Michael Sheen to play Prince Andrew in Newsnight drama

Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson are to star in the BBC and Amazon’s A Very Royal Scandal as Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis. Production is already under way, Variety reported, and according to the official description will follow “Emily Maitlis’s professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist, leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew”. The notorious 2019 interview saw the prince confronted with sex trafficking allegations involving Jeffrey Epstein. He stepped back from royal duties and paid a financial settlement to his alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre, who was 17 at the time of the incident. When asked why he would stay in the house of a convicted sex offender, Andrew called it a “convenient place to stay”. He added: “I admit fully my judgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that’s just the way it is.” The anthology drama has focused on tabloid scandals involving Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant, and Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll in A Very British Scandal starring Claire Foy. Sheen continues to star in Amazon’s fantasy show Good Omens alongside David Tennant and is known for roles in Frost/Nixon and The Queen. Wilson was last seen in the acclaimed TV drama The Woman in the Wall and is known for her role in The Affair. A Very Royal Scandal will also star Joanna Scanlan as Andrew’s former aide Amanda Thirsk and Alex Jennings as Sir Edward Young. It will be directed by Julian Jarrold, whose credits include Kinky Boots and White Teeth. Last year it was announced that the Criminal Justice writer Peter Moffat would turn the same interview into a film called Scoop. It will be shown on Netflix and will star Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson.