bbc world news tv anchors

BBC Hires Sumi Somaskanda, Adam Levy, Carl Nasman, Helena Humphrey to Build Out Washington D.C. News Operation

The group will serve as chief presenter, executive producer and senior journalists, respectively

BBC News has made several new hires as it looks to build out its news operation in Washington D.C.

Sumi Somaskanda, a senior presenter and correspondent that covered global politics and current affairs for Germany’s DW News, will serve as the channel’s new chief presenter.

“I’m thrilled to join the BBC and its incredible team of journalists bringing accurate and impartial information to viewers and users across the world,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to being a part of the BBC’s coverage of the biggest stories making news.” 

BBC has also appointed Adam Levy as the channel’s news editor and executive producer, where he will play a key part in building its live programming out of Washington D.C.

Levy joins from CNN, where he worked as a supervising producer, senior producer and producer for some of the network’s most high-profile talent and programs including “State of the Union with Jake Tapper,” “Fareed Zakaria GPS” and most recently “The Assignment with Audie Cornish” podcast launch.

In addition to Somaskanda and Levy, Carl Nasman and Helena Humphrey will join the BBC as senior journalists, reporting both on-air and behind-the-scenes from the field, newsroom and studio.

Nasman joins from NBC News, where he served as global correspondent and climate change presenter, and DW, where he was a news anchor in Berlin. Meanwhile, Humphrey brings over 13 years of experience reporting and presenting for international news outlets, most recently as lead anchor at Euronews and Global Correspondent at NBC News.

BBC is also expanding its team focused on commercial content strategy. New members of the team include Krystal Bowden, vice president of content strategy for global digital news and streaming; Ilyas Kirmani, live and talent strategy vice president; and head of newsletters Danny Boyle.

Bowden, who will be based in New York, will be responsible for identifying new programming opportunities to grow audiences, drive habituation, build brand awareness and increase revenue. She previously served as VP of BBC StoryWorks, where she led the BBC’s branded content studio in North America and Latin America, developing premium content partnerships with leading brands to engage the BBC’s global audience. Prior to that, she led strategic initiatives at leading media companies including NBC News, HBO and CBS Television Stations.

Kirmani will be responsible for ensuring BBC’s live programming is optimized to meet the demands of its North American audience and serve as the lead talent liaison, working closely with internal partners to drive engagement between the BBC’s talent and personalities and its audience. Most recently, Kirmani served as Executive Producer at CNN and previously spent 16 years in various news leadership roles at NBC.  

Boyle, who will be based in London, will be responsible for growing the BBC’s digital reach in North America and across the world, outside of the UK. He has worked in regional and national newsrooms for 17 years, most recently at The Daily Telegraph, where he ran newsletters designed to drive engagement and increase paid subscriptions.

BBC News reaches 50 million consumers weekly in the United States.

Meanwhile, BBC.com, which offers up-to-the-minute international news, in-depth analysis and features, including BBC Worklife, BBC Culture, BBC Future, BBC Travel and BBC Reel, reaches more than 139 million unique browsers each month via PCs, tablets and mobile devices.

BBC World News television is available in more than   200 countries and territories worldwide. The channel’s content is available in millions of hotel rooms, on cruise ships and numerous airlines. 

List of current BBC newsreaders and reporters

This is a list of newsreaders and journalists currently employed by BBC Television and BBC Radio .

Television news presenters

Bbc one and bbc two, bbc news (tv channel), radio news presenters, bbc radio 2, bbc radio 4, bbc radio 5 live, bbc world service, journalists, foreign correspondents, latin america, uk and ireland correspondents, specialist correspondents, programme correspondents, segment presenters, weather forecasters, programme presenters.

Presenters and journalists appear across BBC television, radio but also contribute to BBC Online .

BBC News provides television journalism to BBC network bulletins (on BBC One and BBC Two ) and programmes as well as the BBC News Channel available around the world and in the United Kingdom . BBC News runs BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC World Service as part of its rolling news coverage, journalists and presenters also contribute to podcasts produced by BBC News for BBC Radio 4 , as well as solely for BBC Sounds .

The BBC has over 5,500 journalists [1] based both in the United Kingdom and abroad. BBC appointments can be short- or long-term; for example, reporter Peter Bowes revealed on BBC News (broadcast live on 8 September 2020) that Los Angeles has been his home for 25 years.

