Sam McAlister is a BAFTA-nominated interviews producer, speaker, and exec producer who has negotiated with everyone from Buckingham Palace to The White House, Tesla to Facebook. With skills honed over a decade in the BBC’s elite news programmes, notably BBC Newsnight, she is used to persuading reluctant individuals to participate in a news programme renowned for its rigour and bite.
Exclusives include, most famously, that interview with HRH Prince Andrew — but also Sheryl Sandberg, Prime Minister Trudeau, President Clinton, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Elon Musk, James Comey, Stormy Daniels, Julian Assange, Trevor Noah, Amy Schumer and Eric Schmidt.
Negotiation, strategy and public speaking have always been at the core of everything that Sam has done — from her time as a criminal defence barrister to her many public speaking and debating prizes, and her dealings with celebrities and governments.
Sam’s book Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews was released in 2022. The book details the secrets of a former BBC producer who found her way to Buckingham Palace, giving a backstage pass to the most unforgettable journalism of our times.
The book has been optioned for a documentary for Channel 4, which aired in May 2023. It has also been optioned for a Netflix film, with the acclaimed screen writer Peter Moffat (Your Honor, Silks and Criminal Justice). Sam will be played by Billie Piper with Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis, Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew and Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk, his private secretary.