Four weddings, a funeral… and a car crash interview? Emily Maitlis in the race to enlist her ‘close friend’ Hugh Grant as the Duke of York for her dramatization of the infamous Newsnight fiasco
The fallout from Prince Andrew’s car crash Newsnight interview continues.
Interviewer Emily Maitlis and her former boyfriend, interview fixer Sam McAlister, engage in a rival race on screen with their versions of events.
And in a new twist, actor Hugh Grant seems to be the common object of their passions.
Sources say that Grant, 61, and Maitlis, 51, are “old friends” and it is believed that informal approaches were made to Grant’s role as Duke of York.
Hot property: Emily Maitlis is said to be keen on enlisting close friend Hugh Grant to play Prince Andrew in a dramatized series starring his infamous 2019 car crash interview
Representatives for former Newsnight anchor Maitlis deny Grant has been shown a script – yet.
But others linked to the project say there is already a connection between the A-list actor and the A-list interviewer, which isn’t marred by Maitlis’ choice of production company Blueprint to produce her three-part TV -Make show about the interview.
Blueprint also directed A Very British Scandal, in which Grant played Liberal MP Jeremy Thorpe.
Competition: Maitlis and her former boyfriend, interview fixer Sam McAlister (pictured), engage in a rival on-screen race with their versions of events
It was announced last month that Sam McAlister’s book ‘Scoops’ has been optioned and will be adapted into a film called ‘Scoop’, written by Peter Moffat.
It has been speculated that Grant was on the wish list to play the Duke of York. When asked if he was involved, Grant said on Twitter: “No, I’m not. Never heard of it.’
A month later, however, he appears to be considering taking on the role in a rival project.
Misjudgment: The infamous interview (pictured) was widely judged to be a disaster for Prince Andrew
Maitlis’ work is in development. Her team says it will be a three-part TV show that will air on a “major streaming service” and have a “Bafta-winning writer.”
Prince Andrew spoke about his friendship with recently convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in the 2019 Newsnight interview.
A source told me: “Sam and Emily are two very alpha females. They supported each other up until the moment all of this happened. They are no longer in contact with each other.”
Neither Maitlis nor McAlister could be reached for comment yesterday.