Newsnight producer brands Duke of York ‘Randy Andy’ in Scoop trailer

Billie Piper’s character can be seen telling Rufus Sewell, in character as the Duke of York, that he is referred to as ‘Randy Andy’ in public discourse in a new trailer for Netflix film Scoop.

The X Files actress Gillian Anderson stars as journalist Emily Maitlis in the film, which documents the “high stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace” through to the BBC’s headline-making interview with Andrew about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Doctor Who and Secret Diary Of A Call Girl actress Piper stars as Newsnight producer Sam McAlister and is seen with blonde curly hair and wide geometric sunglasses saying in a voiceover: “An hour of television can change everything.”

During a meeting with the Newsnight crew in the trailer, Sewell’s Andrew asks: “If I do an interview, the question is, why you?”.

McAlister responds saying: “With respect, you know how people see you”, to which Andrew says: “Spell it out”.

McAlister says: “Randy Andy”.

The trailer introduces Anderson in the studio alongside two female colleagues and a dog, quipping: “Three women and a whippet? Wouldn’t have seen that in a BBC studio when I started.”

Maitlis, who announced she was leaving the BBC in 2022 and now hosts The News Agents podcast, has a whippet called Moody and made headlines in 2019 when her dog was pictured sleeping alongside her on a train seat.

The journalist retweeted the trailer on Monday and wrote: “That feeling of being upstaged by your own whippet … ( again )”.

Also featured in the Scoop trailer is Bodyguard star Keeley Hawes as one of Andrew’s advisers, while Sex Education star Connor Swindells is depicted as a member of the press taking photos of the royal family member who has been swept up in the scandal.

McAlister is told she is chasing “a story we’re never gonna get” before she retorts: “This is the work. My job is booking the people we can’t just call up.”

She is then seen meeting with Hawes’ character and tells her: “You have a problem that won’t go away.”

What follows is a glimpse into the reaction that ensued when the FBI began to raid Epstein’s home.

McAlister tells Andrew’s adviser: “You can’t stay silent.”

On the news, Maitlis tells the public: “Tomorrow night, in an unprecedented interview, we will hear from the Duke himself.”

Clips also show the moment the interview took place as well as the aftermath.

Before public reaction and scrutiny, Andrew is seen telling Maitlis: “You know I thought that all went very well.”

A voiceover then says: “All across the world, every paper, on every news channel, this is the story.”

Netflix released its first trailer last month in which viewers were introduced to Anderson as Maitlis.

Following the Newsnight broadcast in November 2019 and the furore over Andrew’s friendship with Epstein, the duke stepped down from public life.

The interview was dubbed a “car crash”, with commentators questioning his responses and condemning his unsympathetic tone and lack of remorse over his friendship with the sex offender Epstein.

Maitlis has already served as an executive producer of a Channel 4 documentary about the interview.

Another drama about the interview, a series called A Very Royal Scandal, starring Michael Sheen as Andrew and Ruth Wilson as Maitlis, is also in the works.

Scoop will be released on Netflix on April 5.