First look: Litvinenko, ITVX

David Tennant will play the lead role of  Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy who died after being poisoned in 2006, in ITV Studios, Tiger Aspect and Livedrop Media’s 4 x 60-minute series, written by George Kay (Lupin, Criminal).

Litvinenko will focus on the Scotland Yard police officers who worked for ten years to prove who was responsible for the death of the former Russian Federal Security Services and KGB officer from polonium poisoning.

It will also trace the story of Litvinenko’s wife Marina (Margarita Levieva), who fought to persuade the British government to name her husband’s killers and acknowledge the role of the Russian state in his murder.

ITV Studios’ Patrick Spence, who is also working on an ITV drama about the Post Office scandal, will exec produce alongside Tiger Aspect’s Lucy Bedford. Livedrop’s Richard Kerbaj, whose credits include Hunting the KGB Killers and Unmasking Jihadi John, is a co-producer.

Litvinenko was ordered by ITV head of drama Polly Hill, who said: “This is an important story that documents a long police investigation and a powerful campaign for justice by his wife Marina.”