‘I’m actually sweating’: Lorraine Kelly reacts to Prince Andrew’s ‘curveball’ before infamous interview

Prince Andrew dropped a ‘curveball’ minutes before his BBC Newsnight interview when he brought Princess Beatrice along

Lorraine Kelly spoke to BBC Newsnight interviews producer Sam McAlister on Wednesday 3 May on her self-titled ITV daytime show. Sam secured Emily Maitlis’ interview with Prince Andrew, which took place in November 2019 and was dubbed by many as a “car-crash interview.”

Lorraine, 63, from Glasgow, was left "sweating" as Sam revealed Prince Andrew dropped a "curveball" just minutes before the interview was scheduled to begin, as he brought his oldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, to the interview with him.

Lorraine Kelly after being made a CBE

During the interview, Emily Maitlis grilled the prince on his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after accusations came to light regarding Andrew’s involvement in the scandal.

In a clip from the documentary, Sam said: "Sitting there waiting for him to arrive. Around the corner he bounds and he’s like, ‘Oh, hello. I hope you don’t mind, I brought someone with me.’ And in my head I’m thinking of a lawyer because that would have been quite sensible, frankly, game over and instead, around the corner comes his daughter, Princess Beatrice.

"That was really quite a curveball of curveballs. Can you imagine being in Buckingham Palace about to talk to a member of the Royal Family about sexual offences? That’s pretty tricky. And now I’ve got to do it in front of his daughter."

Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York, attends a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Bruges on September 7, 2019 in Bruges. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Lorraine said: "I’m actually sweating thinking how awkward that was. Really bizarre."

Sam replied: "I’d planned myself and how I was going to present myself on the basis of quite a robust Prince Andrew and then it’s his young daughter, it was extremely awkward. And, I really felt for her on a human level. That’s a very difficult conversation to have."

Lorraine suggested that Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugeine, might have been part of his motivation for wanting to do the interview. "Definitely," Sam replied.

"The human element is always something and in terms of negotiation, as you know, in the book I mention that was definitely a point that I thought of. He wanted to walk Beatrice down the aisle, the press coverage on him was already so bad that that looked unlikely. And, on a father level, I felt a motivation for him to be able to spend more time with his daughters, be vindicated and be the father he used to be."

Prince Andrew has denied the allegations but no longer holds his royal title. He is expected to attend King Charles III’s coronation on Saturday 6 May, and royal commentators have speculated this will be his attempt to regain favour in the eye of the public.