Keeley Hawes has described Prince Andrew in his early years as being considered “heroic” and “sexy”, admitting it feels “disgusting” to say that now.
The actor plays the role of Amanda Thirsk in Scoop, the Netflix film about the royal’s now infamous interview with Emily Maitlis about her relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After the interview, Andrew stepped down from his royal duties. He also paid an estimated £12 million settlement to Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of having sex with her when she was 17. Prince Andrew denies all accusations.
Speaking about the film, which opens today, Keeley discussed her role with the Telegraph.
While her role as Amanda Thirsk is, according to the outlet, “in the background,” it is “instrumental,” and Scoop said the interview was arranged “with Thirsk’s approval.”
Photographed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on his wedding day to Sarah Ferguson in July 1986, Prince Andrew was often seen as a hero.
According to Keeley, “He wanted everyone to see it through his eyes, and through his eyes, he’s a great guy.”
She added: ‘The people I have spoken to who know Prince Andrew are full of love for him. Because he’s a great guy. Of course he is. It’s easy to forget (and I was growing up during that period) but we celebrate those men.
‘Bill Wyman and his teenage girlfriend, Randy Andy, in their military uniform. They were sexy; It sounds disgusting to say it now, but it was heroic.”
According to Keeley, it was “very difficult” to look at the media of the royal youth and imagine what their behavior was viewed “through a totally different lens.”
He added that he does not expect the Royal Family to comment on Scoop.
The film, which finally opens today, has been the subject of much anticipation.
The Netflix drama details the story behind the interview with the disgraced Duke of York, played by Rufus Sewell, 56, and also features a nearly unrecognizable Billie Piper in a blonde wig and high heels.
The actor plays Sam McAlister, the Newsnight producer who secured Prince Andrew’s famous 2019 interview with Emily Maitlis, played by Gillian Anderson, 55.
Keeley Hawes pictured as Amanda Thirsk in Netflix drama Scoop, which the streaming service releases today
The film captures the tension behind hiring the royals for the interview, as well as the tension between the cast during the interview.
Explore a behind-the-scenes look at how the interview was secured and how the 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 ‘Booker extraordinaire’ on Newsnight, having successfully negotiated and secured the interview in which the Duke was questioned about his friendship with recently convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. .
Maitlis addressed Virginia Giuffre’s claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 under Epstein’s orders.
The prince strongly denied the claims throughout the interview.
The argument, in which Andrew made a series of claims, including insisting that he could not have been with Ms Giuffre at the time of the alleged encounter because he was dining at a Pizza Express in Woking and that a medical condition prevented him from sweating . -he has since gained notoriety and it is widely acknowledged that he has embarrassed the royals.
Prince Andrew, photographed in 1982, upon his return from the Falklands War, has denied all accusations made against him.
Despite vowing to fight the accusations and repeatedly protesting his innocence, the prince agreed to pay a huge sum to settle the case before it reached a jury.
Sam McAllister appeared earlier this year on This Morning when Netflix screened his trailer for the first time, to talk about his experience working on both the interview and the film.
She described how difficult it was to get the interview, saying: “I was a complete loser when it came to booking content because, let’s face it, who in their right mind would want to continue unless you’re a minister or you’re selling a book or a movie.
‘Why would you go and take that risk, right?
‘So my job was basically to persuade people to act against their interests. So I spent my time trying to get them to do something they probably shouldn’t have done.
The interview was described as a “car accident” and on 20 November 2019, a statement from Buckingham Palace said Prince Andrew was suspended from public duties “for the foreseeable future”.
In May 2020, it was announced that the prince would permanently leave public duties.
In January 2022, Giuffre was given the green light to sue Andrew for unspecified damages in New York civil court.
Speaking about how he felt about landing the interview, he revealed: “I had been dealing with a palace for a year. And I think what I love about this movie… is that I’m an ordinary woman who ended up in an extraordinary situation. And of course, everyone has seen that interview. But this is the 95 per cent before that.’
The real-life interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew that has been described as a ‘car accident’
She continued: “So it all started a year before, and it was only on Monday, so we are now 13 months into Monday when I met Prince Andrew face to face with Emily and Stuart with their daughter sitting next to them at Palace of Buckingham… It was only then the day I thought this could really happen.
And on Tuesday morning they said yes. And I honestly dropped my phone. I couldn’t believe they said yes.’
Describing the biggest curveball of the day, Sam told This Morning it was when Prince Andrew was escorted to the interview with his daughter Princess Beatrice.
‘Scoop is the inside account of the inner workings of the Palace and the BBC, twin bastions of the British establishment, highlighting the journalists whose tenacity and guts penetrated the highest ceilings, and entered the inner sanctum and calculations of a man with everything. lose.’
‘Can you imagine you’ve gone to talk to a Prince and you’re at Buckingham Palace… and you’re talking about difficult topics and then he brings his daughter?’ Did she say she?
‘I mean, it was the curveball of curveballs. “I’m not easily fazed, but I have to admit that it threw even me like a curveball,” she added.
Netflix describes the production as portraying: “The inside track of the women who broke into the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of the Queen’s ‘favourite son’.”
The film portrays Sam McAllister (played by Billie Piper) going to Buckingham Palace to discuss the interview with his secretary.
“From overcoming Palace vetoes to reaching Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high-stakes negotiations and the intensity of the rehearsal, to the jaw-dropping interview.”
Sam McAlister says: “It’s beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first-time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix and the incredible teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage.” “Seeing Billie Piper, one of my favorite actresses, play ‘me’ will be a moving moment for me and I’m really excited to be involved in this film.”
Describing the film, director Philip Martin revealed: “I’m delighted to be directing this film for Netflix and, along with an extraordinary cast, to bring Sam McAlister’s eye-opening tale to the screen.
“Fast-paced, immersive and cinematic, I want to place the audience within the impressive sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew, to tell a story about a search for answers, in a world of speculation and varied memories.
“It’s a film about power, privilege and different perspectives and how, whether in glittering palaces or high-tech newsrooms, we judge what is true.”