Who is Sam McAlister? The real story behind Billie Piper's character in Netflix's Scoop

Scoop, Netflix's new film about the famous 2019 BBC interview between Prince Andrew and journalist, Emily Maitlis has been released. But who is Sam McAlister? And what part did she have to play in the unforgettable Newsnight episode?

On 5 April, Netflix released Scoop, a new film based on the real life events that saw the BBC secure an exclusive interview with the Duke of York. If you watched the original interview, you'll know it was conducted by BBc journalist Emily Maitlis. But little else was known about how the interview came about at the time. Now  everyone is keen to know more about some cast members and their real-life counterparts – in particular, who is the real Sam McAlister in Scoop? Here's what you need to know...

Who is Sam McAlister in Scoop?

Sam McAlister in Scoop is played by the actress Billie Piper, who is best known for her role as Rose in Doctor Who and as Suzie in I Hate Suzie. In the movie, Billie plays Sam McAlister, the former TV producer who worked on BCC Newsnight and secured the interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew. 

Sam was a trained barrister before she came to BBC Newsnight as a TV Producer. She ultimately left her role at the BBC to write her book, which the Netflix show took its name and inspiration from.

Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews by Sam McAlister £7.79 | Amazon

Written by TV producer Sam McAlister, her book details how she secured the Prince Andrew interview in 2019 which became one of the most explosive interviews in BBC history.

In July 2022, Sam released an autobiography titled Scoops, which covered the famous Newsnight episode about Prince Andrew's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. The book also looks at other interviews including exclusives with: Stormy Daniels, Steven Seagal, Mel Greig and Julian Assange. 

Since writing her book and leaving her TV career behind, Sam is now a Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE Law and a keynote speaker at JLA Speaker Bureau. She also has a TedX Talk when she spoke about her personal recollection of the Prince Andrew Newsnight interview.

Sam spoke to The Telegraph about her excitement when it came to the Netflix series. "It’s rare that you see a representation of women, all in their 40s and 50s. This is an opportunity to see hard-working women behind the scenes at every stage," she said.

"It felt like being there with Emily," said Sam about Gillian Anderson's performance at Emily Maitlis. "Everything about her physicality and her performance is on the money. They have a similar intellect as well. Emily is very methodical. She worked very hard on every interview; she trains, she studies. And my impression of Gillian was exactly the same. She was studying the material, she was studying Emily, and she was working on that project in an intellectual way as well as a dramatic way."