Channel 4 to air controversial musical about Prince Andrew

The broadcaster says the show will prove it is still 'mischievous.' 

Channel 4 is set to air a satirical musical about Prince Andrew, it has been announced. Comedian Kieran Hodgson is to lead a cast of comics in Prince Andrew: The Musical, a 60-minute programme described as a “satirical send-up of the life and times” of the duke set to a musical score. Written by and starring Two Doors Down star Hodgson as Andrew, and including original music by Freddie Tapner, the story will centre on “key events, relationships and controversies of Andrew’s life”. The Hat Trick Productions show will also include a “reimagining” of the duke’s notorious 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis. The Queen’s second son stepped down from public life on November 20 2019, following the fallout from the BBC interview about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in August 2019. After Ghislaine Maxwell was jailed in June, lawyers said the Duke of York "should be the next target" for prosecutors. Andrew maintains that the numerous allegations of sexual assault and misconduct levelled against him are false, even despite paying accuser Virginia Giuffre £12m in a settlement - a woman he claims he's never met. Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, said: “From musical satire about Prince Andrew to an exploration of cancel culture in art via men with very large penises, this season shows that Channel 4 is still as mischievous, disruptive and distinctive as when it was born 40 years ago. “Instead of a nostalgia-thon of highlights from the last four decades, we are celebrating with a collection of irreverent, thought-provoking and hugely entertaining shows that no other broadcaster would air. “If we must age, we plan to do it disgracefully.”