Everything to know about Prince Andrew's 'car crash' Newsnight interview and the movie it has inspired

It's been less than five years since Prince Andrew's car-cash interview with BBC's Newsnight aired to the world, but it's already inspired a Hollywood film.

In 2019, the Duke of York sat down with Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis for an infamous grilling about his association with Jeffrey Epstein and the sexual assault lawsuit launched by Virginia Giuffre.

The fallout from Andrew's interview was huge ¨C he stepped down from public duties, was stripped of his military titles and charitable patronages and his reputation as a member of the British royal family was in tatters.

Watch the video above.?

READ MORE?: Ex-BBC producer shares most shocking moment of Andrew interview

There were also plenty of moments within the interview that are still hotly debated to this day.?

This includes Andrew's claim it was medically impossible for him to sweat and that he was actually at Pizza Express in Woking with his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie when he was alleged to have been with Giuffre in 2001.

Now, the events leading to the infamous sit-down have inspired a new Netflix movie, Scoop, starring Rufus Sewell as the prince and Gillian Anderson as Maitlis.?

It's highly unusual for a member of the British royal family to be interviewed by a journalist on camera. Even more so to address bombshell allegations. So, how did it happen?

Why did Prince Andrew do the interview?

BBC's Newsnight producer Sam McAlister says the palace initially declined their requests for an interview with Andrew.

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Six months later, she wrote in her book Scoops, Andrew called her up and said he was "now open to a broader chat, one that wouldn't have any parameters".

It was reported Andrew wanted to sit down with the BBC in a bid to clear his name and win over the general public.

After all, the duke was once a highly-regarded military man after serving in the Royal Navy for two decades. It was clear he was keen to claw back his once golden reputation.

McAlister said in her book ABC News that Andrew was "extremely open" in the negotiations and then again in the interview.?

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"He was congenial. But the most interesting thing about him, I found, was how he really listened to things I said and then he reciprocated with questions and answers. That's extremely unusual for somebody who has his kind of power and background," she explained.

"I speak truth to power. I don't care who you are and, in a sense, he was exceptional in the way that he dealt with us in terms of his openness¡­ honesty."

It was also believed the late Queen Elizabeth II herself had given her permission for the interview to take place.?

What happened during Prince Andrew's interview?

According to McAlister, the interview couldn't have gone worse for the Duke of York.

Among the bombshells aired in the broadcast, he told Maitlis he didn't regret being friends with Epstein, that he still had a friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, that being shot at during the Falklands War made it impossible for him to sweat and that he had no recollection of the photograph taken with Giuffre.

"I didn't sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War when I was shot at and I simply¡­ it was almost impossible for me to sweat," Andrew said.

But McAlister claimed Andrew seemed quite happy with how he conducted himself.

"He seemed ebullient. And then it hit me: he actually thought it had gone well. In fact he was in fine spirits," she said.

Of course, it didn't go well at all ¨C and the royal family knew it.

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Two days after filming, the interview aired and on November 19, 2019, Andrew issued a public statement announcing he was stepping back from public duties.

He also offered a sympathetic message for Epstein's victims.?

"It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support," he said.

"Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission."

He added: "I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein."

READ MORE: Princess of Wales 'getting stronger every day': royal author?

What is the Netflix movie about Prince Andrew's interview?

After the interview, McAlister wrote her book Scoops: Inside the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews from Prince Andrew to Steven Seagal.

It was then optioned by Netflix as a fictionalised drama of how the Newsnight interview came to be.

When production for the movie, titled Scoop, was announced, screenwriter Peter Moffat said the film was "about how the BBC's Newsnight team got the scoop, then the actual filming of it."

"The other thing is," he added, "Why did he agree to do it?' How was it that he decided it was a good idea to do a great big long interview with Emily Maitlis on the BBC?"

Who is in the cast of Scoop?

?The film stars Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper and Rufus Sewell and is set for a worldwide release in April 2024.

Sewell will star as Andrew, while Anderson is playing Emily Maitlis. Piper was cast as the author of the book, Sam McAlister.

When Scoop comes out in Australia? and how to watch it

In Australia, like the rest of the world, Scoop is airing on Netflix from April 5.

Nine Entertainment, the publisher of this website, owns the streaming service Stan?