Many presenters listed here contribute to various BBC News programs, and some are involved in other BBC projects. Additionally, certain BBC News presenters offer relief presentation for programs airing on these channels. It's important to note that this list excludes presenters of broadcasts simulcast from the BBC News channel on BBC One overnight or during weekday mornings on BBC Two .

The presenters listed below often contribute to various BBC News programs and may have roles in other departments within the BBC. Additionally, some BBC News presenters not listed here occasionally fill in on programs broadcast on this channel. Noteworthy exceptions are the presenters of the domestic programs BBC Breakfast , BBC One bulletins, and BBC Newsnight simulcast on the domestic feed.

A significant change occurred on April 3, 2023, when the BBC consolidated its domestic and international rolling news channels into a unified operation. To spearhead news broadcasts on the merged channel during weekdays, the BBC appointed six (original) "chief presenters." This has since grown to twelve. Among them, nine are based in London, while two operate from Washington DC and one operates out of the BBC News studio in Singapore. [4]

Chief presenters

The programmes where the presenter is the lead presenter are bolded. Chief Presenters work across BBC One, BBC Two and primarily the BBC News Channel. The chief presenters broadcast on the channel between 12:00 and 8:00 London time during weekdays. Chief presenters will front BBC News coverage of editorially significant events on weekends. News broadcasts outside of these hours, and on weekends are fronted by other BBC presenters, many of which previously appeared on the domestic and international rolling news channels prior to their merger.

Other presenters

The list below reflects presenters normal postings, but can be posted to cover other studios

The broadcasters mentioned below frequently contribute to various BBC Radio programs and may hold roles in different departments within the BBC. Moreover, some BBC Radio hosts not listed here occasionally step in on programs aired on this channel.

♦ = Presenter

The list provided indicates the usual assignments of correspondents. In instances of significant global events, like the Libyan crisis in 2011 or the Gaza conflict in 2023, foreign correspondents may be temporarily reassigned from their regular locations to cover these stories on a rotational basis. During such times, they are often labelled as "World Affairs Correspondents" or, if in Europe, as "Europe Correspondents." Subsequently, they return to their usual assignments. Additionally, this temporary reassignment may occur to cover holidays, primarily in July and August, as well as during Christmas periods. The BBC has a variety of specialist positions also including Regional Editors who are often shared across the world service output also.

Asia/Pacific

North america, middle east.

Only network correspondents are listed, but additional correspondents from national and regional news teams also report for the network.

Family & Education

Home & legal affairs, diplomatic and royal, social affairs, religious affairs, environment and climate, culture, arts and media, contributing editors.

• Reeta Chakrabarti ♦

Special correspondents

• Lucy Manning
• Fergal Keane
• Ed Thompson

BBC News employs a number of business and sports presenters to anchor sections of news programmes.

BBC Weather is delivered by a team of Met Office broadcast meteorologists to deliver forecasts across its range of television and radio services. Most forecasters work across all mediums and shifts.

• Darren Bett
• Katerina Christodoulou
• Stav Danaos
• Chris Fawkes
• Alexis Green
• Alina Jenkins
• Sarah Keith-Lucas
• Carol Kirkwood
• Louise Lear
• Lucy Martin
• Susan Powell
• Elizabeth Rizzini
• Tomasz Schafernaker
• Matt Taylor
• Helen Willetts
• Owain Wyn Evans
• List of former BBC newsreaders and journalists
• Category:British television journalists

