Swindon’s Billie Piper is set to star in a brand new Netflix film.

The former Doctor Who actor will star in new drama Scoop, based on the infamous BBC Newsnight interview of Prince Andrew.

Netflix said the film will give viewers the “inside track” on how the then-Duke of York came to be grilled by presenter Emily Maitlis over his relationship with late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in November 2019.

The forthcoming film is based on former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews From Prince Andrew To Steven Seagal.

McAlister, who spent a year securing the sit-down on-camera meeting with Andrew and left the BBC in July 2021, will be played by Piper in the film.

“It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first-time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix, and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage,” she said.

She added that when she watches “one” of her favourite actresses, Billie Piper, known for Doctor Who and I Hate Suzie, play her she will have a “pinch-myself” moment.

Following the interview and the furore over his friendship with Epstein, the duke stepped down from public life.

Gillian Anderson will play Maitlis while Andrew will be played by Rufus Sewell and Keeley Hawes will star as Amanda Thirsk, former private secretary to the duke.

Netflix said it will look at “navigating Palace vetoes, to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high-stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal – to the jaw-dropping interview itself”.

The interview went on to win the Scoop of the Year at the Royal Television Society Awards in 2020.

The Crown’s Philip Martin, who directs Scoop, said: “Uptempo, immersive and cinematic, I want to put the audience inside the breath-taking sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew – to tell a story about a search for answers, in a world of speculation and varying recollections.

“It’s a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives and how – whether in glittering palaces or hi-tech newsrooms – we judge what’s true.”

The interview was previously covered by Channel 4’s Prince Andrew: The Musical, in which Maitlis was played by actress and comedian Emma Sidi and Andrew was played by Kieran Hodgson.

Maitlis, who joined the BBC in 2001, presented Newsnight from 2006 until last year when she left the broadcaster for rival media group Global where she presents The News Agents podcast with journalists Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall.