by Amanda Redman and Connor Swindells are among those set to join the cast of the Netflix film Scoop, based on the Duke of York’s 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight.
The ensemble cast members join Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell, who were announced as the film’s leads, Emily Maitlis and the Duke of York, last month.
According to Netflix, the upcoming film will offer viewers the “inside trail” on how Andrew was criticized by former Newsnight host Maitlis for his relationship with the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Redman, 65, best known for New Tricks, will play Netta, the mother of Newsnight producer and booker Sam McAlister, who negotiated and secured Andrew’s booking.
The upcoming film is based on McAlister’s memoir Scoops: The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews From Prince Andrew To Steven Seagal.
It was previously announced that McAlister would be played by I Hate Suzie star Billie Piper.
The 26-year-old star of Netflix’s Sex Education Swindells will play Jae Donnelly, the photographer who captured the now-infamous photograph of Andrew and Epstein in New York’s Central Park.
Elsewhere in the latest cast lineup, Becoming actress Elizabeth Romola Garai will join as Esme Wren, the then-Newsnight editor who oversaw the interview.
Meanwhile, Lia Williams, who starred as Wallis Simpson in the Netflix hit The Crown, will play Fran Unsworth, the then director of news and current affairs for the BBC.
Wolf Hall’s Charity Wakefield rounds out the newly announced cast members and will play Andrew’s daughter, Princess Beatrice.
Sex Education star Anderson, 54, who won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, will play Maitlis who conducted the interview.
While Andrew will be played by Sewell, 55, who recently starred in The Man In The High Castle and The Pale Horse.
Keeley Hawes, who starred in It’s A Sin and recently in Stonehouse, also plays Amanda Thirsk, the duke’s former private secretary.
During an interview with Newsnight, which won Scoop of the Year at the Royal Television Society Awards in 2020, the duke denied having sex with Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre says she was trafficked by Epstein, who died in August 2019 at the age of 66, on three separate occasions, including when he was 17, still a minor under US law.
She said the duke was sweating profusely as they danced at London nightclub Tramp in an alleged meeting.
When asked about the allegations, Andrew told Maitlis that he had a medical condition brought on by his service in the Falklands War which, at the time, meant he didn’t sweat.
During the interview Andrew also said he had no recollection of ever meeting Ms Giuffre and spending the day in question at the Pizza Express in Woking for a party with one of his daughters.
Last year, Duke settled out of court in his US sexual assault case, though the settlement was not an admission of guilt and he has always strenuously denied the allegations against him.
The release date for Scoop, which is currently in production, is yet to be confirmed.