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• ↑ Birchall, Guy (13 July 2023). "Huw Edwards named as BBC presenter accused of paying teen for explicit pictures" . Sky News . Archived from the original on 12 July 2023 . Retrieved 12 July 2023 .
• ↑ "Clive Myrie on The King's Proclamation" . BBC . 29 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023.
• ↑ "BBC unveils presenter line-up for news channel" .
• 1 2 3 4 "Annita McVeigh, Ben Brown and Geeta Guru-Murthy appointed as chief presenters for BBC News Channel" .
• ↑ "Maryam Moshiri" .
• ↑ "BBC News - Behind the Stories, Clive Myrie on the King's Proclamation" . 29 December 2022.
• ↑ "Steve Lai appointed as BBC News Chief Presenter" . www.bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 21 December 2023 .
• ↑ "BBC's Nancy Kacungira celebrates birth of son" . 12 January 2024.
• ↑ "Who has the nation's favourite radio voice?" . Radio Times .
• ↑ "BBC - Evan Davis appointed as new presenter for Radio 4's PM programme - Media Centre" . bbc.co.uk .
• ↑ "BBC Radio 5 live - Chiles on Friday" . BBC .
• ↑ Knuckles, Oswin (20 September 2018). "BBC News gets a Global Population Correspondent" . ResponseSource . Retrieved 15 October 2018 .
• ↑ "BBC Reporter Mark Lowen On Why He Left Turkey" . WBUR . 23 September 2019.
• ↑ "Afghanistan: Taliban ban women from universities amid condemnation" . BBC News . 21 December 2022 . Retrieved 4 January 2023 .
• ↑ "Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker)" . Twitter . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "Soutik Biswas - BBC News" . BBC News . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ Bryant, Nick [@NickBryantNY] (10 November 2019). "The BBC has a new Australia correspondent and she's great - @Shaimaakhalil Tellingly, she arrives to massive bushfires and a coal-brandishing prime minister who "refused to be drawn on whether climate change could have contributed to the fires". #australia #ozpol #bushfires https://twitter.com/NickBryantNY/status/1193519050321747968" ( Tweet ). Archived from the original on 10 November 2019 . Retrieved 29 May 2021 – via Twitter .
• ↑ "Anthony Zurcher" . BBC News . Retrieved 23 May 2021 .
• ↑ Munro, Jonathan [@jonathancmunro] (31 October 2018). "Delighted to confirm @BBCSophie - Sophie Long - as our new Los Angeles Correspondent. @BBCNews" ( Tweet ) . Retrieved 29 May 2021 – via Twitter .
• ↑ "Follow the US election on the BBC" . BBC News . 4 November 2018 . Retrieved 14 November 2018 .
• ↑ "Emma Vardy (@EmmaVardyTV)" . Twitter . Retrieved 26 February 2019 .
• ↑ "Home" . www.maryharper.co.uk .
• ↑ "Emmanuel Igunza (@EmmanuelIgunza)" . Twitter . Retrieved 15 October 2018 .
• ↑ "Mayeni Jones named BBC Nigeria Correspondent - ResponseSource" . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "Tomi Oladipo (@Tomi_Oladipo)" . Twitter . Retrieved 15 October 2018 .
• ↑ "Bassam Bounenni (@bbounenni)" . Twitter . Retrieved 15 October 2018 .
• ↑ "Simon Jones (@SimonJonesNews)" . Twitter . Retrieved 17 January 2024 .
• ↑ "Lisa Hampelé (@LisaHampele)" .
• ↑ "Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee)" . Twitter . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "Vincent McAviney (@VinnyMcAv)" . Twitter . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
• ↑ "Joe Miller (@JoeMillerJr)" . Twitter . Retrieved 14 November 2018 .
• ↑ "James Cook appointed BBC News Scotland Editor" . BBC. 3 February 2022 . Retrieved 8 February 2022 .
• ↑ Griffith, Hywel [@hywel_griffith] (2 September 2019). "First day back reporting on Wales and the news feels rather familiar from 2016... https://t.co/yDNQMWftEu #steelcrisis #croesonol" ( Tweet ). Archived from the original on 12 September 2019 . Retrieved 29 May 2021 – via Twitter .
• ↑ "Vicki Young appointed BBC's new Deputy Political Editor" . BBC . Retrieved 1 October 2020 .
• ↑ "Susana Mendonça (@susana_mendonca) - Twitter" . twitter.com . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "Barnier: Brexit transition 'not a given' " . BBC News. 9 February 2018 . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ Maguire, Stephen (21 December 2020). "Donegal man Enda appointed BBC Northern Ireland political editor – Donegal Daily" . www.donegaldaily.com . Retrieved 5 July 2021 .
