The first images of David Tennant as the poisoned Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko have been released by ITV.
Tennant is set to play the Russian, who died in 2006 after an illness that was attributed to poisoning with radioactive polonium-210, in a new drama released as the flagship show of a new ITV platform called ITVX.
Litvinenko was a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading many to believe that the Russian state was behind his death.
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The new show, starring Doctor Who star Tennant, who also recently played serial killer Dennis Nilsen, will be available to watch on the new streaming platform – which replaces ITV Hub – on December 15.
As you can see, the image is strikingly similar to the famous image of Litvinenko in hospital before his death.
The show will explore what happened after Litvinenko took ill and was discovered to be at the University College Hospital in London in a state of serious decline.
The story will also track the efforts of the Metropolitan Police officers who tried to work out what had happened to him.
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As well as Tennant’s star turn as Litvinenko, the Russian agent’s wife Marina Litvinenko will be played by Russian-American actors Margarita Levieva.
ITV recruited the assistance of former Scotland Yard detectives Clive Timmons and Brent Hyatt when making the production, along with the family of the ex-spy and his wife’s lawyer.
Timmons is played in the dramatisation by Mark Bonnar, whereas Hyatt will be portrayed by Neil Maskell.
It was concluded after a 2016 inquiry that Litvinenko was poisoned by Russians Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, who are believed to have put the polonium-210 into his drink at a London hotel.
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The inquiry found that the tea poisoning was ‘probably’ carried out at the behest of the Russian President Putin.
A ruling was also handed down last year at the European Court of Human Rights that held Russia responsible for the killing.
Sir Robert Owen, who headed the inquiry, said that the nature of the substance used to kill him, which could have only come out of a nuclear reactor, was a ‘strong indicator’ of state involvement in the death.
Litvinenko will stream exclusively on the new platform this December, with ITV’s Chief Executive, Carolyn McCall announcing: “We’re really excited to launch ITVX, with more content available than ever before, and a whole range of exclusive commissions.
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“ITVX is powered by a significant, streaming-first commissioning budget, and an integrated technology and data platform providing a high quality, and more personalised viewing and advertising experience, that will continue to evolve in 2023 and beyond.”
Again, the show will be released exclusively on ITVX on December 15.
Topics: ITV, TV and Film, UK News, David Tennant
Tom Wood