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In 2019, Prince Andrew, Duke of York gave an interview to BBC One’s Newsnight regarding his longstanding friendship with sex traffickers Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. The prince had continued his association with Epstein after the latter was arrested for sexual offences, staying at Epstein’s New York home and accepting a large gift of money from him. He’d also been accused of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein and Maxwell’s trafficking victims, when she was aged 17, and his denials had not quelled press interest. This interview, hoped the prince and his camp, would draw a line under everything and stop the suspicion dead.
It didn’t work. The interview was a disaster for the Duke of York, who was subsequently stripped of royal duties and settled with Giuffre out of court. A Very Royal Scandal tells that story, with an excellent lead performances from Michael Sheen as the prince, and from Ruth Wilson as Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis. Here’s who else is playing the famous faces in this ongoing story.
Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew, Duke of York
David Frost, Brian Clough, Tony Blair, Chris Tarrant, Nye Bevan, and now Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Michael Sheen’s enviable screen and stage career has been landmarked with real-life roles. (His part in Frost/Nixon even gets a wry nod in A Very Royal Scandal when Sheen-as-Prince Andrew mutters to himself about Richard Nixon being hung out to dry on a TV interview, while inspecting the camera set-up for his own interrogation.) Sheen really needs no introduction, and is best recognised for his recent roles opposite his TV husband David Tennant in Good Omens and Staged, as well as parts in the Underworld and Twilight sagas, plus ITV drama Quiz, The Damned United and many more. Rufus Sewell played the prince in Netflix film Scoop.
Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis
Wilson is best-recognised for her roles as sociopathic genius villain Alice Morgan in BBC crime drama Luther, as the tricky and vicious Mrs Coulter in the BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials books, and as Alison in acclaimed US drama The Affair. She’s been in a host of films, TV series and stage plays, playing the lead in Jane Eyre, Hedda Gabler, autobiographically inspired TV drama Mrs Wilson, and recently, Irish thriller The Woman in the Wall. Gillian Anderson played the part of Emily Maitlis in Netflix film Scoop.
Claire Rushbrook as Sarah Ferguson
Soon to be seen in Moonflower Murders, the follow-up to cosy crime series Magpie Murders, and new Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals, Claire Rushbrook plays Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. You name it, Rushbrook’s been in it, from Black Mirror to Inside No. 9, via The Fades, Whitechapel, My Mad Fat Diary, No Offence, Don’t Forget the Driver and excellent BBC drama Sherwood.
Honor Swinton Byrne as Princess Beatrice & Sofia Oxenham as Princess Eugenie
Honor Swinton Byrne won acclaim for playing the lead role of Julie in Joanna Hogg’s autobiographically inspired feature The Souvenir and its sequel (in which her character’s mother was played by the actor’s actual mother Tilda Swinton). She plays Beatrice, the elder of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s two daughters, who was played in Scoop by Charity Wakefield. Playing Eugenie is Sofia Oxenham, seen recently in Disney+ superpower comedy Extraordinary, and before that, in Netflix Arthurian legend drama Cursed, and as the minx Tess Tregidden in BBC One’s period drama Poldark.
Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk
A boon to any cast, Prince Andrew’s personal secretary Amanda Thirsk (played by Keeley Hawes in Scoop) is played here by Joanna Scanlan. Seen recently as Ma Larkin in ITV adaptation The Larkins and as Moira Tregorian in the current season of excellent British spy drama Slow Horses, Scanlan won acclaim for her excellent performance in 2020 feature film After Love, and is well-known for comedies The Thick of It, No Offence, Getting On, as well as recent dramas The Light in the Hall and Boat Story.
Claire Calbraith as Sam McAllister & Éanna Hardwicke as Stewart Maclean
Seeing as Netflix’s Scoop was adapted from her memoir, Newsnight booker Sam McAllister loomed much larger in that version of events than she does here, where she pops up only in a few scenes. Billie Piper played her in the previous production, while Downton Abbey, Grace, Baptiste and The Jetty‘s Claire Calbraith plays her here. If you saw Sarah Phelps’ excellent true crime drama The Sixth Commandment, starring Timothy Spall and Anne Reid, then you’ll recognise Eanna Hardwicke from his unforgettable performance as killer Ben Field. Here, Hardwicke plays Newsnight producer Stewart Maclean, a role played by Richard Goulding in Scoop.
Lydia Leonard as Esme Wren
Romola Garai played former Newsnight editor Esme Wren in Scoop, and in A Very Royal Scandal, she’s played by Lydia Leonard, who already has a long career, and recently played Cherie Blair in The Crown, Mariana in Sally Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack, and Rebecca in Ten Percent, the English-language remake of French comedy-drama Call My Agent.
Alex Jennings as Sir Edward Young
No stranger to royal dramas, Alex Jennings played Prince Charles to Dame Helen Mirren’s Elizabeth II in The Queen, and David, Duke of Windsor in The Crown‘s first season. Here he plays the Queen’s personal secretary Sir Edward Young. Jennings is a famous face from across the board, with film roles in The Lady in the Van, Denial, Operation Mincemeat and more, and TV roles in acclaimed dramas This is Going to Hurt, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Unforgotten and, the coincidentally titled A Very English Scandal. He’ll soon be seen in the BBC’s sequel to Wolf Hall.
Nicholas Burns as Mark Gwynne & Smudge as Moody the Whippet
Yes, that is Nathan Barley, aka Nicholas Burns playing Emily Maitlis’ husband Mark. As well as the Charlie Brooker/Chris Morris comedy, you’ll have seen Burns in all sorts, from excellent period drama Harlots, to Black Mirror, Doctor Who, Benidorm of course, and lots of comedies from way back to right now, including the recently renewed BBC series Daddy Issues. As for the whippet on his lap, that’s Smudge in the role of the Maitlis pup Moody. This is Smudge’s first screen credit.
John Hopkins as Jeffrey Epstein
Playing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a few short scenes and some revealing flashbacks is John Hopkins, a TV regular who recently played Dr ‘Smokey’ Stover in flash WWII drama series Masters of the Air, and will be familiar to Poldark fans for the role of Sir Francis Basset, a local bigwig who payrolled the political careers of Poldark and Warleggan. Crossroads and Casualty‘s Colin Wells played the character in Scoop.
A Very Royal Scandal is available to stream now on Prime Video.
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