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A Good Morning Britain segment sparked controversy on the internet when Richard Madeley was accused of depicting Prince Andrew as a ‘victim’.
The ITV presenter and co-host Susanna Reid were interviewing Rufus Sewell before the release of Netflix drama Scoop, which is based on Andrew’s well-known interview with Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis in 2019.
That interview focused on Andrew’s relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with the interview being considered a ‘car crash’, despite Prince Andrew initially thinking it had gone well.
The new drama is based on Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, and stars Rufus as Andrew and Gillian Anderson as journalist Emily.
On Wednesday, Richard spoke to Rufus about the film, which included his extraordinary transformation into the prince using prosthetics, but viewers were less than impressed with one point Richard made.
He said: ‘Andrew has really suffered since this. A lot of people say that’s his own fault, his actions, his decision to do the interview, his foolishness in thinking the interview had gone well and sanctioning it, and the fact it had gone terribly.
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‘But do you feel a little bit of pity for him?’ he asked actor Rufus. ‘Are these dramas, do you feel to some extent we’re beginning to rub his face into this a bit too hard?’
He clarified ‘I’m not suggesting that we are, I’m just asking if you think that we might be.’
Rufus instantly gave his answer as no, but said ‘it’s a very good question. It’s one of the reasons I was so hesitant about taking [the role], because I don’t want to be jumping on some bandwagon.’
‘It’s always important to remember, whatever someone is going through, however high up or low down they are, these are humans. People are a product of their circumstances, One of the concerns was wanting to do a truthful representation of him, including him at his best as well as his worst, because people are a mixed bag.’
The segment caused anger online, with social media users accusing Richard of trying to ‘rehabilitate’ the disgraced royal.
User FlopsyPickle wrote ‘Trust Richard to sit there trying to paint Prince Andrew as the victim! GMB & loose women have already given Fergie a platform where she’s said he’s a wonderful man (sic).’
IndyLeft23 said they could ‘barely believe what I’m watching,’ calling it ‘repulsive’.
And J Sober said: ‘Richard Madeley suggesting Prince Andrew is the victim, maybe we’ve been too harsh on him and makes no mention of his alleged victims. Outrageous.’
The astonishing 2019 Newsnight interview saw Maitlis sit down with the Duke of York who refused to admit to having intercourse with Virginia Giuffre.
Giuffre alleges she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein at 17 and was still legally a minor in the US.
She described a memorable encounter with Prince Andrew where she claimed he perspired heavily while they danced at Tramp nightclub in London.
He disputed the memory, stating to Maitlis that it would be ‘impossible’ because he had a rare condition that prevented him from sweating; he also mentioned that on that specific day, he was at a Pizza Express in Woking.
Andrew paid an estimated £12 million to settle a civil case with Ms Giuffre in 2022.
He has vigorously denied any wrongdoing or recollection of ever meeting Giuffre.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV and ITVX; Scoop will begin streaming on Netflix on 5 April.
