A Very Royal Scandal boss reveals "comedic" lines were cut on legal advice
"There'd be things that we thought were just really funny and you would not be allowed to have them."
Three-part drama A Very Royal Scandal dramatises the events surrounding the 2019 Newsnight interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew, and as with any drama adapted from real events, there's always a line where fiction and reality meet.
Speaking at a recent Q&A for the series, executive producer Karen Thrussell revealed this line had to be very carefully trodden, as comedic beats in Jeremy Brock's scripts had to be cut because of legal advice.
Thrussell said: "We approached it with a lot of legal advice. Every single script got sent.
"I mean, Jeremy was pulling his hair out sometimes, because there'd be things that we thought were just really funny and you would not be allowed to have them. We got there, every script was checked."
When asked what some of the lines related to, Thrussell added: "I don't think we can even say it legally! But there was just the odd comedic line that we really weren't allowed.
"And then others got through - like calling Charles 'Mr Tampon' or something, which was completely fine."
She continued: "So, yes, everything was checked and triple checked. The scripts were all checked, and you have to be careful because obviously we don't want to upset people unnecessarily either. So there’s a duty of care, as well as a lot of legal advice."
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When asked whether it ever put her and the team off from making the show, Thrussell admitted: "Well, it did a bit, I was pulling my hair out. But no, it all worked out well."
The drama stars Ruth Wilson as Maitlis, while Michael Sheen plays Prince Andrew, a role he admitted was tricky to take on because "the central, most important thing about this character, I didn't know".
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Sheen explained on an episode of The News Agents podcast: "When it comes to a story like this, obviously, where there's a mystery at the heart of it, we don't know.
"There hasn't been a legal case. We don't know definitively what happened or what didn't happen, what he did or what he didn't do. And of course, that's incredibly rare."
He continued: "When we did certain key scenes, I said, 'Right, I'm going to give you a take now which is leaning this way a bit,' and, 'I'm going to give you a take which is leaning this way a bit now.'
"I still knew I had to sort of change little things in my head, do a bit of mental acrobatics in my head, so I wasn't changing what I thought, but essentially what was going on for him. But I just leaned a few different ways."
A Very Royal Scandal will stream on Amazon Prime Video from 19th September 2024 – try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days. Plus, read our guides to the best Amazon Prime series and the best movies on Amazon Prime.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
