First Images from The Hack: ITV’s Take on the Rupert Murdoch Phone-Hacking Scandal

According to CinemaDrame News Agency, the first images have been released from ITV’s drama series The Hack, centered on the phone-hacking scandal. BAFTA winner Jack Thorne, Sherwood director Lewis Arnold, and Mr Bates vs the Post Office producer Patrick Spence have collaborated on this project. The series’ broadcast date is currently unknown.

The show recounts the exposé by Nick Davies of illegal phone-hacking at the now-defunct News of the World newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch. Production on the series was greenlit following the January 2024 revelations.

David Tennant stars as Nick Davies, and in several images he appears alongside Robert Carlyle, who plays Dave Cook, a senior Metropolitan Police officer. Cook led the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan—a story that forms part of The Hack.

ITV and Australian network Stan quietly filmed and edited the project over the course of a year. During production, the series was referred to by working titles such as Broken News and Mandrake.

Other cast members include Rose Leslie, Dougray Scott, Eve Myles, Adrian Lester, Katherine Kelly, Kevin Doyle, Neil Maskell, Lara Pulver, Lee Ingleby, Pip Torrens, Lisa McGrillis, Shaun Dooley, Robert Bathurst, Richard Pepple, Nadia Albina, Phil Davis, Aiysha Hart, Charlie Brooks, and Steve Pemberton.

The phone-hacking scandal not only led to the closure of News of the World but also resulted in the imprisonment of its former editor Andy Coulson. Davies authored the book Hack Attack: How the Truth Caught Up with Rupert Murdoch about the affair. The controversy resurfaced as Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) simultaneously issued an apology to Prince Harry.