Billie Piper attended Netflix’s Scoop premiere at The Curzon Mayfair in London on Wednesday – after breaking her silence on ex-husband Laurence Fox.
Billie shares sons Winston, 12, and Eugene, eight, with the controversial activist and they were embroiled in a lengthy custody dispute after their split six years ago.
The actress spoke out for the first time on their complicated relationship to British Vogue and described how she navigates co-parenting ‘with enormous difficulty.’
Billie, 41, brushed off their issues as she attended the UK screening in a sleek black pinstripe power suit.
She was dressed head to toe in Dolce and Gabbana, Billie’s look came to a whopping total cost just shy of £4,700.
Billie Piper looked sensational as she put on a VERY leggy display in pinstripe suit as she wowed alongside Gillian Anderson and Keeley Hawes at Netflix’s Scoop premiere at The Curzon Mayfair in London on Wednesday evening
The actress opted for an oversized blazer which she styled over a low cut black top and tailored shorts
The star opted for an oversized blazer, £2350, which she styled over a low cut black top, £1,700, and tailored shorts, £645.
Billie was joined by her co-stars Gillian Anderson and Keeley Hawes for the evening as they celebrated the launch of the drama, which recreates of the car crash Prince Andrew Newsnight interview.
Billie showcased her slender physique the star accentuated her slim legs in some black tights and simple heels, while a black train flowed off her jacket to the floor.
Meanwhile Gillian looked stunning as she kept it simple in a gorgeous teal strapless gown by Emilia Wickstead which is estimated to cost around £1670.
She accessorised the look with some Solange Azagury ‘Aster’ earrings and simple silver sandals from Gianvito Rossi which cost £710.
The 55-year-old showed off her ageless complexion as she kept her makeup to a minimum for the night, letting her blonde locks flow naturally over her shoulders.
Gillian has been hailed as ‘astonishing’ in her upcoming role as Emily Maitlis after transforming into the Newsnight host in the new Prince Andrew film.
One person branded Gillian the ‘female Michael Sheen’ after seeing her in action as Maitlis, claiming ‘she could literally transform into anyone’.
Keeley kept it simple in an all black ensemble, as she paired a long black skirt with a smart blazer.
Joining the women, Rufus Sewell, who plays Prince Andrew in the drama, looked dapper in a black suit as he posed for the camera.
Billie shares sons Winston, 12, and Eugene, eight, with controversial activist Lauren Fox and they were embroiled in a lengthy custody dispute after their split six years ago (pictured 2014)
The actresses were seen creasing with laughter as they posed together
The star accessorised the look with some stylish black shades as she showcased her slender pins on the red carpet
The threesome put on a stunning display for the Netflix premiere
The 55-year-old showed off her ageless complexion as she kept her makeup to a minimum for the night, letting her blonde locks flow naturally over her shoulders
Netflix drama Scoop dropped its first trailer on Monday, giving fans a first look glimpse at the recreation of the car crash Prince Andrew Newsnight interview
Rufus Sewell, who plays Prince Andrew in the drama, looked dapper in a black suit
The upcoming film recreates the cringe-inducing 2019 interview between Emily and the disgraced royal down to the most meticulous detail
Gillian has been hailed as ‘astonishing’ in her upcoming role as Emily Maitlis, while Billie plays Sam McAlister, the Newsnight producer who secured the interview
In 2022, Laurence, 45, spoke out about their arrangement, claiming Billie was using their children as ‘weapons’ and that he had been denied access to seeing them.
While Billie maintained a dignified silence at the time, she has now spoken out about their complicated relationship in a candid interview.
She said: ‘I close everything down and keep a very strict routine with the kids so that there’s consistency. I keep them close. That’s all I can do…
‘What is paramount for me is the privacy and anonymity of my children. They deserve not to be extensions of the parents and to forge their own identities.’
Billie added that she tries to avoid hearing anything about her ex, who has hit headlines in recent weeks for a slew of controversies.