• ↑ "BBC News hires Zeffman as chief political correspondent" . 13 June 2023.
• ↑ "Elaine Dunkley (@" . Twitter . Retrieved 14 November 2018 .
• ↑ Casciani, Dominic [@BBCDomC] (4 January 2021). "New Year, new job. From today, I'm the BBC's Home and Legal Correspondent. Mission: Plain english explanations of the law..." ( Tweet ). Archived from the original on 4 January 2021 . Retrieved 29 May 2021 – via Twitter .
• 1 2 Marcus, Jonathan (30 May 2018). "Jonathan Marcus (@Diplo1) | Twitter" . Twitter . Archived from the original on 25 May 2018 . Retrieved 30 May 2018 .
• ↑ Hawley, Caroline. "Caroline Hawley (@carolinehawley) | Twitter" . Twitter . Archived from the original on 7 February 2016 . Retrieved 19 May 2018 .
• ↑ "Paul Adams (@BBCPaulAdams) - Twitter" . twitter.com . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "Sky News Political Editor defects to BBC" . Prolific North . 6 November 2018.
• ↑ "Peter Ruddick - X" . Twitter . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: url-status ( link )
• ↑ Walker, Andrew. "Andrew Walker (@andrewwalker167) | Twitter" . Twitter . Archived from the original on 13 February 2018 . Retrieved 19 May 2018 .
• ↑ "Theo Leggett (@Theothebald)" . Twitter . Retrieved 15 October 2018 .
• ↑ "CCTV shows man suspected of launching hot chocolate at BBC reporter" . Evening Standard . 4 March 2020.
• ↑ "Ben Hunte named first LGBT correspondent for BBC News" . BBC News. 13 December 2018.
• ↑ "A Day in the Life of Megha Mohan, BBC Gender & Identity Correspondent" . 26 May 2019.
• ↑ "Alison Holt (@AlisonHolt1)" . Twitter . Retrieved 15 October 2018 .
• ↑ "Adina Campbell to change roles at BBC News - ResponseSource" . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ Diseko, Lebo (16 December 2019). "Tiffany Haddish's Black Mitzvah and her journey of Jewish discovery" . BBC News.
• ↑ Austin, Katy [@KatyAustinNews] (15 November 2021). "🚨 Job news: I start today as the BBC's Transport Correspondent, after 2 years - and many weekends - on Business. Picking up the baton from the fab @caroline_gm_d . Can't wait to get going 🚗🚲🚊✈️🚢 https://t.co/ZGZQ14klLk" ( Tweet ). Archived from the original on 13 December 2021 . Retrieved 1 January 2022 – via Twitter .
• ↑ "BBC News appoints Kleinman tech editor" . 21 September 2021.
• 1 2 "UK Media Moves including ITV News, the FT, News UK and more" . Retrieved 28 January 2022 .
• ↑ Knuckles, Oswin (4 March 2020). "James Clayton appointed as Tech reporter at BBC News" . responsesource.com . Retrieved 22 February 2022 .
• ↑ "BBC One - X-Ray - Steffan Powell" .
• 1 2 "Richard Westcott changes role at BBC News - ResponseSource" . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "Patch change for Victoria Gill at BBC News - ResponseSource" . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "Matt McGrath (@MattMcGrathBBC)" . Twitter . Retrieved 6 February 2019 .
• ↑ "Claire Marshall (@BBCMarshall)" . Twitter . Retrieved 6 February 2019 .
• ↑ Savage, Mark (20 April 2017). "Harry Potter is coming to the Proms" . BBC News.
• ↑ "Ornstein leaves BBC Sport to become latest Athletic recruit" . Prolific North . 17 July 2019 . Retrieved 16 October 2019 .
• ↑ "Katie Gornall (@KatiegBBC)" . Twitter . Retrieved 16 October 2019 .
• ↑ "Telling Sport's Stories: BBC News' Joe Wilson" . The Cambridge Student . 3 July 2018 . Retrieved 16 October 2019 .
• ↑ "Daily Mail's Laura Lambert joins BBC Sport" . Prolific North . 14 October 2019 . Retrieved 16 October 2019 .
• ↑ Sport news bulletins start in Salford , Ariel (BBC), 6 March 2012
• ↑ "Agent British Corporate Presenter Journalist Louisa Pilbeam" .
• ↑ Tilley, Chloe. "BBC - World Service - World Have Your Say: Meet the team: Chloe Tilley" . Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
• ↑ "New drama and comedy commissions announced as BBC Three Is On TV from tomorrow" . BBC . Retrieved 6 February 2022 .
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Jane Hill and Ben Brown among anchors axed as BBC merges news channels

