David Tennant has emphasised the importance of his forthcoming ITV phone hacking drama The Hack.
The Doctor Who actor, 53, will star as investigative journalist Nick Davies in the seven-part drama, which is written and produced by part of the team behind last year’s hit series Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Set between 2002 and 2012, the series will focus on the phone hacking scandal that blew open unethical practices by journalists, who tapped into the voicemails and phones of celebrities, murder victims and their families, and the royal family. It led to the shutting down of the News of the World after 168 years in operation.
Tennant will appear alongside Robert Carlyle as former Met Police detective chief superintendent Dave Cook and Toby Jones as former editor-in-chief of The Guardian, Alan Risbrudger.
Speaking to comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble on their Off Menu podcast, Tennant said that shooting the series had been “very intense”.
“Just because there's a lot of quite complicated information in that,” he explained. “I'm playing a journalist who sort of broke the case open, and there's just a lot of quite technical stuff.
“And obviously you have to be very specific on that because there's a lot of lawyers watching to make sure you don't say the wrong thing.”
The Good Omens star continued: “That was quite a long shoot and that was very intense. But you then do something like that and you're very proud to be part of something like that. It's one of the stories of our time that needs telling.”
Written by Bafta, Tony and Olivier award-winning screenwriter, Jack Thorne, The Hack will interweave the real life stories of Davies, who discovers evidence of phone hacking at News of the World, and Cook as he investigates the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
“This is a strange and deceptive piece of our recent history,” said Thorne when the series was announced in January. “One with so many layers to it. I thought, as someone who is interested in politics, I understood everything that happened. I did not.”
He added: “It’s a fight for the truth that really shocked me. That is why it matters to tell this story now in an age where the truth seems more in danger than ever.
“It is a true honour to be bringing this story to the screen... I hope we find a way to do justice to the complexity of what happened and of celebrating the incredible reporting that sits underneath it.”
The Hack will air on ITV and STV and be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player later this year. An exact release date is yet to be announced .