He was dropped from GB News after launching into a ‘sexist’ rant about a female journalist and lost a high profile libel case after calling two men ‘paedophiles’.
Yet Billie does her best to avoid being drawn into his scandals, explaining: ‘I try to keep people from telling me stuff but it’s really, really hard.
‘I don’t read it but everyone wants to talk about it. Sometimes I have to say to people: ‘Please don’t bring this to me, now or ever.”
Yet she confessed that she isn’t the best person to ask about Laurence, saying: ‘Look, if people want to try and understand the workings of the guy, they ought to either ask him or his family.
‘Ask [Fox’s brother-in-law, actor and comedian] Richard Ayoade what he thinks, or his wife [Fox’s actor sister] Lydia. They might have a more interesting take.’
While Billie didn’t want to spend her entire interview discussing her ex-husband she admitted: ‘Of course I have feelings on that, I’m not dead inside.’
Billie added: ‘I’ve had to make some choices and a divorce speaks for itself… or at least it should! You have to laugh because it’s a lot. It’s a good way of kind of soothing yourself.’
Despite discussing the difficulties of Laurence she revealed that there has been a ‘positive’ in their divorce and custody battle.
She reasoned: ‘It’s made me feel stronger in many ways. I’ve learnt I have a lot of resilience I didn’t know I had.
READ MORE: Billie Piper ‘humiliated’ as she discovers Laurence Fox was ‘wooing another woman’ during their marriage
‘I’ve had to learn the hard way that you can only control yourself and how you react to things. It’s really f***ing hard. I hate that.’
Billie first met Laurence in a theatre rehearsal room in 2006 and they tied the knot the following year when she was 25.
It was her second marriage, following her controversial union with DJ Chris Evans, whom she wed when she was 18 and he was 35 – yet Billie has no bad words about her first husband, labelling him ‘one of the good guys.’
Most recently she was dating singer Johnny Lloyd but the couple quietly separated last year after eight years together. They share five-year-old daughter, Tallulah.
The upcoming film recreates the cringe-inducing 2019 interview between Emily and the disgraced royal down to the most meticulous detail.
The Netflix drama also features an almost unrecognisable Billie in blonde wig and high heels.
The actress stars as Sam McAlister, the Newsnight producer who secured Prince Andrew’s notorious interview with Maitlis.
Meanwhile Keeley plays Prince Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk in the hotly-anticipated drama.
Based on the book Scoops, by Sam McAlister, the film (according to the trailer) shows captures the tension behind booking the royal for the interview, as well as the tension among the cast during the interview.
The film is due to hit Netflix screens in the Spring and explores a behind-the-scenes look at how the interview was secured and how events surrounding it unfolded framed as a tribute to the work of the four women responsible.
It is based on Scoops by Sam McAlister who is also known as the ‘Booker extraordinaire’ on Newsnight having successfully negotiated and secured the interview which quizzed the Duke about his friendship with the late-convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein.
Emily discussed Virginia Giuffre’s claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 under the orders of Epstein.
The prince strongly denied the claims throughout the interview.
Following the release of the trailer, viewers have gone wild for the casts transformation of Rufus as the The Duke Of York (pictured right)
Keeley Hawes (second right) is also among the star-studded cast list Prince Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk
Romola Garai opted for a slightly unusual ensemble, as she tied blue ribbons to the elbows of her blazer jacket.
The cast posed together as they showcased their fashionable ensembles
Billie messed around as she threw up the peace sign in a cheeky snap
Director Philip Martin also attended as he kept it casual in a brown polo shirt and navy blazer
Keeley paired her all black ensemble with some silver sparkly heels
Romola Garai opted for a slightly unusual ensemble, as she tied blue ribbons to the elbows of her blazer jacket.
The actress, 41, cut a chic figure as she styled a quirky beige co-ord with flared trousers.
