Rachel Weisz admits she 'felt terribly for Prince Andrew' while watching A Very Royal Scandal as she's interviewed by her 'oldest friend' Emily Maitlis

Rachel Weisz has said she 'felt terribly for Prince Andrew' while watching the Amazon drama of his Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis.

The Oscar-winning actress, 54, also praised Michael Sheen 's portrayal of the disgraced royal in A Very Royal Scandal which was released on Thursday.

She said: 'What I love so much about the series is the empathy with which Prince Andrew is played, and the pathos and humanity in this character, which is something that the writer and Michael Sheen had to invent.

'That was an imaginative act. [I was] watching the drama and feeling just so terrible, I felt terribly for Prince Andrew.'

She made the remarks at the Cliveden Literary Festival while in conversation with Maitlis, 54, who she described as her 'oldest friend'.

The former Newsnight presenter, who acted as executive producer on the Amazon series, confessed that she called upon her Hollywood actress friend for advice.

She said: 'I was calling up Rachel and saying, 'Help, this is your world, and I don't know how to deal with this'.'

'I went to Rachel, first of all, and said, 'What should I be doing? How much of myself should I give? Should I open up my freezer and let them see the vodka?'

Ms Weisz, who has starred in The Mummy and The Favourite, revealed that she 'felt incredible anxiety' for her friend letting the production crew into her life.

The actress said: 'Em's a deeply private person, and I suddenly got worried that your life was going to be invaded in this way, and I felt very protective. And tried to give you some advice.'

In the new series, Maitlis is played by Ruth Wilson, and is seen bickering with her husband at home, making breakfast for her children, and drinking vodka from her freezer.

Maitlis even gave Wilson her own jacket and a handbag to use on set.

Ms Weisz added: 'We've watched each other in our respective worlds.

'My world is fiction. Your world is not, it's about finding the truth.

'I wanted you to have a sense that even though there needed to be facts investigated, that some of you needed to stay in private. So I felt protective of that.'

The presenter also revealed that as a child she had 'tried to lure Rachel into a prospective career in news' but failed.

Ms Weisz was accompanied at the event by her husband Daniel Craig.

The 56-year-old actor looked a far cry from the slicked back hair and dinner jacket of his James Bond days.

Instead he opted for a floppy-haired look, pairing stone-washed denim jeans with a leather jacket.

Emily reflected on her history-making interview with Prince Andrew in 2019 as she appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain.

On GMB Emily recounted her time doing the interview, candidly saying watching the series back reminded her of the stress of taking on the challenge.

She said: 'When I watch the drama I get palpitations - it takes me back to when I thought 'will I remember to ask the right questions? Can I do this?''

She added of her reaction to Prince Andrew's demeanour: 'I realised early on he would be candid in his responses. We never assumed guilt and it was an hour of his own words.

'It didn't matter what he said it was always going to make history. We knew we only had one shot at it to hear from the Prince. It was a document of public record if anything.

'We were building up the picture of what actually happened and it was quite forensic.'

When asked by host Richard Madeley what she thought of the Prince when the interview was done she carefully answered: 'I thought he had tried very hard to remember his lines...

'He wanted us to film extra pieces too he wanted to expand on the Pizza Express stuff and things like that. It was a dilemma as a journalist whether to add stuff he wanted at the end.

'But he was happy with the interview he gave us a tour of the Palace after the interview and he even invited us back.'

She added of the potential harm the interview could have caused: 'I do worry about the fallout from it.

'There was fallout for his family. I feel concern for him as I do for anyone that has had a drop in status. But I don't regret the interview.'

To counter balance her point she added: 'But nothing has been concluded for Epstein's victims still.'