A source tells Express.co.uk: “Beatrice was originally dreading the release of ‘A Very Royal Scandal’ because she feared the backlash it would receive.
“Since she’s seen how Scoop was produced and realised that it didn’t reflect badly on her, she’s less concerned for the next one later this year.”
The character of Beatrice played an unexpectedly key role in ‘Scoop’, which was released on April 5, helping her father decide whether to do the interview. Actor Billie Piper played Newsnight ‘booker extraordinaire’ Sam McAlister, and Gillian Anderson starred as Emily Maitlis.
The drama, which has been highly publicised and featured a star-studded cast, focuses on the Duke of York’s excruciating sitdown interview in 2019, where he was quizzed by broadcaster Emily Maitlis about his friendship with late billionaire convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal’ was aired on Newsnight on the BBC in November 2019, and also questioned the Prince’s relationship with Virginia Roberts Giuffre who alleged he sexually assaulted her.
The Duke consistently and vehemently denies the allegations. He reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia, who had brought a civil case against the Prince for sexual assault. The settlement was not an admission of guilt and Andrew accepted no liability.
In upcoming TV show, ‘A Very Royal Scandal’, actress Sofia Oxenham is being lined up to play Princess Beatrice. Other new actors in consideration to join the cast include Clare Calbraith as Sam McAllister, John Hopkins as Jeffrey Epstein and Giulio Cavazzini as Princess Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mozzi.
Sofia Oxenham, 26, previously starred as Tess in Poldark and had roles in Doc Martin, Grantchester, and Dracula.
The rest of the cast includes the already announced Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew, Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis and Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk.
A ‘Very Royal Scandal’ will focus more acutely on the TV presenter and her preparation for the interview with Prince Andrew. The three-part series will follow Maitlis’s “professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist” leading up to her interview with Prince Andrew.