Styling her hair in voluminous curls the star completed the look with a bright red lip and some white criss-crossed heels.
The famous interview was described as a ‘car crash’ and on November 20, 2019, a statement from Buckingham Palace said Prince Andrew was suspended from public duties ‘for the foreseeable future’.
In May 2020, it was announced that the prince was permanently stepping down from his public roles.
In January 2022, Ms Giuffre was given the go-ahead to sue Andrew for unspecified damages in a New York civil court.
Despite vowing to fight the claims and repeatedly protesting his innocence, the prince agreed to pay a huge sum to settle the case before it ever reached a jury. interview, then the film.
Sam McAllister previously appeared on This Morning to discuss her experience working on both the interview and the film.
She described how tough it was securing the interview, saying: ‘I was a complete underdog on booking content because who in their right mind, let’s be frank, would want to go on unless you’re a minister, or you’re selling a book or a movie.
One person branded Gillian the ‘female Michael Sheen ‘ after seeing her in action as Maitlis, claiming ‘she could literally transform into anyone’
The real life interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew which has been described as a ‘car crash’
Billie signed autographs to a host of adoring fans
Billie beamed in selfies with fans
The star’s auburn hair was expertly styled in a half up half down look as she cut a sophisticated appearance
Sam McAlister wowed in a floor length strapless black dress
Sam McAlister, Romola Garai, Rufus Sewell, Keeley Hawes, Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson, Philip Martin (L-R)
‘Why would you go and take that risk, right?
‘So my job was persuading people to go on against their interest basically. So I spent my time trying to get them to do something they probably shouldn’t have done.’
Discussing how she felt when securing the interview, she revealed: ‘I’d been dealing with a palace for a year. And I think the thing that I love about this movie…is I’m an ordinary woman who ended up in an extraordinary situation. And of course, everyone’s seen that interview. But this is the 95 per cent before that.’
She continued: ‘So it all started a year prior, and it was only on the Monday so we’re now 13 months in the Monday when I met Prince Andrew face to face with Emily and Stuart with with his daughter sitting next to him in Buckingham Palace…It was only then on the one day I thought this could actually happen.
‘And on Tuesday morning, they said yes. And I honestly I dropped my phone. I could not believe that they had said yes.’
Describing the biggest curveball of the day, Sam told This Morning it was when Prince Andrew was accompanied into the interview with his daughter Princess Beatrice.
‘Can you imagine you’ve gone to talk to a Prince and you’re in Buckingham Palace…and you’re talking about difficult subjects and then he brings his daughter?’ she said?
‘I mean, it was the curveball of curveballs. I’m not easily disconcerted, but I have to admit, even I was impressed by that as a curveball,’ she added.
Billie Piper (left) plays the producer Sam McAlister
Gillian and Billie appeared in great spirits as they laughed together
The threesome couldn’t wipe the smiles from their faces during the red carpet premiere
Actress Charity Wakefield looked incredible in a black shimmery power suit
Keeley also signed autographs for fans
Emily discussed Virginia Giuffre ‘s claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 under the orders of Epstein. The prince strongly denied the claims throughout the interview
Romola joined the other three for snaps
Billie was later seen leaving the after party as she climbed into her car, still with a smile on her face
The actress continued to wow in her stylish pinstripe suit
Netflix describes the production as portraying: ‘The inside track of the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen’s ‘Favourite son’.
‘From 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.
‘SCOOP is the insider account of the inner workings of the Palace and the BBC, twin bastions of the British Establishment, spotlighting the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through the highest of ceilings – and into the inner sanctum and calculations of a man with everything to lose.’
Sam McAlister says ‘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. Watching Billie Piper, one of my favourite actresses, play ‘me’ will be a pinch myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film.’
Describing the film, director Philip Martin revealed: ‘I’m thrilled to be directing this film for Netflix and – together with an extraordinary cast – to be bringing Sam McAlister’s revelatory insider’s account to the screen.
‘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.’