Latest news with #TheHack
Cosmopolitan
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
'Their best project yet': David Tennant & Robert Carlyle lead cast in thrilling drama about national scandal
This is not a drill. David Tennant and Robert Carlyle are teaming up to lead ITV's newest true crime drama series The Hack, inspired by the harrowing phone hacking scandal. The unexpected duo will star alongside Toby Jones, Cara Theobold, Eve Myles, Rose Leslie, Katherine Kelly and Adrian Lester for what is likely to be one the best series we'll see from either of them. And we're not alone in our excitement for this. As soon as the first look images were shared on Instagram yesterday, fans were beside themselves with glee at David and Robert both appearing in the same series with one writing: "Stella cast!!! I shall be watching this for sure!" and another saying: "Now that's a line-up. Tennant, Jones, and Carlyle—an ensemble that feels like it belongs in the same breath as De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci. But there's something about Robert Carlyle that shifts the gravity of a project." And another added: "I am so excited that two of my favourite Scottish actors are FINALLY together in a show." The new series will weave together two real life stories, that of the work of journalist Nick Davies who uncovered the News of the World phone hacking scandal and the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan. So what do you need to know about the series? Here's your full rundown. The Hack was first announced back in January 2025 and is a seven-part drama series written by Adolescence's Jack Thorne. The official synopsis of the show is as follows: "Set between 2002 and 2012, the drama deftly interweaves two real life stories, the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies, played by David Tennant, who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World, and running parallel, the story of the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan, led by former Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook, played by Robert Carlyle." In July 2011, The Guardian claimed journalists at the now defunct newspaper News of the World had hacked into phones for information. The claim and subsequent investigation lead to the closure of the paper. Leading the cast of The Hack is David Tennant as Nick Davies, the investigative journalist at The Guardian who was responsible for uncovering the phone hacking that was going on at the News of The World. Playing his editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger is Toby Jones, who starred in last year's hit series Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Joining them is Robert Carlyle as former Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook. Cook was working on the investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator whose death remains unsolved to this day. The investigation into his death will also be explored in the series. Cara Theobold will be playing the role of Amelia Hill, a Guardian journalist who worked alongside Davies to uncover the phone hacking scandal. Also in the cast in yet undisclosed roles are Katherine Kelly, Rose Leslie, Dougray Scott, Eve Myles, Adrian Lester, Lisa McGrillis and many more. So far the exact release date of the new series has not been confirmed, however ITV has said it is "coming soon", which at least means it's likely to come before the end of 2025.
South Wales Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
First look at ITV's The Hack starring David Tennant
The Hack, which also stars Robert Carlyle and Toby Jones, will tell the story of the News International phone hacking scandal. The series was first announced last year, and fans have shared their excitement following the first look, describing the cast as "fantastic". Here is all we know about the series and when it will air on ITV. A post shared by ITVX (@itvxofficial) ITV shared pictures from the show during the first look at the series this morning (August 4). Pictures show David Tennant in his role as Guardian journalist Nick Davies, Robert Carlyle, who will play DCS Dave Cook, and Toby Jones, playing Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. The cast also includes Steve Pemberton, Eve Myles, Dougray Scott, Lisa McGrillis and Adrian Lester, among others. Fans have been sharing their excitement after the first look was shared. One described the cast as "fantastic", while another said: "David Tennant and Robert Carlyle in the same show, definitely watching this." "The talent in that cast," another said, with a fourth writing: "I can't wait for this." The series will be set between 2002 and 2012, telling two stories. One being the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies, played by David Tennant, who found evidence of journalists at News of the World using phone hacking. The other will detail the investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator, which was led by Robert Carlyle's character DCS Dave Cook. The News of the World was a weekly tabloid newspaper in the UK that was published every Sunday from 1843 to 2011. Investigations conducted from 2005 to 2007 showed that phone hacking by the now-defunct newspaper was targeted at celebrities, politicians, and even members of the royal family. Toby Jones will play Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger in The Hack (Image: ITV) In 2011, it was also revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler were hacked, as well as relatives of deceased British soldiers and victims of the 7/7 London bombings. It was discovered that journalists would gain unauthorised access to people's voicemails, typically to get information for stories, with The News of the World, and its owner Rupert Murdoch, at the centre of the scandal. The scandal saw Rupert Murdoch's News of the World shut down, with journalist Andy Coulson and former private detective Glenn Mulcaire jailed for it. Recommended reading: No release date has been revealed for The Hack, but ITV has confirmed it will air later in 2025, likely in Autumn. It will be available to watch on ITV1 and ITVX.
