Sam McAlister

Biography

Sam McAlister is a TEDx speaker, author, academic and Emmy and BAFTA-nominated producer who has negotiated with everyone from Buckingham Palace to The White House, Tesla to Facebook. Exclusives include, most famously, that interview with HRH Prince Andrew, but also Prime Minister Trudeau, President Clinton, Elon Musk and Sheryl Sandberg.

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. It was an Amazon bestseller.

Scoops was optioned for a Netflix film, with the acclaimed screenwriter Peter Moffat. Sam is played by Billie Piper, with Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis, Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew and Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk, his private secretary. The film was released in April 2024 and topped the charts for Netflix films in the UK and across 15 countries. Sam is also the Executive Producer. Scoop was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie at the 2024 Emmys.

Sam advises private clients on media and negotiation issues, and has written articles in Tatler, Elle, Radio Times, Grazia, the Daily Mail and the Independent, amongst others. Sam has been appointed as a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), teaching negotiation at the law faculty, and is also a Visiting Associate at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.