David Tennant looks unrecognisable in the first trailer for his latest TV role.
The Scottish actor, 51, will appear in ITVX drama Litvinenko next month, in which the former Doctor Who star takes on the title role of British-naturalised Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko.
Litvinenko, set to premiere on December 15, will centre around the story of the former Russian Federal Security Services and KGB officer whose death, from Polonium-210 poisoning in November 2006, triggered one of the most complex and dangerous investigations in the history of the Metropolitan Police.
The four-part drama will be available to watch on ITVX, the new, free streaming platform that will replace ITV Hub as the online home of all ITV content.
Litvinenko, written by acclaimed screenwriter George Kay, is the story of the determined New Scotland Yard officers who worked to prove who was responsible for the death of Alexander Litvinenko.
In the first trailer for the brand new ITVX drama, David's character Litvinenko can be heard saying: "My name is Alexander Litvinenko, I need to report a murder."
In a hospital bed a police officer quickly quizzes him, asking: "Whose murder?"
Litvienko poignantly replies: "Mine."
David's on-screen character continues to chat to the copper from his hospital bed, saying in a Russian accent: "I write book about Russia, about corruption. They want to kill me."
The police officer probes Litvinenko and asks: "You have a name?"
Chilling, as a TV screen flashes up, Litvinenko states: "His name is Vladimir Putin."
The first trailer for the upcoming ITVX drama then moves on to show police officers working on the case, as one declares: "You follow the poison, you find the poisoner."
Litvinenko died on November 23 2006 at the age of 43, after being poisoned 22 days before.
On his death, Litvinenko said: "You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world, Mr. Putin, will reverberate in your ears for the rest of your life."
After his death, Marina Litvinenko, his widow, accused Moscow of orchestrating the murder but admited she believes the order did not come from Putin himself.
David met with Marina after taking on the role of her late husband, and admits he found filming tough after spending time with the widow.
Speaking during an appearance on the Royal Shakespeare Company's Interval Drinks podcast, David said: "Litvinenko stayed with me because of meeting Marina and being so aware that this is the life she is still living.
"We are recreating something that happened relatively recently, that was devastating to her and to her life and has entirely transformed what her life since has become."
The actor added: "I felt the responsibility of that, of getting that right. Just the horrors that she lived through and that that story signifies, our world is still living through."
*Litvinenko launches on Thursday 15th December on ITVX
