Emily Maitlis has spoken out about her world exclusive interview with the Duke of York, which she described as “extraordinarily raw and often uncomfortable.”
Ms Maitlis, who is the lead presenter on BBC Newsnight, appeared on Friday’s programme ahead of the interview which will be broadcast on Saturday evening.
Speaking to colleague Kirsty Wark, the broadcaster said: “It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be sitting in Buckingham Palace opposite The Queen’s son, quizzing him on his sexual history.
“We had been taking to the palace for a long time, almost a year, and after Epstein’s death the talks intensified.
“We had several meetings. We had to made it clear that anything we did would be no holds bar, that we could go to areas that were uncomfortable if necessary and ask the questions we needed to ask.
“The Duke of York himself had to find approval from the highest levels. We understand that was the Queen. She gave sign off on either late on Monday or very early on Tuesday.
“We got the phone call on Tuesday morning telling us the interview could go ahead, and we recorded the interview at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.”
Ms Maitlis added that Prince Andrew did not shy away from any of the questions.
She said: “From the perspective of an interviewer, the Duke of York was very engaged with every single question.
“It was not the sound of a pre-prepared Buckingham Palace statement – it was extraordinarily raw and often uncomfortable, but it was very head on.”
