It was more than four years ago that Prince Andrew sat down for a historic interview with BBC Newsnight.
No topic was off-limits and interviewer Emily Maitlis grilled the Duke of York on his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell. But the chat ended up becoming a car crash and is considered the catalyst for the downfall of Andrew, who was forced to step down from royal life and has now been stripped of his military affiliations and patronages.
Now, the interview has come back into the spotlight due to the release of the brand new Netflix drama Scoop, which tells the story of how the BBC managed to persuade Andrew to take part in the interview and the fallout that followed. And here we look back and some of the original interview's most jaw-dropping moments...
Convenient place to stay
When Andrew took part in the interview in November 2019, he was coming under increasing pressure to explain his association with Epstein, who months earlier had been found dead in a New York prison.
Prince Andrew during his appearance on Newsnight (BBC)The Duke said that he and Epstein "weren't that close" but admitted visiting him in New York in 2010 after he had served time in prison. Maitlis asked Andrew why he had gone and stayed with Epstein at his New York home despite him being a convicted sex offender.
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And Andrew said he "went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together". He added: "I had a number of people counsel me in both directions, either to go and see him or not to go and see him and I took the judgement call that because this was serious and I felt that doing it over the telephone was the chicken's way of doing it. I had to go and see him and talk to him."
When pressed on why he had stayed for several days, Andrew said: "It was a convenient place to stay. I mean I've gone through this in my mind so many times. At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. But at the time I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgement was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that's just the way it is."
'Unbecoming' behaviour
In another eye-raising moment, the Duke was asked if he regretted his friendship with Epstein. He said: "As far as Mr Epstein was concerned, it was the wrong decision to go and see him in 2010. As far as my association with him was concerned, it had some seriously beneficial outcomes in areas that have nothing and have nothing to do with what I would describe as what we're talking about today.
Prince Andrew was asked if he regretted his friendship with Epstein (BBC.com)"On balance, could I have avoided ever meeting him? Probably not and that's because of my friendship with Ghislaine, it was… it was… it was inevitable that we would have come across each other. Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes."
Questioning him, Maitlis probed: "Unbecoming? He was a sex offender." Andrew added: "Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm being polite, I mean in the sense that he was a sex offender. But no, was I right in having him as a friend? At the time, bearing in mind this was some years before he was accused of being a sex offender. I don't there was anything wrong then, the problem was the fact that once he had been convicted…"
No regrets
Earlier in the interview, Andrew was also asked if he regretted his "whole friendship" with Epstein. But he did not say he did. He said: "Now, still not and the reason being is that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful.
"He himself not, as it were, as close as you might think, we weren't that close. So therefore I mean yes I would go and stay in his house but that was because of his girlfriend, not because of him."
However, in the aftermath of the interview and in statement revealing he was stepping back from royal life, Andrew then said: "I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure."
No recollection
In another part of the interview, Andrew was asked directly about Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was told by Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with the Prince at Epstein's mansion in New York and at other locations when she was 17. She later brought a civil claim against Andrew but it was later settled out of court. The settlement contained no admission of liability, guilt or wrongdoing on Prince Andrew's part.
Prince Andrew at the royals' Easter Sunday church service in Windsor (AFP via Getty Images)Maitlis asked: "She says she met you in 2001, she says she dined with you, danced with you at Tramp Nightclub in London. She went on to have sex with you in a house in Belgravia belonging to Ghislaine Maxwell, your friend. Your response?"
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And Andrew responded: "It didn't happen." He continued: "No, I've no recollection of ever meeting her, I'm almost, in fact, I'm convinced that I was never in Tramps with her. There are a number of things that are wrong with that story, one of which is that I don't know where the bar is in Tramps. I don't drink, I don't think I've ever bought a drink in Tramps whenever I was there."
Pizza Express visit
As Andrew was pressed about the claims he had been at the nightclub, he recalled where he believed he was instead - a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking.
He explained: "On that particular day that we now understand is the date which is the 10th of March, I was at home, I was with the children and I'd taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at I suppose sort of four or five in the afternoon. And then because the duchess was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away the other one is there. I was on terminal leave at the time from the Royal Navy so therefore I was at home."
When asked why he would remember being at Pizza Express, he added: "Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do, a very unusual thing for me to do. I've never been… I've only been to Woking a couple of times and I remember it weirdly distinctly."
Medical condition
Another bombshell moment came when Maitlis asked Andrew about the claims he danced at Tramp nightclub with his accuser, who said he was profusely sweating. To which he replied: "There's a slight problem with the sweating because I have a peculiar medical condition which is that I don't sweat or I didn't sweat at the time and that was… was it… yes, I didn't sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenalin in the Falklands War when I was shot at and I simply… it was almost impossible for me to sweat.
Prince Andrew leaving Chinawhite nightclub in London (David Abiaw/REX/Shutterstock)
Prince Andrew pictured last week (Getty Images)"And it's only because I have done a number of things in the recent past that I am starting to be able to do that again. So I'm afraid to say that there's a medical condition that says that I didn't do it."
However, there have been accounts and pictures of the Duke, where he appears to seem sweaty - despite his claims in the interview. In July 2000, a then 40-year-old Andrew was spotted leaving London's Chinawhite nightclub - a favourite nightspot of celebrities in the Soho area. Pictures from the night show the Duke of York in a blue, unbuttoned shirt, appearing to look slightly sweaty.
Photo mystery
Meanwhile, when asked about the photo that has circulated appearing to show Andrew and Giuffre along with Ghislaine Maxwell, he insisted he didn't recall it being taken.
He added: "I don’t believe it's a picture of me in London because when I go out in London, I wear a suit and a tie. That’s what I would describe as… those are my travelling clothes if I’m going overseas."
And when asked about putting his hand around Giuffre's waist, he said: "I'm terribly sorry but if I, as a member of the Royal Family, and I have a photograph taken and I take very, very few photographs, I am not one to, as it were, hug and public displays of affection are not something that I do. So that's the best explanation I can give you and I'm afraid to say that I don't believe that photograph was taken in the way that has been suggested."
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