Photographer at Prince Andrew's car

Release time：2024-05-22 04:41:40 Source：Culture Connect news portal

The photographer at Prince Andrew's car-crash Newsnight interview has opened up about Emily Maitlis and the Duke's 'tense' post-filming conversation and the moment the crew knew they had a 'huge' scoop.

Mark Harrison, from London, appeared on Talk Today this morning to discuss his involvement in the disastrous royal interview, which is the subject of Netflix's new drama Scoop.

Speaking to hosts Nicola Thorp and David Bull, the photographer explained how he wasn't briefed on the assignment before arriving at Buckingham Palace and was simply told to 'wear shiny shoes'.

Before the interview began, Mark said the crew were 'tense' and had been told to 'carry on filming regardless of what happened'. 

He added: 'In fact, there was talk that he might even walk.' 

During his Newsnight interview in November 2019, the Duke of York refused to apologise for his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

Once Emily and Andrew were both present, Mark said he inadvertently 'broke the ice' in the room when he informed the crew that their breakfast was in the shot.

Mark said: 'So everyone fell about laughing, including Prince Andrew.' 

When the interview got underway, the photographer said it didn't take long for the 'aghast' crew to realise they had a 'huge' scoop. 

He continued: 'When the thing got going, my eyeline just remained fixed on the cameraman. 

'I was standing just behind one of the cameramen, and I could see the other one on the other side, and I was just fixed on catching his eye, and eyebrows went up and hands went across mouths.'

The photographer said that he covered his mouth when Prince Andrew claimed that he was at Pizza Express in Woking on the day he was accused of meeting up with accuser Virgina Roberts.

Mark added: 'I thought then, "That's a headline". And then another one came and it was like, "Oh, that's a headline". 

'I certainly didn't know it was going to be a headline five years on, but here we are.'

Mark Harrison took this photo of Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis after filming for the Newsnight segment had wrapped

Mark Harrison, from London , appeared on Talk Today this morning to discuss his involvement in the disastrous royal interview, which is the subject of Netflix's new drama Scoop

After the interview wrapped, Mark detailed how he took some additional photos with Prince Andrew and Emily, who he described as 'tense'.

He added: 'All my photographs taken after the interview there's no smiles. There's nothing. It's all tense from her.'

Having walked down a Buckingham Palace corridor together, Mark said the trio ended up in a 'bizarre huddle' at the end.

He then claims Prince Andrew said to Emily: 'Well, that was just terrific, wasn’t it? That was wonderful. It went really well.'

Mark continued: 'She pauses and says, "Yes, sir, that was a walk in the park," and there's a sort of tumbleweed moment. 

'I'm squashed between the two of them and eventually he says, "Yes. The Park, New York. The park. And, he picks up on her little gag [about his walk with Jeffrey Epstein in Central Park, which Emily questioned him about].

'At that moment, I thought, "I can't believe you thought this went well, because the rest of us are all catching eyes", and I'm told to just get out and get it to press.'

Scoop (starring Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew) will be released on Friday bringing his shocking interview back to the royal spotlight 

Mr Sewell as the Duke of York and Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis in Scoop, left, which retells the story of his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview - widely considered the most disastrous in royal history

Prince Andrew - who attended the Easter Sunday Service at St George's Chapel with his siblings and ex-wife on Sunday- is bracing himself for the release of the new Netflix film Scoop.

The drama - starring Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper and Rufus Sewell - delve into the royal's car-crash Newsnight interview regarding his relationship to paedophile Jeffery Epstein. 

The new Netflix film will re-hash what is widely considered the most disastrous interview in royal history, where Emily Maitlis grilled the Duke on the sex allegations made against him by Mrs Giuffre. 

The film will be released on Friday and is set to bring yet another headache to King Charles as continues his battle with cancer. 

It will also bring Andrew's bombshell interview, where he failed to apologise for his friendship with Epstein, to a new audience of millions of people around the world. 

Scoop will show the moment the Queen's son naïvely declared 'that went well didn't it' after the interview and how he joked about meeting Epstein in New York. 

The King and his son Prince William were said at the time to be instrumental in the Queen's decision to strip him of all military titles and patronage, however, the Duke has most recently been welcomed back into the royal spotlight. 

Sunday's event proved to onlookers that the Duke of York is well and truly back in the royal fold and will no longer shy away from the public limelight at a time where fewer senior royals are on hand. 

It marks an extraordinary turn around just two years after his late mother Queen Elizabeth banned him from royal duties and stripped him of his HRH as well as military titles. 

The extraordinary move came after Andrew settled a sexual assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre - a sex slave victim of Andrew's close friend  Epstein.   

Watch Talk Today, Monday to Friday from 6am - 9:30am, on Freeview 237, Sky 522 and Virgin Media 606.

Related articles