised the production team had “won the lottery” with the bizarre answers the duke was giving.

“I was sitting about 15 feet behind him. I had two parts of my brain. I’m an ex-criminal defence barrister, so my lawyer brain was going ‘OMG the prosecution has won the lottery here,’” she said.

Newsnight producer Sam McAlister admits she feels sorry for Princess Beatrice after Prince Andrew interview. (Good Morning Britain/ITV)

“If those statements were false, they were very easy to disprove... so, really, it was quite hard to keep a poker face for 50 minutes of that, with those kinds of answers.”

As the interview progressed, McAlister was “basically looking at the floor a lot, trying not to make eye contact. It really was an extraordinary experience to hear this avalanche of answers.”

In Scoop, McAlister is played by Billie Piper, while Andrew is portrayed by Rufus Sewell and Emily Maitlis by Gillian Anderson.

The story will also be retold in the Amazon series A Very Royal Scandal,which will feature Ruth Wilson as Maitlis and Michael Sheen as Andrew.

Prince Andrew (left) is portrayed by Rufus Sewell (right) in Scoop (Scoop/Netflix/Newsnight/ BBC)

Maitlis, who now hosts podcast The News Agents with former BBC journalists Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall after leaving Newsnight In 2022, is an executive producer on the production.

Speaking on the other version, McAlister said: “It’s fantastic. Obviously, this movie is told from my perspective, inevitably, because it’s from my book, and Emily’s will be from her perspective.”

“It’s great there’s so much interest and I’m so sorry to disappoint – I know everyone loves a scrap between women – but no, (there is) absolutely none whatsoever. I wish her nothing but happiness and success and I’m sure she feels the same about me. I’ve never felt jealousy or rivalry in my entire life.”