David Tennant is to play Alexander Litvinenko in a new ITV drama.
David Tennant
The 50-year-old actor has been cast in the lead role in upcoming four-part series 'Litvinenko', which focuses on the former Russian Federal Security Services and KGB officer's death due to polonium poisoning in November 2006.
His death sparked one of the most complex and dangerous investigations in the history of the Metropolitan Police, and the show will tell the story of his window Marina (Margarita Levieva) as she fought to get the British government to name her husband's killers and uncover the Russian State's role in his murder.
Screenwriter George Kay said: “In late 2006, Alexander Litvinenko was a living witness to his own murder.
"He spent his dying days entrusting the Metropolitan Police with the details of what happened to him.
"It took those police and his remarkable widow Marina Litvinenko a decade to have those claims ratified.
"Their stamina, hard work and bravery are what make this not only an essential story of our times but a privilege to be asked to write.”
Directed by Jim Field Smith, 'Litvinenko' has the support of many key individuals involved in the investigation and public enquiry, including former Scotland Yard officers Clive Timmons and Brent Hyatt, Ben Emmerson QC, and Alexander’s family.
ITV said: "The drama will relate how in November 2006 two police officers were called to University College Hospital in London to interview a patient in declining health.
"The patient was Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident who claimed to have been poisoned on the direct orders of Vladimir Putin.
"During the police interviews, Alexander provided meticulous details from his hospital bedside about the events leading up to his illness.
"His information would ultimately help detectives track down two Russians who had poisoned Litvinenko with Polonium 210, a highly toxic radioactive substance."
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