Prince Andrew‘s appearance on BBC‘s news evening in 2019, which became one of the most important, infamous and ridiculous interviews of recent years and was a major factor in the dramatic fall of the royal family, is going to be a feature film.
Spooncreated and written by Peter Moffat (whose series Criminal law was remade in HBOs the night of), will tell the inside story behind Andrew’s hour-long bombshell interview with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis. Based on the key chapters of a new book by former news evening producer Sam McAlister, the film is set to tell the story of how news evening took care of the scoop, starting with the first failed approach to the palace, through the negotiations with Prince Andrew and his team, the rehearsals, the interview itself and the well-documented and humiliating aftermath, which was famously described as “a plane going down in an oil tanker, which caused a tsunami, which caused a nuclear explosion.”
‘What the hell did he think he was doing? Who got him to do it? When the rest of the world was so upset, why did he think things had gone so well? What kind of man is this?’ said Moffat. “In researching the film and talking to those on the inside of this extraordinary story, I got the answers to all these questions. They provoke, often surprising, sometimes disturbing – and I think they make for a compelling story of power and abuse and journalistic courage.”
The film is produced by The Lighthouse Film & TV, launched in 2020 by Hilary Salmon, Radford Neville and Nick Betts – the BBC team behind BAFTA, RTS and Emmy award-winning hits, such as Luther† Criminal law† House of Saddam† three girls and the night of† Voltage TV will co-produce the film. Recent Lighthouse productions include two seasons of: 61st street for AMC Networks (also written by Moffat).
During the interview, which focused on Andrew’s relationship with the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sexual assault by the royal family on Virginia Giuffre when she was a minor, he claimed he had remained friends with Epstein even after he was released from prison. prison, for being “too honorable,” said he couldn’t go out with Giuffre on a particular night because he was at a branch of the Pizza Express restaurant chain with his kids, and claimed that he couldn’t “sweat profusely” on the night in question. true because of a “peculiar medical condition” at the time that prevented him from sweating. Although the interview was believed to have been approved by Queen Elizabeth II, Andrew’s royal duties were suspended shortly after it aired and the subsequent backlash that erupted.
“Sam’s book vividly describes the moment-by-moment drama that led up to that most revealing and breathtaking TV event. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Sam’s story to life,” said Salmon.
Added McAlister, author of Spoon: “To have a production team of the caliber of The Lighthouse and a writer like Peter Moffat make a feature film is beyond my wildest dreams. I can’t wait to see how Peter and The Lighthouse bring this extraordinary story to the screen.”