Emily Maitlis tweaked parts of A Very Royal Scandal to protect herself (Image: Getty Images)

Emily Maitlis tweaks Prince Andrew's A Very Royal Scandal for family privacy

Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis has said her home was recreated in A Very Royal Scandal but she made details 'less accurate' when it came to her protecting family

by · Daily Record

BBC journalist Emily Maitlis has claimed that a new drama about Prince Andrew's notorious 2019 Newsnight interview, titled 'A Very Royal Scandal', has been made "less accurate".

The drama, which premiered on Amazon Prime today (Thursday, September 19), features Michael Sheen as the Duke of York and Ruth Wilson portraying Emily.

Despite the scriptwriters' efforts to accurately depict the background of the infamous interview, Emily admits she intentionally altered some details to safeguard her and her family's privacy. As an executive producer on the adaptation, Emily revealed on the News Agents podcast: "At the beginning, I tried really hard to make everything accurate and everything real."

However, as the cast and crew probed deeper into her personal life, Emily felt her privacy was being infringed upon.

The adaptation of Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview was released today (Image: (Image: BBC))

Born in Canada to a Jewish family who fled Germany following Hitler's rise to power, Emily recalled: "They'd come around to my house and we'd have chats such as 'What if this is Christmas, what would you have a Christmas tree or a Menorah? ' and I'd say 'Oh yeah, both'."

Initially, Emily aimed to keep the drama closely aligned with her life, but eventually decided against it. She said: "At the beginning I was trying to make it very close to my life and then it struck me and I thought 'I'm not sure I want to do that," reports the Express.

Emily has opened up about her unease over having her home and her two young sons portrayed too realistically on-screen. She shared: "I suddenly realised that I wanted it to be less accurate in certain parts of my life.

Emily is an executive producer of the adaptation (Image: (Image: BBC))

"I didn't use my home, and we made my children's ages much younger because it was less naff for them to have to see portrayals of themselves."

Her cautious approach may stem, in part, from a terrifying episode where she was harassed for years by an old university acquaintance.

Edward Vines conducted a prolonged stalking campaign against her and was eventually jailed for eight years after flouting several restraining orders.

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