Insiders say departure of popular BBC News channel presenters – with Martine Croxall also going – could prompt ageism row

Some of the BBC News channel’s most famous faces, including Jane Hill, Ben Brown and Martine Croxall, have been axed before the launch this spring of a channel that combines international and domestic news.

The trio have become familiar to UK viewers during times of political and economic turmoil and their departure could prompt a row about ageism, according to BBC insiders.

From April, the BBC News channel and its commercial global counterpart BBC World News will disappear and be replaced by a new channel called BBC News, aimed at UK and international audiences.

Merging the two channels is part of a £500m cost-cutting and redistribution mission announced by the BBC director general, Tim Davie, to create a “digital-first” organisation and save £285m a year , necessitated by the government freezing the licence fee for two years.

Presenters were invited to apply for the chief anchor roles on BBC News and none of Hill, Brown or Croxall were chosen although Hill will be presenting more shifts on the main BBC News bulletins so will remain at the corporation. Other regulars such as Annita McVeigh, Geeta Guru-Murthy or Shaun Ley were also not chosen and some presenters such as Joanna Gosling declined to audition and have already left.

Instead, Matthew Amroliwala, Christian Fraser, Yalda Hakim, Lucy Hockings and Maryam Moshiri will be the key presenters of BBC News, leaving the future of the others at the BBC in doubt.

The National Union of Journalists is understood to be arguing there is still room for others on the new channel or in other roles across the corporation such as radio. One source said eyebrows had been raised about the age of the women who had not been chosen, and claimed all but one of them have had pay corrections due to equal pay issues.

Some insiders have said the choice of presenters signals that the focus of the new channel will be more on international news. Amroliwala is the main presenter for BBC World News’s flagship programme, Global, but is known to UK audiences as he was a lead presenter on the BBC News channel for 16 years.

Fraser presents The Context on the BBC News channel and has co-presented Beyond 100 Days on BBC World News. Hakim, Moshiri and Hockings have worked principally as anchors on BBC World News.

The BBC said all the anchors had been appointed “via a competitive interview process in accordance with BBC HR procedures”.

The BBC News chief executive, Deborah Turness, said: “This team’s editorial leadership, talent, knowledge and flair make them the ideal presenters to bring the BBC’s trusted journalism to people at home in the UK and around the globe.”

The channel is expected to launch in the first week of April and will split into two feeds when it needs to cover big breaking domestic stories that are not of enough importance or interest to world audiences.

The Guardian has learned that Turness has asked for more home news on the station. Some UK politicians are likely to be unhappy that fewer of their constituents’ concerns will be covered by a station funded by licence fee payers but aimed also at audiences abroad, where it will be allowed to sell adverts.

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BBC Adds to Growing Digital and TV News Teams in the United States      

SUMI SOMASKANDA ANNOUNCED AS CHIEF PRESENTER FOR BBC NEWS   

Washington DC – March 14, 2023 — Today, the BBC announced several key appointments across its digital and TV news teams as part of its ongoing commitment to expanding its world-leading news offering in North America.  

Sumi Somaskanda will be a chief presenter on the BBC’s news channel – BBC News – which will be broadcast around the world, including the UK. Somaskanda previously served as a senior presenter and correspondent for DW News, Germany’s international broadcaster where she covered global politics and current affairs.  Sumi, along with another chief presenter to be announced shortly, will be based in Washington DC, reflecting the expanded primetime coverage which will be anchored there.  

Paul Royall, Acting Executive Editor of BBC News, says: “Sumi is a real journalistic talent whose international news experience, dynamic presentation skills and approachable style make her ideal for the role and we’re delighted to welcome her to the BBC.”  

Sumi said, “I’m thrilled to join the BBC and its incredible team of journalists bringing accurate and impartial information to viewers and users across the world.  I look forward to being a part of the BBC’s coverage of the biggest stories making news.”’  

Additionally, Adam Levy has been appointed News Editor and Executive Producer of the BBC News channel. Levy will play a key part in building the BBC’s live programming out of Washington DC. He joins from CNN, where he worked as a supervising producer, senior producer and producer for some of the network’s most high-profile talent and programs including “State of the Union with Jake Tapper,” “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” and most recently “The Assignment with Audie Cornish” podcast launch.  

Carl Nasman and Helena Humphrey join the BBC as Senior Journalists where they will report both on-air and behind-the-scenes from the field, newsroom and studio. Nasman joins from NBC News, where he served as global correspondent and climate change presenter, and DW where he was a news anchor in Berlin. Humphrey brings over 13 years of experience reporting and presenting for international news outlets, most recently as lead anchor at Euronews and Global Correspondent at NBC News. Nasman and Humphrey will both be based in Washington D.C.  