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
First look at ITV's The Hack starring David Tennant
The Hack, which also stars Robert Carlyle and Toby Jones, will tell the story of the News International phone hacking scandal. The series was first announced last year, and fans have shared their excitement following the first look, describing the cast as "fantastic". Here is all we know about the series and when it will air on ITV. First look at ITV's The Hack starring David Tennant ITV shared pictures from the show during the first look at the series this morning (August 4). Pictures show David Tennant in his role as Guardian journalist Nick Davies, Robert Carlyle, who will play DCS Dave Cook, and Toby Jones, playing Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. The cast also includes Steve Pemberton, Eve Myles, Dougray Scott, Lisa McGrillis and Adrian Lester, among others. Fans have been sharing their excitement after the first look was shared. One described the cast as "fantastic", while another said: "David Tennant and Robert Carlyle in the same show, definitely watching this." "The talent in that cast," another said, with a fourth writing: "I can't wait for this." The series will be set between 2002 and 2012, telling two stories. One being the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies, played by David Tennant, who found evidence of journalists at News of the World using phone hacking. The other will detail the investigation into the murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator, which was led by Robert Carlyle's character DCS Dave Cook. What was the phone hacking scandal? The News of the World was a weekly tabloid newspaper in the UK that was published every Sunday from 1843 to 2011. Investigations conducted from 2005 to 2007 showed that phone hacking by the now-defunct newspaper was targeted at celebrities, politicians, and even members of the royal family. Toby Jones will play Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger in The Hack (Image: ITV) In 2011, it was also revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler were hacked, as well as relatives of deceased British soldiers and victims of the 7/7 London bombings. It was discovered that journalists would gain unauthorised access to people's voicemails, typically to get information for stories, with The News of the World, and its owner Rupert Murdoch, at the centre of the scandal. The scandal saw Rupert Murdoch's News of the World shut down, with journalist Andy Coulson and former private detective Glenn Mulcaire jailed for it. Recommended reading: When will ITV's The Hack be on TV? No release date has been revealed for The Hack, but ITV has confirmed it will air later in 2025, likely in Autumn. It will be available to watch on ITV1 and ITVX.
ITV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- ITV News
ITV's Autumn 2025 Content Brochure
STAR STUDDED DRAMA, TOP ENTERTAINMENT AND REALITY, AND BIG TICKET SPORT HEADLINE AUTUMN ON ITV ITV has unveiled its brand new autumn season packed full of top name drama, juggernaut reality and entertainment, plus unmissable sport. Andrew Lincoln, Ewan Bremner, Eve Myles, Eric Shango, Indira Varma, Adrian Lester, Sheridan Smith, Daniel York Loh, Enzo Cilenti, Vicky McClure, Nabil Elouahabi, Natalie Simpson, Maanuv Thiara, Jason Flemyng, David Tennant, Toby Jones, Robert Carlyle, Rose Leslie, Katherine Kelly, Dougray Scott, Lisa McGrillis, Lara Pulver, Kevin Doyle, Lee Ingleby, Paul Kaye, Adrian Dunbar, Bronagh Waugh, Bhavna Limbachia, Julie Graham, Georgie Glen, Alan Carr, Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker all bring star quality to the channel's dramas this season. Ant & Dec, Stephen Mulhurn, AJ Odudu, Will Best, Romesh Ranganathan, Olivia Attwood, Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins, Lee Mack, Vernon Kaye, Tom Allen, Emma Willis, Joel Dommett, Judi Love, Sam Thompson, GK Barry, Freddie Flintoff, Carol Vorderman, Ashley Banjo, Martin Lewis, Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell complete the stellar line up of faces on ITV and ITVX. Brand new dramas include I Fought The Law, Coldwater, Frauds, The Hack, a new series of Trigger Point and Ridley. Alan Carr returns with Changing Ends. And brand new entertainment includes Celebrity Sabotage, The Accidental Tourist, Win Win With The Postcode Lottery and The Great Escapers. I'm A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here!, Big Brother, Olivia Attwood's Bad Boyfriends, The 1% Club, You Bet! On Tour, Bullseye and Romesh Ranganathan's Parents' Evening are amongst the all time favourites returning this autumn. And ITV is the home of the Lionesses following their triumphant second win in Basel at the UEFA Women's Euros. Star studded drama Set in the fictional Scottish village of Coldwater, Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead, Teachers) plays John, a repressed, depressed man who is shocked to find himself in middle age, secretly raging at his life as a stay-at-home dad. When his long-repressed rage comes to a head with disastrous results, he soon finds himself unexpectedly indebted to a new friend who himself is harbouring horrifying secrets. I Fought The Law portrays the heart-breaking, real-life story of mother, Ann Ming (Sheridan Smith), and her fight to change the Double Jeopardy Law and see her daughter's murderer brought to justice. Vicky McClure returns in a third series of Trigger Point which sees her as EXPO Lana Washington and her team investigate a bomb threat that soon reveals itself to be the start of a sinister vendetta: someone is targeting individuals and demanding revenge. Working alongside the Police