Get ready to meet the women who secured that interview with Prince Andrew in Netflix’s new drama, Scoop. If you’re anything like us, you can't wait to watch when it comes out on 5th April. But, what do the cast look like in real life versus in the movie and who they play?
Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell star in the upcoming film, which is based on the true events that lead up to the explosive BBC Newsnight interview with journalist Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew that sent shockwaves through Britain and the royal family.
The cast go through some pretty impressive transformations for the movie (we could barely recognise Rufus!), making us even more excited to watch. So, in case you’re wondering, here is the cast of Netflix’s Scoop in the film versus in real life and who they play.
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1
Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis
Peter Mountain//Netflix
Gillian Anderson took on the leading role of BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, and she really does look a lot like her!
In an interview with the BBC, Gillian revealed she nearly turned down the role. "It was just too scary to play Emily Maitlis, because she's still living, because she's so formidable, because people know her so well. I thought I probably do have to do it because I'm so scared of it."
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2
Emily Maitlis in real life
Chris Williamson//Getty Images
See what we mean? Practically twins! Emily is a multi-award winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former newsreader for the BBC.
Currently, she's the presenter of the daily podcast The News Agents on LBC Radio.
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3
Gillian Anderson in real life
Gareth Cattermole/Getty
Now, this is the Gillian who we know and love for her roles in Sex Education, The Crown and many more. We're sure the 55-year-old actor's role as Emily in Scoop will just make us even more obsessed with her!
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4
Billie Piper as Sam McAlister
Netflix
Billie transforms into the former Newsnight producer, Sam McAlister, who pretty much secured the infamous interview in the Netflix film.
The blonde locks seriously make her look so much like Sam!
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5
Sam McAlister in real life
Samir Hussein//Getty Images
Told you about the hair! Sam is a former BBC producer and is the author of Scoops, which is a tell-all book that inspired the Netflix film.
On the similarity between her and Billie on screen, she told PA news, "People couldn’t tell us apart – my own boyfriend couldn’t tell us apart and many of the newspapers couldn’t tell us apart."
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6
Billie Piper in real life
Karwai Tang//Getty Images
In real life, we know Billie for her roles in as Rose in Doctor Who and as Suzie in I Hate Suzie. We can't wait to see her play Sam next!
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7
Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew
Netflix
We can barely recognise Rufus! The actor takes on the role of Prince Andrew and undergoes a pretty serious transformation which involved prosthetics, a wig and more.
On taking on the role, Rufus told Rolling Stone he thought, "'What the f**k have I just said yes to'... I had to do a lot of work to look like Andrew, sound like him and get behind the thoughts and gestures from my perspective."
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8
Prince Andrew in real life
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Prince Andrew is the third child and second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger brother of King Charles III.
Soon after the infamous Newsnight interview aired, he had to take a big step back from his royal duties.
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9
Rufus Sewell in real life
Samir Hussein//Getty Images
In real life, Rufus looks pretty different to Prince Andrew and he is best known for his roles in The Legend of Zorro, The Holiday, The Tourist and more.
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10
Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk
Netflix
Keeley takes on the role of Prince Andrew's former private secretary and top aide, Amanda Thirsk, who we see a lot in the trailer for the upcoming movie.
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11
Amanda Thirsk in real life
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In real life, Amanda worked for the Prince for years as his private secretary and his most senior member of staff.
According to The Telegraph, it was Thirsk who encouraged Andrew to be interviewed for Newsnight following calls for him to explain his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
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12
Keeley Hawes in real life
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You might recognise Keeley, 48, from her roles in much-loved British dramas like Bodyguard, The Durrells and Line Of Duty.
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13
Connor Swindells as Jae Donnelly
Netflix
Connor plays Jae Donnelly, the famous photographer who captured the infamous photograph of Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein walking in New York's Central Park.
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14
Connor Swindells in real life
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While there aren't many pictures of Jae in real life, we can show you Connor who played Adam in Sex Education, where he starred alongside Ncuti Gatwa.
He has also been in BBC's SAS: Rogue Heroes, Vigil and, of course, Barbie!
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15
Romola Garai as Esme Wren
netflix
Esme Wren was the BBC Newsnight editor at the time of the Prince Andrew infamous interview. In Scoop, she's played by Romola Garai and features a lot in the trailer.
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16
Esme Wren in real life
Joe Maher
Esme Wren is the current editor at Channel 4 News, where she moved to after three years of working on Newsnight. She's also worked for other big broadcasters like Sky News!
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17
Romola Garai in real life
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Fans of BBC drama, Vigil, will most likely recognise Romola for her role in the second season, and the actor and film director has also starred in Emma, The Crimson Petal and the White, Becoming Elizabeth and more.
Furvah Shah is Cosmopolitan UK’s junior entertainment and lifestyle writer. She covers everything from TV and films to music and books, plus lots of celebrity news. Furvah has previously written for The Independent, BBC, gal-dem and Amaliah and she is super passionate about highlighting diverse talent and projects, having interviewed the likes of Halle Bailey, India Amarteifio, Iman Vellani and more. She's been interviewed for Times Radio and BBC Asian Network, graduated with a First in BA Media and Communications from Goldsmiths University and is an NCTJ-qualified journalist. In her free time, you can find her at an arts or culture event, eating Middle Eastern or Asian food, searching for modest fashion inspiration on Pinterest, binge-watching a Netflix series or cuddling with her cat. You can follow Furvah on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.