In addition to the editorial roles, a series of new hires focused on commercial content strategy were announced, including Krystal Bowden , new VP of Content Strategy; Ilyas Kirmani , new VP of Live and Talent Strategy; and Danny Boyle , new Head of Newsletters.   

Jen Brown, SVP of Programming and Content Strategy of BBC Studios, says: “As we continue on our path towards growing in the US and globally outside of the UK, Krystal, Ilyas and Danny, working alongside our broader editorial and commercial teams, will play a key role in driving our commercial programming strategy forward.”  

Krystal Bowden has been appointed to the newly created role of VP of Content Strategy for Global Digital News and Streaming, based in New York. In this role, Bowden will be responsible for identifying new programming opportunities to grow audiences, drive habituation, build brand awareness and increase revenue. Bowden previously served as VP of BBC StoryWorks where she led the BBC’s branded content studio in North America and Latin America, developing premium content partnerships with leading brands to engage the BBC’s global audience. Prior to the BBC, Bowden led strategic initiatives across a range of leading media companies, including NBC News, HBO and CBS Television Stations, among others.  

Ilyas Kirmani has been named VP of Live and Talent Strategy. In this role, Kirmani will work to ensure the BBC’s live programming is optimized to meet the demands of its North American audience. He will also serve as the lead talent liaison, working closely with internal partners to drive engagement between the BBC’s talent and personalities and its audience. Most recently, Kirmani served as Executive Producer at CNN and previously spent 16 years in various news leadership roles at NBC.  

Danny Boyle has joined as Head of Newsletters based in London. He will play an important role in growing the BBC’s digital reach in North America and across the world, outside of the UK. Boyle has worked in regional and national newsrooms for 17 years, most recently at The Daily Telegraph where he ran newsletters designed to drive engagement and increase paid subscriptions.    

Since announcing its plans to double its digital journalism team in North America last year, the BBC has continued to add key roles in Washington DC and New York that will play a central role in facilitating the BBC’s ability to cover major breaking stories and provide more in-depth analysis from the region and for the region.  

BBC News, which reaches 50 million consumers weekly in the U.S., is regarded as the most trusted global news brand in the country, ahead of all major US news brands, according to the 2022 Reuters Institute Digital News Report. The ranking is a testament to BBC News’ commitment to its mission of helping people understand the world around them, make informed choices and take an active part in society and democracy.  

BBC.com  is BBC Studios’ global digital news platform, offering up-to-the-minute international news, in-depth analysis and features, including BBC Worklife, BBC Culture, BBC Future, BBC Travel and BBC Reel, for PCs, tablets and mobile devices to more than 139 million  unique browsers each month.  BBC World News television is available in more than  200  countries and territories worldwide. The channel’s content is available in millions of hotel rooms, on cruise ships, and numerous airlines.    

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The true story behind netflix’s ‘scoop’ and prince andrew’s bbc interview.

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SCOOP on Netflix.

Scoop is finally streaming on Netflix. The royal drama chronicles the nail-biting behind-the-scenes events leading up to Prince Andrew’s infamous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019. But how much does Scoop stay true to what happened in real life ?

Directed by Philip Martin ( The Crown ), Scoop follows journalist Sam McAlister, the interview booker for the BBC show Newsnight, who secured the infamous interview with Prince Andrew. The movie is based on the first-hand account of McAlister, who chronicled the events in her 2022 memoir Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the Most Shocking Interviews .

McAlister, portrayed in the film by English actress Billie Piper, told Netflix’s Tudum that Piper “encapsulated that mix between seriousness and the lighter side of my character.” She continued, “To watch her literally transform, change her voice, [and wear] the extraordinary wig, my nails, the makeup, the roster of black clothing — it’s exactly the same. So meta and surreal.”

In the drama, Gillian Anderson plays British Journalist Emily Maitlis, Rufus Sewell portrays Prince Andrew, and Keeley Hawes stars as his then-private secretary, Amanda Thirsk. So, what's the real story behind Netflix ’s Scoop? Read on to find out.

One Of The Best Shows Of 2024 Lands On Netflix Today

Airtag 2024: iphone update reveals apple launching significant new feature, estonia just found another million shells for ukraine, is netflix’s scoop based on a true story.

