Sam McAlister, the producer who secured Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s infamous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, is speaking out for the first time since the former Duke of York’s arrest. In an interview with the Daily Mail’s Royal Confidential YouTube show, the producer shared that Princess Beatrice was “profoundly important” in securing her father’s participation on the TV special.
“It was clear that if we didn’t answer her questions well, this interview was never going to happen,” McAlister said.
The former Duke of York appeared on the TV news program to try and “clear his name” after his association with Jeffrey Epstein came to light. In particular, Andrew addressed the allegations of sexual assault by the late Virginia Giuffre, giving various bizarre reasons why he wasn’t with her, such as an inability to sweat and a trip to a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking, England.
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McAlister said that Princess Beatrice, who was 31 at the time, “came along unexpectedly to the face-to-face negotiation, which happened just three days before this interview physically happened.” The producer added, “I called her the rainmaker. And the reason is because she was protecting her father’s interests.”
Princess Beatrice and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are pictured at Royal Ascot in June 2019.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Princess Beatrice (left) and Princess Eugenie are pictured with their father at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“She was super polite, super nice, super friendly,” McAlister continued. “But in that room with the people who were there she was the one who had his interest purely at heart.”
McAlister said she “wasn’t privy to” any conversations behind the scenes, but she believes that Beatrice was “profoundly important” in getting her father to say “yes” to the interview.
Along with seeking his daughter’s approval, the former Duke of York had another family member who needed to sign off on his TV appearance. McAlister said that at the end of their meeting, Andrew declared, “Well, I better go and speak to Mum.”
“In my head, I’m like, ‘Well, why does a 59-year-old man need to speak to his mother?’ McAlister shared. “Because my brain had not clicked in, he means The [late] Queen.” Although she revealed that she has “no idea if that conversation took place,” Andrew’s remark was “one of the last things he said that day” before the BBC team later heard the interview was approved.
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Prince Andrew
Princess Beatrice