How I landed BBC’s car-crash Prince Andrew scoop

Thursday, November 14, 2019, and I’m in the South Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, behind Prince Andrew’s head to the left of my line of sight, and presenter and interviewer Emily Mattles—pen in hand, wearing a green A khaki military jacket, black trousers and open-heeled shoes—right in front of me.

I’m a 46-year-old junior TV producer and this is one of the most analyzed and talked about moments in broadcasting ever.

I can barely breathe. It took 13 months of painstaking negotiations, many conversations and meetings to make this moment happen – to convince Andrew to give his first sit-down interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. And it has to do with the BBC’s Newsnight.