The Hack Cast: Every Star And The Real Person They Play In ITV's Explosive Drama

ITV is back poking the hornet's nest with a new true-crime-meets-media exposé. If your brain still lights up at the words phone hacking, this one is going to press those buttons and then some.

What The Hack is actually about

'The Hack' is a seven-part factual drama from writer Jack Thorne (yep, the same guy behind 'Toxic Town' and 'Adolescence'). It runs two parallel tracks: the tabloid phone-hacking scandal that blew up a decade-plus ago, and the still-unsolved 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan. The show digs into how those two worlds overlap and, more pointedly, why so many big questions never got proper answers even after Nick Davies dragged hacking into the daylight.

Structurally, it splits the story in two. David Tennant anchors the journalism side as reporter Nick Davies, while Robert Carlyle fronts the police track as DCS Dave Cook, the detective who took on the Morgan case and paid a steep personal price for doing it. It’s an ambitious swing with a lot of real-world figures on the board: Murdoch, Brooks, Coulson, Brown, Paxman, Mosley, Sienna Miller… you get the idea.

When and where to watch

The series premieres on ITV1 and streams on ITVX from Wednesday 24 September 2025.

Why this one is spicy

Thorne isn’t just rehashing headlines. He’s connecting newsroom tactics, police pressure, and political power in ways that feel very inside baseball. Also, small but wild detail: there is a character called DC Buzz Aldrin. Not that Buzz Aldrin. The show leans into those stranger-than-fiction corners while still threading the big-picture context.

Cast and who everyone is playing

• David Tennant as Nick Davies — A freelance journalist, best known for his work with The Guardian, who is tipped to widespread phone hacking at News of the World and pursues the story at major cost to his work and home life. Where you know Tennant from: the Tenth Doctor in 'Doctor Who', 'Broadchurch', Marvel’s 'Jessica Jones', 'Good Omens', the lockdown gem 'Staged', and a recent turn in 'Ahsoka'.
• Toby Jones as Alan Rusbridger — The Guardian’s editor-in-chief when the hacking investigation kicks off. He’s targeted by forces trying to smother the story but backs Davies, a reporter he has known for years. Jones highlights: 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' (as campaigner Alan Bates), 'Detectorists', Marvel’s 'Captain America', 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', 'Sherlock'.
• Robert Carlyle as DCS Dave Cook — A senior Met detective tasked with the Daniel Morgan murder inquiry. The case grinds him down professionally and personally. Carlyle highlights: 'Trainspotting', 'The Full Monty', Bond’s 'The World Is Not Enough', 'The Beach', 'Yesterday', 'T2 Trainspotting', plus TV runs in 'Stargate Universe', 'Once Upon a Time', 'COBRA', and Thorne’s 'Toxic Town'.
• Eve Myles as Jacqui Hames — Journalist and TV presenter best known for 'Crimewatch', and Dave Cook’s wife during the events depicted. Myles highlights: Gwen Cooper in 'Torchwood', plus 'Broadchurch', 'Victoria', Apple TV+ thriller 'Hijack', and recent series 'The Crow Girl', 'The Guest', 'Coldwater'.
• Katherine Kelly as Sheridan McCoid — Nick Davies’s ex-wife; they’re on good terms despite the chaos the story brings. Kelly highlights: 'Mr Selfridge' (Lady Mae), 'Happy Valley' (DI Jodie Shackleton), 'Gentleman Jack' (Elizabeth Sutherland), and the ensemble of 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office'.
• Adrian Lester as Mr Apollo — The mystery source who first tips Davies to News of the World’s hacking operation. Davies has never unmasked them publicly; 'Mr Apollo' is the codename. Lester highlights: 'Hustle', Mike Bartlett’s 'Life', ITV’s 'Trigger Point', and recent fantasy work in 'Renegade Nell' and 'The Sandman'.
• Rose Leslie as Charlotte Harris — Lawyer for publicist Max Clifford; she crosses paths with Davies while advising Clifford on a potential case against News of the World. Leslie highlights: 'Downton Abbey' (Gwen), 'Game of Thrones' (Ygritte), 'The Good Fight', 'Vigil'.
• Cara Theobold as Amelia Hill — Role as listed; a key name in The Guardian universe.
• Steve Pemberton as Rupert Murdoch — The media mogul whose UK stable includes The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times; back then his company also owned the now-defunct News of the World. Pemberton highlights: comedy trio hat-trick 'The League of Gentlemen', 'Psychoville', 'Inside No. 9', plus 'Benidorm' (Mick Garvey), 'Whitechapel', 'Happy Valley', 'Worzel Gummidge', and Netflix’s 'Missing You'.
• Dougray Scott as Gordon Brown — UK Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010, taking over after Tony Blair; his party then lost the 2010 election to the Conservative–Lib Dem coalition. Scott highlights: 'Crime', 'Batwoman', 'Vigil', 'Desperate Housewives', 'Hemlock Grove', films 'Mission: Impossible 2', 'Taken 3', and 'My Oxford Year'.
• Rosalie Craig as Rebekah Brooks — Former editor of News of the World and The Sun; currently CEO of News UK. Craig highlights: 'Moonflower Murders', 'The Serpent Queen', '1899', 'Anatomy of a Scandal'.
• Mark Stobbart as Andy Coulson — Took over as editor of News of the World after Brooks; later served as David Cameron’s director of communications at 10 Downing Street as the hacking scandal peaked. Stobbart highlights: 'The Long Shadow' (Peter Sutcliffe), 'House of the Dragon' (Cheese), 'Smoggie Queens', 'The Hunt for Raoul Moat', 'Line of Duty'.
• Nicholas Rowe as Jeremy Paxman — Journalist and broadcaster; during these events, he was one of the BBC’s biggest on-air names as 'Newsnight' presenter. Rowe highlights: 'Red Eye', 'The Outlaws', 'The Killing Kind' (which recently arrived on Netflix).
• Robert Bathurst as Max Clifford — A headline-making publicist who traded in tabloid stories, later targeted by phone hacking himself, which briefly aligned him with Davies. In 2014, Clifford was convicted of sex offences and died in prison in 2017. Bathurst highlights: 'Cold Feet', 'Downton Abbey', 'Blandings', 'Toast of London'.
• Ron Cook as Max Mosley — The former Formula One governing body president who sued News of the World for breaching his privacy over a salacious story; a court ruled in his favor and dismissed the paper’s claim of Nazi overtones. He later underwrote court costs for hacking claimants. Cook highlights: 'Mr Selfridge' (Mr Crabb), 'Inside No. 9', 'Andor', 'The Salisbury Poisonings', 'Des'.
• Georgia Jay as Sienna Miller — Actor and phone-hacking victim. Jay highlights: 'Emmerdale' (Steph Miligan), plus 'Silent Witness' and 'Giri/Haji'.
• Terence Maynard as Rufus Duffy — Role as listed.
• Nadia Albina as Gill Phillips — Role as listed.
• Barry Sloane as DS Ezra Slater — Role as listed.
• Robert Glenister as DCI Callum Lockhart — Role as listed.
• Nabil Elouahabi as DC Buzz Aldrin — Role as listed; yes, that name is real within the show’s context.
• Kevin Doyle as AC John Yates — Role as listed.
• Pip Torrens as Stuart Kuttner — Role as listed.
• Lisa McGrillis as Sarah Montague — Role as listed.
• Sean Pertwee as Sean Hoare — Role as listed.
• Charlie Brooks as Kim Vian — Role as listed.

Big cast, big story, and more than a few names that shaped modern British media. If you lived through the hacking headlines the first time, this digs under the floorboards. If you didn’t, buckle up — it gets messy fast.