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Sam McAlister is the BAFTA and Emmy nominated executive producer who secured the BBC’s now infamous 2019 interview with the former Prince Andrew, widely described as the “scoop of the century.”
A former criminal barrister turned journalist and broadcaster, she has built a reputation as one of the most formidable negotiators in modern media.
Sam’s extraordinary story has since been turned into the Netflix film Scoop, where she is portrayed by Billie Piper. She is also the bestselling author of Scoops, a TEDx speaker, and holds academic roles at both the London School of Economics and Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, where she teaches negotiation and communication at the highest level.
With over two decades on the frontline of media, reputation, and high stakes negotiation, Sam has worked with everyone from royalty and politicians to global brands and Hollywood figures. Her experience spans law, journalism, broadcasting, and academia, giving her a rare and powerful perspective on how influence really works.
Her keynote sessions are as gripping as they are insightful. Drawing on deeply personal experiences alongside career defining moments, Sam shares powerful lessons on resilience, fearless communication, and navigating risk in an increasingly complex world. From negotiating with a Prince to speaking truth to power, she offers audiences practical tools and unforgettable stories that challenge how they think about leadership, reputation, and success.
The road to a Netflix deal seems smooth, seamless, and easy to the outside world, but Sam has experienced a lot to get there.
How do you transform yourself from being an invisible ‘nobody’ producer to being a ‘somebody’ and having the world’s media and Netflix at your door in a matter of months?
How do you cope in the face of huge national scrutiny, endless interviews and copy, as well as being a woman in a completely new world of business, to become a trusted national figure, bestselling author and a ‘brand’ that’s resolutely identified as being one of integrity and resilience in a world of chaos and distrust?
Nothing has come easy, or without huge personal, professional and financial risk.
Learn lessons in thriving, branding, resilience and hyping from the one woman brand who hyped her way to a book deal, a documentary deal and to Billie Piper playing her in a Netflix movie about her life.
The road to a Netflix deal seems smooth, seamless, and easy to the outside world, but Sam has experienced a lot to get there.
From having a bi-polar Father who she had to section, to losing her first boyfriend in a car accident at 18, from having a son who was given a day to live, to leaving a prestigious career and having no job, from being a ‘nobody’ to having the world’s media at her door, in the face of huge national scrutiny, nothing has come easy, or without massive personal and professional risk.
And Sam did it all while raising a child on her own.
How do you face such relentless drama and danger and still thrive? Learn her profound and very personal lessons in resilience from the frontline of her personal and professional triumphs and disasters.
In November 2019, The Former Prince Andrew gave a disastrous interview that rocked the Royal Family and toppled a Prince.
Described as the British Frost/Nixon, and the “Scoop of the Century”, the woman who made it happen can tell you all the behind-the-scenes secrets on how to negotiate with everyone from Princes to Presidents, and the inside tales from decades at the coal face of media, risk, reputation and communication.
With exclusive pictures from her years at the BBC and the Netflix movie, featuring everyone from Prince Andrew to Gillian Anderson, attendees will learn profound personal lessons on how to navigate their personal lives and achieve professional excellence as Sam reveals what these kinds of interviews say about leadership, reputation and communication in the modern age.
Sam McAlister called Prince Andrew ‘Randy Andy’ to his face.
In a tiny room in Buckingham Palace, at the final negotiation for the BBC interview, he asked her what she thought of him – and that was her honest and unfiltered impression. Luckily, he admired her honesty and laughed.
So, how do you communicate with integrity and create relationships and connections in an increasingly disconnected and online world?
With 20 years of experience dealing with everyone from the White House to Tesla to countless Governments and Hollywood’s finest, she reveals her lessons for communication for individuals and businesses.
How do you find that ‘sweet spot’ that makes all human connections possible?
How well does your organization understand power, influence, and reputation at the very highest levels?
Few institutions embody these dynamics more dramatically than the British Royal Family. Yet behind the glamour lies a world of negotiation, image management, and resilience under relentless global scrutiny, challenges that mirror those faced by modern organizations.
Keynote Speaker Sam McAlister offers a rare, insider perspective. As the Emmy and BAFTA-nominated producer who secured the infamous BBC interview with Prince Andrew, she provides unparalleled lessons on managing reputation, navigating crises, and communicating when every word counts.
Her keynote transforms these royal insights into practical strategies for leaders and teams, showing how to balance authority with vulnerability and protect trust under pressure.
Book Sam McAlister for your event and give your audience a captivating masterclass on leadership, reputation, and influence drawn from the highest circles of power.
The BBC Newsnight interview with (former) Prince Andrew sets the benchmark for what NOT to do to build trust and restore reputation.
Used globally by PR and reputation managers, it’s the hallmark of how to do everything wrong. But, how can you strive, personally and as a business, to do everything right, and find clarity and trust in a mass media digital world?
What does it take to communicate with integrity and foster relationships and connections in an increasingly disconnected and distrusting world?
With 20 years of experience dealing with everyone from Tesla to the White House, Meta to Buckingham Palace, learn lessons in trust and reputation from the woman who sat in the South Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace watching Prince Andrew destroy his life in the interview she negotiated.
Learn from his mistakes and protect your reputation for years to come.
Sam McAlister is a truly special speaking talent!
Journalistic nous, insider knowledge and candid humanity makes her a compelling and engaging speaker
