Prince Andrew braced for backlash as new trailer branding him 'Randy Andy' in Netflix film drops

The Duke of York was forced to step down as a working member of the Royal Family following the disastrous Newsnight interview.

In the trailer for Scoop which dropped today, Billie Piper, who plays Newsnight producer Sam McAlister, tells Rufus Sewell, who plays the Duke of York, that he is often called "Randy Andy".

This new film documents the “high stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace” that Maitlis and McAlister experienced trying to obtain the "royal scoop" with Prince Andrew.

Piper is seen in the trailer with blonde curly hair and wide sunglasses saying in a voiceover: “An hour of television can change everything.”

During a meeting with the Newsnight crew, Sewell as Prince Andrew asks: “If I do an interview, the question is, why you?”

Piper as McAlister responds by saying: “With respect, you know how people see you”, to which Sewell says: “Spell it out”. She responded: “Randy Andy”.

Andrew revealed the origins of this nickname during a TV interview with Selina Scott in the 1980s.

Scott asked the royal about the origins of his nickname to which he sheepishly replied: “Which nickname?”

After much laughter, Scott said: “Randy Andy”.

“I’ll tell you exactly where it originated from. It was my second day at public school,” he said.

“I was unfortunate enough during my early days at Gordonstoun not to realise the rules of the house which is you weren’t allowed in the girls’ house.

“And I was unfortunately caught going through the door to the girls’ house - saying hello to somebody - and it stuck.

“Not many people use it nowadays and I don’t think that it actually fits today anyway.”

In 2019, Prince Andrew was interviewed by Maitlis on his friendship with the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

The Duke of York was also questioned about a photograph showing him alongside Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked by Epstein.

In a US civil case, Prince Andrew was accused by Giuffre of sexually abusing her on three occasions when she was 17 years old.

In the BBC Newsnight, the Duke of York stressed that he had no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre, and has repeatedly denied the allegations.

In February 2022, Giuffre and the prince reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount, including no admission of guilt on the claims against the Duke of York.

This interview is now being reenacted in the new Netflix drama, starring Gillian Anderson as Maitlis.