Second Prince Andrew drama exposes shocking moment that left Emily Matlis shaking-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

Prince Andrew asks Emily Maitlis and her team an insensitive question in A Very Royal Scandal (Picture: PA/Courtesy of Prime Video)

A Very Royal Scandal has revealed a distressing question Prince Andrew asked Emily Maitlis ahead of their infamous BBC Newsnight interview.

The Amazon Prime series is the second drama to have retold the Royal’s car crash appearance but this time Emily, 54, is involved as an executive producer.

In the show Emily, played by Ruth Wilson, is seen being left shaken during a pre-interview meeting with Prince Andrew, played by Michael Sheen.

Leaning towards her, Prince Andrew asks Emily and her team: ‘Have any of you ever been victims of abuse?’ 

After they all say no, the 64-year-old probs: ‘Nothing in your life?’

Looking shellshocked, Emily replies: ‘Nothing that bares comparison.’ 

Prince Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk, played by Joanna Scanlan, continues: ‘So your judgement wouldn’t be coloured by anything at all?’

In the Amazon Prime Show, he asked Emily if she is a victim of abuse (Picture: ITV/Good Morning Britain)

‘Not at all,’ confirms Emily as the meeting concludes.

However, later on in the episode, Emily is still troubled by Prince Andrew’s question, which has played on her mind.

Confiding in her husband Mark Gwynne, played by Nicholas Burns, she says: ‘You know at the end of my meeting with Prince Andrew he asked me if I had ever been the victim of abuse? It felt horrible.’

Mark asks: ‘What did you say?’

In A Very Royal Scandal, Michael plays Prince Andrew (Picture: Christopher Raphael/Blueprint/Sony Pictures Television)

The drama is Emily’s perspective of the BBC Newsnight interview (Picture: BBC News)

Emily replies: ‘Well nothing, having a stalker is not remotely comparable and I don’t want to talk about it.’ 

The fictionalised Emily is referring to her real-life stalker Edward Vines, 54, who had a three-decade-long fixation with the journalist who he knew from their Cambridge University days in 1990.

In 2022, Vines, formerly of Grosvenor Road, Oxford, was jailed for eight years after attempting to breach a restraining order for the 20th time by sending letters to Emily and her mother from HMP Nottingham between May 2020 and December 2021.

Before A Very Royal Scandal’s release, there were reportedly fears it would be eclipsed by the success of Scoop, Netflix’s drama about the Newsnight interview released earlier this year.

The interview was a car crash and afterwards Prince Andrew stepped back from the firm (Picture: BBC2)

A Very Royal Scandal recounts the events through Emily’s perspective, whereas Scoop s based on the book – Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews – written by Newsnight producer Sam McAlister played by Billie Piper.

The series goes behind the scenes to show us how the interview was secured, recreates the most memorable moments, shows reactions from the women who made the chat happen and follows some of the fallout.

Despite both offerings covering the same subject matter and the ‘rivalry,’ Billie previously told Metro.co.uk that Emily, who is played by Gillian Anderson, would enjoy Scoop. ‘I’m sure she would absolutely love it,’ she stated.

Emily previously told Deadline she didn’t get involved with the Netflix film: ‘I’ve left them very much to do their own thing because I think the last thing they want is me peeking around the edges offering my [views].’

Gillian played Emily in Netflix’s take on the saga, Scoop (Picture: Netflix/Peter Mountain. All Rights Reserved)

During the bombshell interview, Prince Andrew discussed his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein who was found dead in August 2019 whilst awaiting trial in the televised event,

He also denied having sex with Virginia Giuffre in March 2001 and said he had ‘no recollection of ever meeting’ her.

After the interview, Prince Andrew retired from public life as a working member of the firm and paid a financial settlement to his alleged victim.

A Very Royal Scandal is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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