Sam McAlister

Sam McAlister is a speaker, EMMY-nominated executive producer and BAFTA-nominated interviews 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, Prince Albert of Monaco, Stormy Daniels, Julian Assange, Trevor Noah, Amy Schumer and Eric Schmidt.

She is many things beside: the first in her family to go to university; a trained barrister; a single mum; and a Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE Law department, where she teaches negotiation. Her book, Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews has been adapted for television by both Channel 4 and Netflix.