'SCOOP' PREMIERE

THEISTARS ON REENACTING THAT VE MEETING

- NICKY MORRIS

She is no stranger to playing powerful figures at pivotal moments in history, but when Gillian Anderson was offered the role of groundbreaking journalist Emily Maitlis in Netflix’s hotly anticipated new film Scoop, she turned it down.

“When I was first asked to play her, I said: ‘Absolutely not. No way,’” reveals Gillian, 55, who previously portrayed Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, Wallis Simpson in Any Human Heart and Eleanor Roosevelt in The First Lady.

“‘It’s too hard. She’s too amazing. And everybody knows her too well, so I will undoubtedly fail.’”

THE INSIDE TRACK

The film gives an intriguing inside account of how the BBC’s Newsnight programme secured a sensational exclusive interview with the Duke of York for an episode titled Prince Andrew and the Epstein Scandal, and how Emily grilled the royal over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

It was the “incredible” team behind the film – writer Peter Moffat and director Philip Martin – that ultimately won Gillian over. “It’s a fantastic take on the interview,” the Sex Education star says. “It feels very modern and fresh and propulsive.”

The exchanges between Prince Andrew and Emily in 2019 made headlines around the world and marked a defining moment for both the BBC and the Duke of York.