Yes, Netflix’s film Scoop is based on the true story of the BBC’s interview with Prince Andrew. Although the film is dramatized, Scoop closely follows what really happened leading up to the conversation, and it relied on McAlister’s memoir as its primary source. The film’s producers also “meticulously researched the events at the BBC and Buckingham Palace during this time,” according to Netflix.

However, there are a few differences between the film and the actual events in 2019. For example, unlike in the movie, McAlister spent 13 months building a relationship with Thirsk until she received that final yes.

Who are Sam McAlister and Emily Maitlis?

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 03: Sam McAllister & Emily Maitlis winners of The BBC News and Factual ... [+] Award attend the 30th Women in Film & Television Awards on December 3, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for WFTV Awards)

Sam McAlister was a criminal lawyer before becoming an interview producer and guest booker for the BBC’s news program Newsnight. Meanwhile, Emily Maitlis is a British Journalist who joined the BBC in 2001. McAlister left the corporation in July 2021, while Maitlis parted ways in 2022.

McAllister was trying to arrange an interview with Prince Andrew on the BBC news program for more than a year, according to The New York Times . She finally met with the royal’s private secretary at the time, Amanda Thirsk, who said there could be no questions about Epstein.

Circumstances changed in August 2019, when Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail, where he was being held on federal sex trafficking and sex conspiracy charges. After that, McAlister and Thirsk started to discuss the need for Prince Andrew to explain his relationship to Epstein.

Ultimately, Maitlis — the lead anchor for Newsnight — conducted the interview with Prince Andrew (which you can watch in full here ). Maitlis now hosts the daily podcast “The News Agents” on Leading Britain's Conversation (LBC) Radio.

Why Was Prince Andrew’s BBC Interview So Controversial?

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 07: Prince Andrew The Duke of York arrives at the Headquarters of CrossRail ... [+] in Canary Wharf on March 7, 2011 in London, England. Prince Andrew is under increasing pressure after a series of damaging revelations about him, including criticism over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier surfaced. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

In the explosive interview, Prince Andrew discussed his friendship with financier and convicted sex offender Jefferey Epstein and denied the allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.

In 2015, Giuffre brought a defamation case against Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, alleging that the pair had sex-trafficked her starting in 2000 when she was known as Virginia Roberts. She claimed that Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew in his New York mansion, in London, and on Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands when she was 17 in 2001.

However, the allegation was thrown out and struck from the record by a U.S. federal judge, who said it was “immaterial and impertinent to the central claim.” It wasn’t until 2019 when Giuffre’s allegations against Andrew were made public, and the documents from the 2015 defamation case were unsealed .

Perhaps one of the most shocking moments from the interview (there are quite a few) was when Prince Andrew said that he didn’t regret his friendship with Epstein because it led to “opportunities” that were “actually very useful.”

After Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 and served jail time for soliciting prostitution, Prince Andrew was also spotted in Central Park with Epstein. He said that he stayed at the sex offender’s Upper East Side mansion because “it was a convenient place to stay.” Additionally, when asked by Maitlis about the underage girls photographed leaving the house, Prince Andrew responded, “As far as I was aware, they were staff.”

Maitlis also showed Prince Andrew a photograph of himself with his arm around Guiffre’s waist. He responded, “That’s me, but whether that’s my hand … I have simply no recollection of the photograph ever being taken.”

Virginia Roberts holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Palm Beach multimillionaire ... [+] Jeffrey Epstein began abusing her sexually. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The prince also offered bizarre alibis in response to Giuffre’s claims. For example, he said he couldn’t have sweated while dancing with Guiffre at a nightclub in London because, on that day, he had taken his daughter to get pizza. He also claimed that he “didn’t sweat at the time” because of a “peculiar medical condition.”

Following the interview, Prince Andrew received immense backlash from the public, British and international media. On November 20, 2019, he announced that he would be resigning from public duties . He was consequently stripped of his military titles and the right to be called “His Royal Highness.”

“I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure,” Prince Andrew wrote in a statement at the time. “I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”

In February 2022, Prince Andrew settled the sexual assault lawsuit and paid an undisclosed amount to Giuffre and her charity to support victims’ rights, according to BBC . He also said he “never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character” and he recognized she had “suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks."

