BBC Producer Reveals What She Never Thought Andrew Would Say

Prince Andrew wearing a suit putting his finger to his mouth — (Image credit: Getty Images)

In 2019, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor conducted an interview with the BBC's Newsnight program intended to clear his name after his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But the disastrous TV sit-down did exactly the opposite, resulting in the former Duke of York to be forced out of his role as a senior working royal. Now, the Daily Mail has interviewed producer Sam McAlister about the "hideous impact" the TV special had on Andrew's life, and she admitted one part of the interview truly shocked her.

Speaking to the Mail's Palace Confidential YouTube program, McAlister said that she was able to speak to the then-prince before their interview was actually confirmed. During his conversation with Newsnight staff, Andrew did mention a “temporary medical condition about sweating” and going to a Pizza Express restaurant, but McAlister didn’t realize he was going to mention the unusual alibis in his actual interview.

The former Duke of York famously mentioned on camera that he couldn't have shared a sweaty dance with his accuser Virginia Giuffre at Tramp nightclub in London because he had ”a peculiar medical condition, which is that I don’t sweat, or I didn’t sweat at the time.” He also said he couldn't have been at the club that night because he'd taken Princess Beatrice to a birthday party at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking, England.

Newspapers with headlines about Prince Andrew's arrest — Andrew was arrested on February 19.

The outside of the Pizza Express in Woking, England — Andrew claimed he attended a party at the Pizza Express in Woking, England on a night he was accused of sleeping with Giuffre.

McAlister called the revelations “a bit of a jaw drop,” explaining that she thought that the comments Andrew made in a “private room” would never be repeated on camera. “It’s just not going to happen,” the producer said she thought at the time.

“The moment at which he finally said that he had this 'alibi' as he put it, the moment he said the words 'Pizza Express Woking,' the moment he said he had a temporary medical condition—those two things I had never, ever thought he would say on camera,” the producer shared.

She added that this “was the moment I would say I was the most shocked in a sense, because I knew the information, but now so would the world.”

Despite her shock, McAlister said that she had to “really concentrate” to disguise any kind of “reaction” to Andrew’s comments in case it impacted the interview. “I had resting producer face,” she said. “You suck in the cheeks, you show no reaction.”

The former Newsnight producer said that she “looked at the floor” and her “shoes,” avoiding making “eye contact” with anyone in the room. McAlister added that as one can imagine, it was “quite hard to achieve.”

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.