{"id":48970,"date":"2024-04-04T10:04:47","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T08:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2019252"},"modified":"2024-04-04T11:32:07","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T09:32:07","slug":"billie-piper-on-scoop-telling-their-story-felt-important-to-me","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/billie-piper-on-scoop-telling-their-story-felt-important-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Billie Piper on Scoop: \u201cTelling their story felt important to me\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Piper and Keeley Hawes spoke to Radio Times magazine about how the Netflix film tells the behind-the-scenes story of the Prince Andrew Newsnight interview. <\/p>

By Richard Godwin\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 04 April 2024 at 08:00 AM<\/p>

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This interview was originally published in\u00a0Radio Times magazine<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that I\u2019ll ever see an interview like that again in my lifetime,\u201d says Billie Piper. \u201cEspecially nowadays, where everything is so censored and controlled. That access and exposure\u2026 that self-exposure.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

She pauses. \u201cActually, I\u2019m not sure that I saw anything like that before.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is, of course, only one interview that Piper could be talking about \u2013 the fateful 22-minute conversation between Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis on Newsnight on 17th November 2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

It has become one of the most raked-over TV moments of our times. You might wonder if we really need to revisit it so soon. What can we possibly learn from a drama that we haven\u2019t already seen ourselves?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The interview largely came about because of two formidable women: the former Newsnight interviews producer Sam McAlister, played by Piper, and Amanda Thirsk, played by Keeley Hawes, who served as Andrew\u2019s private secretary until 2020, and who met McAlister several times before the actual interview went ahead.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Peter Moffat and Geoff Bussetil\u2019s script, adapted from McAlister\u2019s book Scoops<\/a>, gives a fascinating insight into the workings of two troubled British institutions: the BBC and the royal family. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like The Crown<\/a>,\u201d says Hawes. \u201cWhat\u2019s really interesting is seeing behind the curtains. And it read like a thriller! It was unlike anything I was expecting it to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a particularly great showcase for Piper, who says she had been following the Jeffrey Epstein story for many years \u2013 even before the Prince Andrew interview. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever there\u2019s a story about abuse of women, I pay attention,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m an ambassador for Refuge [the domestic abuse charity], so this is something that I feel passionately about: the protection of women and children specifically.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Still, she\u2019s careful to point out that this isn\u2019t a story about Epstein or his victims \u2013 rather about the women who brought a particular aspect of the story to our screens.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe interview, whatever you feel about it, was such an important part of exposing this story. And [Sam and Amanda] were integral to that. So telling their story felt important to me. And seeing the things that we didn\u2019t know about the interview, like the fact that it was signed off by the Palace, was fascinating to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Keeley\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk in Scoop.<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

This, indeed, is one of the extremely surprising aspects of the interview: not only that it happened at all, but that almost all of the talking points were raised in discussions between the two teams beforehand. <\/span><\/p>\n

As far as Thirsk is concerned, Hawes believes her intentions came from a \u201cgood place\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that was probably a consequence of being in that bubble. She simply thought, \u2018This is what we need.\u2019 I think she was probably right: we did need to hear from him at that moment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If Thirsk is the consummate palace insider, McAlister cuts an outsiderish figure in the newsroom. Her Newsnight colleagues prefer to stage endless debates about Brexit rather than chase down royal stories, and are sceptical about her ability to land the interview. The tenacious McAlister is determined to prove them wrong.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that Piper feels a strong admiration for her. \u201cWhen I met her, I thought, \u2018Oh my god, your spirit is unlike anyone I\u2019ve ever met in your industry!\u2019 And it\u2019s obviously the key to her success. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have quite similar working-class backgrounds. She\u2019s also this absolute force of nature. Not chilly. Not steely \u2013 although I wouldn\u2019t want to get on the wrong side of her \u2013 but incredibly likeable and bright. Those are the kind of women I feel compelled to be more like as a person, but also to play in my work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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