A Very Royal Scandal has landed on Prime Video, and is the TV show adaptation of the now-infamous Newsnight interview which ultimately led to Prince Andrew retiring from royal duties. While Netflix's movie Scoop recently covered much of the same ground, is the show starring Ruth Wilson and Michael Sheen also worth a watch?
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to discuss, one person wrote: "Extraordinary performance by Ruth Wilson as @maitlis in #AVeryRoyalScandal. I listen to @maitlis everyday on @TheNewsAgents and the voice is just identical. Amazing." Another person added: "A Very Royal Scandal, I must say. I've only watched episode one, but what a fantastic drama very well acted."
A third person added: "Watching ep. 2 of #AVeryRoyalScandal and I am hypnotised. Kudos to the whole cast but Ruth Wilson and Michael Sheen have really blown it out of the water. Equal parts impressed and horrified." Another person added: "So important not to forget the far reaching effects oof the interview on others as addressed in #AVeryRoyalScandal. Whatever way you look at this there was a girl in the middle of this, looking for justice. It was never about Andrew vs the press."
The adaptation of the incident marks the third season of the 'Scandal' series, which includes A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant and A Very British Scandal starring Claire Foy.
© Christopher RaphaelThe new miniseries delves into what went into landing the Buckingham Palace-based interview back in 2019, where Prince Andrew was interviewed by Emily Maitlis to address his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as well as allegations of sexual assault made by Virginia Giuffre, ultimately making headlines for his lack of self-awareness and alibis, including a party at a Pizza Express in Woking, and that he "doesn't sweat".
Emily herself served as executive producer on the show, and opened up about her perspective on Prince Andrew after the interview. She told BBC News: "Prince Andrew, he lost his royal duties, he lost the ability to wear uniform, he lost the respect of the nation, and it became, I think, much more difficult for him in his place in the Royal Family.
© Christopher Raphael"And on the other side, we don't know if Epstein's victims gained anything from that. We don't know if their lives materially changed. There's been no trial. There's been a settlement... but we haven't had that sense of closure there. Can you ever do anything more as a journalist than just ask the questions, and then see what changes as a result?"
She also addressed how the thrid episode examines the fallout of the interview. She continued: "It is about reckoning. It is about fallout. But it isn't some nice, neat ending with a comedy villain or a sort of swashbuckling hero. It doesn't end neatly."
