George Kay, co-creator of Netflix’s blockbuster French crime drama ‘Lupin’ is the writer of an intriguing new project from ITV Studios. The new drama is centred on the shocking poisoning and murder of Russian defector, Alexander Litvinenko, in 2006 in London. The show will focus on the relentless investigation carried out by Scotland Yard detectives to get to the bottom of the poisoning-murder.
The four-part series is titled ‘Litvinenko’, and stars David Tennant (Doctor Who, Casanova, Broadchurch) as Alexander Litvinenko, Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the KGB, who was sensationally poisoned to death in 2006. The series will focus on the untiring, ten-year-long efforts of Scotland Yard detectives to nail the perpetrators of the crime. The case not only hit headlines at that time, it was also one of the most complex and dangerous investigations to be ever undertaken by Scotland Yard.
The show will also cast a spotlight on the unrelenting efforts of Litvinenko’s widow Marina, to see the case to its logical conclusion, and also to persuade the British administration to acknowledge the role of the Russian state in the murder of her husband. Marina is played by Margarita Levieva (The Deuce, The Blacklist, Revenge).
‘Litvinenko’ has been produced with considerable support from the former British detectives involved in the investigation, Clive Timmons and Brent Hyatt. Mark Bonnar (Catastrophe) is playing Timmons, while Neil Maskell (Small Axe) is playing Hyatt. The drama will start off from the time when the two police officers were called to the University College Hospital, London, to record the statement of a dying Litvinenko, who told the detectives that he been poisoned on the direct orders of Vladimir Putin. The subsequent investigation, Marina’s fight for justice for her husband and the repercussions of it form the rest of the story.
‘Litvinenko’ will stream on NENT’s Viaplay streaming service and on ITV. NENT is the co-producer of the show, along with ITV Studios. It will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios.