The British royal family has been the talk of the world for years. Until recently, it was an example of an institution that has remained unchanged for centuries and continues in the traditions of its ancestors. One of the unwritten rules is not to comment on press reports. The “Royals” rarely comment on their private lives, nor do they comment on gossip. This rule has been broken several times. Since the memorable Megxit, Harry and his wife have been regularly creating new sensations, but the Windsors remaining on the Islands have remained consistently silent. In turn, recently Duchess Kate talked about her illness, dispelling rumors about an alleged divorce and even her death.
In 1995, Diana famously said in a conversation with Martin Bashir: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a little too crowded.” The hour-long BBC interview shocked public opinion. Never before has anyone from the Queen's inner circle spoken to the media this way. However, the rebellious princess achieved what she wanted. After the conversation was published, her royal mother-in-law gave in and consented to the divorce of the heir to the throne. Despite the passage of time, this interview still raises a lot of controversy. His behind-the-scenes scenes were shown in the fifth season episode “Gunpowder”. “The Crown”.
24 years later, Queen Elizabeth's favorite son, Andrew, sat in front of the BBC cameras. And he had his purpose in this. He wanted to clear himself of serious charges. Apparently he also did it for his daughter, who was getting ready for her wedding. Beatrice was also present during meetings with the Newsnight team. In a conversation with journalist Emily Maitlis, Andrzej explained his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell. The Duke of York was seen in the company of the infamous businessman even after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to sexual solicitation of minors. Moreover, Virginia Giuffre stated in court that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 years old. Epstein allegedly paid for these “meetings”.
Apparently, after the conversation, the prince was very pleased with it. He proudly showed Maitlis around Buckingham Palace. Two days later, after the conversation was broadcast, he no longer had reasons to be satisfied. The interview was compared to watching a plane crash in slow motion. There was talk of the biggest royal scandal since Diana's death. Andrzej's statements were widely commented and criticized. He was accused of lacking even an ounce of compassion for Epstein's victims or being detached from reality. On November 20, he announced his withdrawal from public life after that. Unofficially, it is said that it was his “mother's” decision. In the following days, the organizations he patronized broke off cooperation with him. Later, Andrew also lost his royal titles.
The interview can now be seen in its entirety at: on Youtube. I guess everyone who saw it asks themselves the same question – how on earth did this interview and its broadcast happen? Netflix movie ““Strong topic” tries to answer them. The production was based on the book “Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews” by Sam McAlister, who was one of the producers of Newsnight. “A Strong Subject” focuses on the women who led to the infamous interview.
Sam McAlister (Billie Piper) was responsible for finding topics and guests for the program. It was she who contacted the prince's private secretary, Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes), who is convinced of her employer's innocence. The interview was conducted by the already mentioned Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson), and the whole thing was supervised by Esme Wren (Romola Garai). The Netflix production focuses mainly on Sam's perspective. The ambitious producer definitely stands out from other BBC employees. With a storm of unruly blonde curls and leopard-print shoes, she has to prove to her “snobbish” colleagues that she deserves her position.
Initially, there was no indication that a conversation would take place. However, Sam believes in his instinct that it is worth delving deeper into this topic. He maintains contact with Amanda and when he receives a leak about Epstein's arrest, he strikes out. He offers an exclusive interview, a space for Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell) to show his side. Convinced of her employer's innocence, the secretary agrees. Despite the objections of the palace's media relations specialist. Negotiations gained momentum after Epstein's death. During one of the meetings, the prince says that he needs to ask “mommy” for permission. She allegedly replied that she believed his judgment. Princess Beatrice also took part in the talks. Time has shown that in their case it was not worth trusting intuition.
The interview was recorded on the grounds of Buckingham Palace on November 12, 2019, and broadcast two days later. However, work on it had started many weeks earlier. Lasting less than two hours, the film directed by Philip Martin shows what happened before the cameras were turned on. Tedious negotiations, conversations, journalistic research and attempted interviews in an empty warehouse. Although the film's investigative journalism is engaging, it is far from the excellent “Spotlight”. Weeks of research have been cumulated into several scenes, too much of which focuses on Sam's private life. I would spend the time devoted to it, e.g. to present the editorial work more precisely.
After over an hour of the film, we get its most interesting part – a conversation with Prince Andrew. The creators of “A Strong Subject” decided to reproduce approximately one third of the actual interview. And although you can of course read the interview itself in advance (which I strongly encourage you to do), in its film version the camera's attention is focused on what is happening outside the frame. In the glances exchanged between Sam and her co-workers and Amanda Thirsk. In her book, McAlister mentioned how surprised the prince's words were. “He couldn't just say 'I'm not sweating,' could he? Did that just happen?” – she asked in her mind, looking around the room. This surprise was captured in the Netflix production.
Almost without using words, Martin managed to show how different the reception of the interview by media representatives was from palace advisers and Andrzej himself. When the smug prince offers Maitlis a tour of the palace, we too ask ourselves “did that just happen?” Although “A Strong Subject” is not a perfect production, it is worth giving it a chance, among other reasons, for these twenty minutes. This couldn't have been achieved without an outstanding cast. You could be sure that Gillian Anderson would steal every scene even before the premiere. The 55-year-old actress has once again proven that she can turn any role into a masterpiece.
Rufus Sewell, transformed almost beyond recognition, despite playing the central character of the entire event, has slightly less opportunity to prove himself. However, he uses them one hundred percent. The biggest surprise for me was Billie Piper, whom I had previously only known as a companion to Doctor Who. Piper definitely did her homework before coming on set. It managed to reflect, among others: McAlister's distinctive gait. The strength of her role is primarily what is happening on her face and in her glances.
“A Strong Topic” is not the only production that will talk about the BBC interview. Amazon is preparing a series called “A Very Royal Scandal”. Michael Sheen will play Prince Andrew and Ruth Wilson will play Emily Maitlis. One of the producers of the series is Maitlis herself.