When billionaire Jeffrey Epstein is arrested by the FBI for sex trafficking and subsequently commits suicide, all attention in the United Kingdom is directed at Andrew, the Duke of York (Rufus Sewell). With the Duke under growing pressure to explain his relationship, a team at the BBC’s Newnight – including booker Sam McAlister (Billie Piper), producer Esme Wren (Romola Garai), and host Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson) – work around the clock to secure an interview.

Scoop, directed by Philip Martin, is a nicely shot and smartly acted recreation of one of 21st century Britain’s most notorious media events. In 2019 Prince Andrew, disgraced by his friendship with a sex offender and accused of sex with underage women, appeared on the BBC in an attempt to set the record straight. Instead his mannered, eccentric demeanour did vastly more harm than good. In the aftermath he by-and-large retired from public life, and found himself stripped of his royal titles by his mother Elizabeth II. The lead-up to his interview, as well as the broadcast itself, plays out like a typical journalistic drama: dogged investigations, chance discoveries, and unexpected revelations. It plays out with a great cast too, not just a heavily made-up Rufus Sewell but also Piper, Garai, Anderson, and Keeley Hawes.

So far so good, but in truth Scoop stumbles and falls. Quite simply there is no pressing reason for this story to exist. As something based on true events the film can only present those events: Andrew befriended a billionaire sex predator via his girlfriend. He was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl (something he has denied). He has since settled his alleged victim’s case out of court. All there is left for Scoop to work with is an embarrassing hour of television, which can be easily viewed by anyone with an Internet connection.

It is possible to use real-life events such as this to explore broader themes and issues, and indeed Scoop focuses on McAlister’s experiences as a single working class mother struggling for respect among her colleagues. It is an odd and uneasy target, because if the film wanted to genuinely contrast differing classes in the United Kingdom it has a much more appropriate opportunity between McAlister and the Duke of York. Instead the film maintains an odd attitude about the British royal family. Visits to Buckingham Palace are treated like exciting pleasures. The Queen – referenced but never seen – is a seemingly omnipresent figure. While this obvious point of contrast is ignored, a significant amount of time is spent championing McAlister versus her BBC colleagues. The film uses the real McAlister’s book as a source, which adds an odd and unwanted air of dirty laundry.

Scoop is reasonably made and will certainly entertain a target audience, but ultimately it has little to no reason to exist. That Prince Andrew has a poor reputation and an odd, unsettling personality is a matter of public record. Beyond that, there is very little that this production has to say.