Scoop is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.

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Bbc radio presenter greg james apologizes for “disgusting” glass eye comment in video, taiwanese tv anchors’ reactions captured live as newscasts are interrupted by 7.4 earthquake.

By Tom Tapp

Deputy Managing Editor

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An anchor for Taiwan ‘s iNews was live on air relaying a message from the country’s earthquake early warning system when the actual 7.4 temblor hit Tuesday.

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Reported video of the heavy shaking inside a TV studio in Taiwan during the earthquake. pic.twitter.com/C2UN4igFvB — Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) April 3, 2024

Another local anchor at SET News decided not to brace herself at all, doing an admirable job of keeping her feet beneath her — in heels, no less — as the shaking began.

Earthquake interrupts live news on @setlivenews in Taiwan this morning. Holy sh*t. https://t.co/lido3A6tWL pic.twitter.com/J3xgI1C4T0 — @mhar4 (@mhar4) April 3, 2024

Over at another outlet, the news presenter was fortunate to be seated, but the station’s green screen graphics were a mess with the shaking.

Terremoto de Taiwan en vivo desde tv local. Taiwan earthquake pic.twitter.com/gbkAgGSJns — d (@ngc1995dodo) April 3, 2024

According to the New York Times , nine people were killed by the quake and hundreds were injured.

The Taiwanese anchors’ reactions were a sharp contrast to those in another seismically active media market: Los Angeles.

In 2019, KCAL9  news anchors Juan Fernandez and Sara Donchey were live on air when a  powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck about 100 miles north of L.A. Their reaction? Duck and cover.

Of course, the most famous local in-studio earthquake moment was the reaction of Kent Shockneck, who was hosting NBC4’s Today in L.A. when the 5.9-magnitude Whittier Narrows earthquake hit in 1987.

As studio lighting crashed about him, a nervous-looking Shockneck said, “I’m going to get under this desk, I apologize for the theatrics.”

It was a maneuver the rattled anchor would repeat again during an aftershock and earned him the nickname “Kent Shockwave.’

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‘Scoop’ Review: The Story Behind That Prince Andrew Interview

In 2019, the prince went on air to respond to accusations involving Jeffery Epstein. The drama here is in how the BBC convinced him to do it.

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By Ben Kenigsberg

The exposés that brought public attention to Watergate, the predations of Harvey Weinstein and the abuse tolerated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston have all been the subjects of movies. The drama revolved, in part, around the difficulty of getting people to talk.

Now comes the story of how the BBC program “Newsnight” landed its bombshell interview with Prince Andrew in 2019. Over a bizarre 49-minute segment, he unconvincingly addressed his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender, and repeatedly denied accusations by Virginia Roberts Giuffre that, at 17, she had sex with the prince after being trafficked to him by Epstein. The interview was less world historic than David Frost’s conversations with an out-of-office Richard Nixon (themselves the basis for a play-turned-movie), but the fallout was real. Faced with widespread criticism, Prince Andrew resigned from public duties just days later.

How do you score an interview with a scandal-plagued royal? “Scoop,” directed by Philip Martin, chronicles the determined efforts of the producer Sam McAlister (Billie Piper), on whose book, “Scoops,” the film is based. Attending meetings at Buckingham Palace may lack the grit of shoe-leather reporting, but there is genuine psychology involved in convincing a famous figure that countering disapproval requires acknowledging it, and that the questions asked will be fair. Sam makes her case over multiple discussions with the prince’s personal secretary, Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes), and eventually in a pitch to the prince himself (Rufus Sewell in significant makeup) alongside Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson), the journalist who hopes to interrogate him.

The film finds sufficient suspense in these negotiations and in Maitlis’s preparations for the encounter, a grilling that, in real life, she skillfully pulled off without ever registering as discourteous. Why Prince Andrew’s answers were so tone-deaf — he was panned for not expressing sympathy for Epstein’s victims — is a mystery that “Scoop” sidesteps. (McAlister and Thirsk exchange ambiguous glances as the taping concludes.)

What “Scoop” offers is the modest pleasure — to which any journalist is susceptible — of rooting for a reporting team to get a story. That, and mimicry: exceptional on Anderson’s part, less on that of Sewell, who has a raspier voice and a more passably serious manner than the prince displayed on TV.

Scoop Not Rated. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. Watch on Netflix .

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