Counterterrorism Unit, the Bomb Disposal Squad race against time to find the bomber before they claim their next victim. Frauds is a compelling heist drama starring BAFTA and RTS award-winning actresses Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker as skilled confidence tricksters who've been separated by an arduous 10-year prison sentence. Starring as the complex duo, Bert (Jones) and Sam (Whittaker), their intertwined past resurfaces in the setting of Southern Spain after a decade of separation. And The Hack is a 7 part drama about the phone hacking scandal written by BAFTA, Tony and Olivier award winning screenwriter, Jack Thorne, with David Tennant, Robert Carlyle and Toby Jones in leading roles. Set between 2002 and 2012, the drama deftly interweaves two real life stories, the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies, played by David Tennant, who uncovered evidence of phone hacking, and running parallel, the story of the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan. Most talked about Entertainment and Reality Ant & Dec return to the Australian jungle as another batch of well known faces join I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! AJ Odudo and Will Best oversee more housemates as they enter the famous Big Brother house. And having amassed a massive 12 million streams for its first series, Olivia Attwood returns for a second run of Olivia Attwood's Bad Boyfriends. Stephen Mulhern joins Ant & Dec in a hilarious new show called The Accidental Tourist (W/T), where the boys encourage Stephen to broaden his travel horizons; and Stephen also returns with You Bet! On Tour, which sees the classic series back bigger and braver than ever as it hits the road for more epic and unique challenges. Unique new quiz show Win Win with People's Postcode Lottery will be the most interactive quiz show ever aired in the UK, as viewers playing from the comfort of their sofas get the chance to win the same truly amazing prizes as the contestants playing in the studio. The series builds to an epic finale where one contestant is guaranteed to win £1,000,000 - and that winner could even be a viewer who made it through to the final. Joel Dommett, Judi Love, Sam Thompson and GK Barry, alongside a whole host of celebrities, get ready to shock the nation in a brand new ITV entertainment reality game show that will see Joel, Judi, Sam and GK team up to playfully sabotage unsuspecting contestants. Their mission? To complete daring and funny stunts in order to win a secret cash prize for the participants. And The Great Escapers take some of the nation's best known ITV faces and send them off on their very first holiday together. We know they've worked alongside each other for many years, but can they now holiday together? Let's see as they pack their bags, jet off to the sunshine and check in to their hotel. ITV will also continue to be the home of the England Lionesses following their second UEFA Women's Euros triumph. And you can watch all of the England Men's European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
New Statesman
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
When David Tennant met Gordon Brown
Illustration by Ellie Foreman-Peck Gordon Brown has just got off a plane from a speaking engagement in the US, and arrives at Somerset House in London with his questions for David Tennant written out on a scrap of boarding pass. Tennant is soon to set off to film another season of the randy Eighties classic, Jilly Cooper's Rivals. After season one, he thought he should rebalance himself with some Shakespeare, and took on Max Webster's innovative 'binaural' Macbeth – the one with headphones – which Brown saw at the Donmar and enjoyed. Their shared Church of Scotland work ethic is just one of the things that unites the pair, who have met many times. While Brown was writing op-eds aged 11 suggesting Harold Wilson for prime minister, Tennant was deciding, aged three, that he wanted to be Doctor Who. He is about to star in ITV's drama The Hack as the investigative journalist Nick Davies, who played a key role in uncovering the News International phone-hacking scandal. It is a subject close to Brown's heart: in 2011, he spoke out in the Commons about Rupert Murdoch's 'criminal media nexus' and just last month issued a new complaint against his empire. Tennant is an ambassador of Brown's Multibank initiative and has just filmed an ad for it, giving one of his Midas-like voiceovers to a concept he finds 'really simple, and really clever'. Brown unfolds the boarding pass, and they begin. Gordon Brown: We are both sons of ministers. Your father seems to have been someone who could have been an actor as well? David Tennant: Definitely. There was a lot of theatricality in his preaching. He did say that there was a moment when he wondered if being an actor was something he'd like to do. But if there were very few precedents in my life, there were none in his. It was just not something that he felt there was any access to. He grew up in Bishopbriggs and I don't think he knew anyone who'd ever done anything like that. Initially, he went into trade, you know, and he worked on cars, and then he was called to the ministry. That was his performance. GB: Growing up, what I was aware of was that the attention was on you as the child of a minister; it was almost like a pressure. I think your father was the chaplain to the school as well? And so was my father. You're trying to become anonymous, or you're trying to be different and suddenly, everybody will say, 'Ah, that's your father!' DT: I didn't mind when my father came into the school, because he wasn't difficult to watch. He'd always come with something quite entertaining. I think he was aware of his audience! Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Kate Mossman: Is it true that you wanted to be an actor from the age of three? DT: Yes. It doesn't really make sense. And now, having recently had children who are three, I think how could I have possibly understood what that was? It was watching Doctor Who that sparked it. That's how I can date it, because it was Jon Pertwee turning into Tom Baker, which was in 1974, so I was three years old. GB: It was quite an amazing phenomenon, Doctor Who; I mean, it changed the whole nature of television, really, because it was other-worldly, it was sort of eccentric, but also just brilliantly scripted. Then did you start performing at school? DT: As much as I could. Gypsum's Journey was a big one, in Primary 6: it was my first sort of title role. The music teacher wrote the songs for it. I can still remember a couple of them – I'm not going to give you a rendition now, because it wouldn't work in cold, hard print. But I remember the lines for that better than for work I did a few weeks ago. In your line of work, you have to remember statistics and facts, and they have to be very specific – there must be times when you're addressing the UN and you get your statistics muddled up… GB: The good thing about statistics is people are bamboozled by them, and if you get them wrong, nobody quite knows for sure until a few hours later, at least. I have made mistakes. So you get to the age of five and you're already two years into your… DT: My acting career! I knew I was headed to drama school. I don't think everyone else necessarily accepted that that was inevitable. As you should, as a parent, mine said, 'Make sure you get as many exams as possible, make sure you get a wide range of qualifications', because even if you make it into drama school, it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll work at the other end of it. But I did; at 17 I went to what is now the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow. I had to audition, and I was very green, I didn't really understand what was appropriate. You have to do a classical and a modern work – a speech from each. And I did Hamlet, because we were studying it in school. I did 'Now might I do it pat', when he's about to kill Claudius, and I brought a kitchen knife and had it in my hand, because I thought I needed props. GB: A danger walking the streets! DT: I know, I could have been arrested. And then I did a bit of Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman, which I'd also done at school, who was a sort of 65-year-old man: a brilliant, brilliant play – utterly inappropriate for a 17-year-old from Paisley! KM: Gordon, you're a big Shakespeare reader – which of his characters are you most invested in? GB: You know in the original pre-Shakespeare story of Macbeth, Banquo is complicit with Macbeth. They changed it for the Shakespeare version because the censor would never have allowed it through: Banquo was now seen to be an ancestor of James I, and therefore he had to be rehabilitated as a good person. It's interesting how much censorship there was. Shakespeare couldn't really go head-on; he could send messages, but he couldn't go head-on. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, as I understand it, to warn people about the break-up of the kingdom if someone like Macbeth takes over from the good Duncan, so it's really to say James VI is OK. But Julius Caesar was written when Queen Elizabeth I was still around, and its message is: 'Don't play around with the possibility of tyranny, because you think you don't like the person who's ruling you – you replace them and it's anarchy.' It shows how killing Caesar led to all sorts of other consequences – not that he was a good guy, but that what happened afterwards was brutal. KM: There seems to be a bit of a golden age of political theatre at the moment – what have you learned about Westminster from our modern political plays? Can Shakespeare tell us just as much? GB: I've been to some, but I don't say, 'This is what I want to watch.' I've never watched, for example, the Murdoch series – Succession – because I feel I lived through it! I don't watch any of these films or plays about contemporary events. DT: I'm not sure if it's a golden age. Politics and playwrighting have always gone together. Shakespeare's history plays are all pretty political, John Osborne shook the cage in the Fifties, the agitprop theatre of the Seventies and Eighties was making – often quite unsubtle – political points. These days we've got James Graham and Jack Thorne and a slew of writers who are continuing the tradition of writing about the world and society in a way that's political and personal. Drama is always political because it's about human beings and how we interact with the world around us. Maybe it just seems more political when the personal feels so close to the politics of the day. We're right in it at the moment… KM: David, you're due to star in The Hack, the ITV series about the phone-hacking scandal, in which Gordon is played by Dougray Scott. GB: Dougray came to Kirkcaldy to see me, and I didn't quite know why. We talked for an hour, and he clearly was trying to get all my hand movements. Do you do the same when you're preparing for a part? DT: Well, I play the journalist Nick Davies in The Hack. I met him a few times, and there's also quite a lot of footage of him, so you can study that. But it's not really about an impersonation as such, and also most members of the public aren't going to be aware of exactly what Nick Davies is like. But it's still a useful starting point, if you're able to meet someone. Gordon, what's the experience of watching yourself being portrayed, because that's happened a few times? GB: The thing you think – well, you must be the same – is: 'The Scottish accent, how is that being done?' Though in Fife, people say my accent is not that Scottish… DT: Well, that's the danger of being an ex-pat, isn't it? [Tennant's wife] Georgia accuses me, whenever we're in Scotland or around Scottish people, of my accent becoming very broad. Do you get that? GB: Oh, yeah. Same, same. I'm sure I do that! DT: Yes, I deny doing it, but it is probably true, and probably inevitable. KM: Gordon, you're proposing so many reforms to the way that charity works: could you talk a little bit about the importance of philanthropy? Have you both had more of an involvement with charity work because of your upbringing? GB: My father stands before me like a mountain. And I think it must be something a bit similar for you, David. He wasn't oppressive, I was never asked not to do something or told not to do something, but there was a sort of moral core about him. But David – Cancer Research, Baby Lifeline, LGBT, Circle, kids' Scope, mental health, Children in Need, Big Night In, Comic Relief. I mean, that is only a small sample of the number of charities that you've been helping. DT: I don't know that I ever feel like I do very much, though. I don't know that I necessarily always have a particular reason to be following a particular cause. Somebody presents something and it sounds like a good idea, and you kind of think, 'Well, that's connecting with me right now: that feels like it's worthwhile. I've been thrilled to be part of the Multibank. It's a brilliant idea, a really clear, simple idea. And then sometimes I support a cause because it's not loud enough and maybe I can help make it a bit louder. But, listen: I think I could do a lot more than I do. GB: You're sounding Scottish – the old Presbyterian… Lonely at the top: Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in his union days, being hoisted aloft by fellow metalworkers at a rally near São Paulo in 1979. Photo by Claudinei Petroli / AFP via Getty Images DT: I know, but you know what it's like. It's that Presbyterian ethic that has you believe you can never actually be doing enough; that you're never as good a person as you'd like to think you are and that there must be a hair shirt somewhere you should be struggling into! GB: What I think is happening at the moment is that there are a lot of people who want to help, but we don't always find the best ways of helping them do it. One of the things that's broken down to some extent is community engagement: the Mothers' Union and the Women's Institute just don't have the kind of memberships they used to have. The Boys' Brigade don't have the kind of memberships, trade unions have about half the members they had at their peak. Political parties are the same. You've got less engagement in your communities, and I think that's one of the reasons that people feel distant from what's happening around them. Is the alternative social media? But you're talking to people in silos… DT: And it's not face-to-face connection. There seems to be a race to cruelty in that world – it feels very difficult to have rational debate. GB: I think we need to encourage more volunteering and new types of endeavour. What kind of organisation would young people relate to now? Park runs, for example, are becoming very popular, but traditional organisations are not working. And then, how do you persuade people to give more financially? The tax system could be better in offering a greater incentive. Companies could do more; some of the biggest companies in Britain give very little to charity. The whole point of the Multibank was to bring together companies who've got surplus goods, charities who know the people who need these goods, and foundations that can help finance the sort of distribution and the transportation. It's environmental as well, because it's anti-pollution and it's trying to create a circular economy. Child poverty is something that you feel as strongly about, David, as I do. Is there anything that you feel from your experiences – both as a parent and from seeing, going round Britain – that would make a difference? DT: I think it's allowing people to find the joy in intervention. It feels quite hard to get out from under the sense that you are powerless. We need to empower everyone to believe they can make a difference, that there's something they can do that will effect actual change. Because if everyone can do a bit, we will manage a lot. But that's quite hard to hold on to when the world feels difficult and onerous and like there are forces at work that are just so beyond our control. GB: As far as the poverty problem in the United Kingdom is concerned, what would you want the government to do? DT: [Laughs] That's not a question for me… GB: Do you know this great story about Lula? Before Lula became president of Brazil, he was a young trade union leader. 'When I was a trade unionist,' he said, 'people would say, 'Things are terrible in Brazil, what's gone wrong, who's to blame?'' And he used to reply, 'The government.' And he said, 'Then I became the leader of the trade union and people would say, 'Things are still going wrong, who's to blame?'' And he said, 'The government'. 'And then I became the leader of the opposition, people said, 'Who's to blame?' – the government. And then I became the government, and people said, 'Who's to blame? Things are still awful.'' And he said, 'America'! That's the end of his story! [See also: Gordon Brown: Child poverty is a scar on our national conscience] Related
