The Hack Producer Reveals Why the Phone-Hacking Scandal Is More Relevant Than Ever
David Tennant and Robert Carlyle unite to headline a gripping new drama from the producers of Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
ITV is about to drop The Hack, a true-story drama about the UK phone-hacking scandal that rocked the press. The people behind it say the story is not just still relevant — it hits even harder now, thanks to how much of our lives we hand over to our phones without thinking.
Two cases, one mess
The series splits its focus at first: David Tennant plays investigative journalist Nick Davies, digging into tabloid bad behavior, while Robert Carlyle is DCS David Cook, working an unsolved murder. On paper, those look like separate tracks. As the episodes roll on, the threads tighten and the connections start to show.
Old-school tech, very current problem
Producer Joe Williams — who also worked on Mr Bates vs The Post Office — was clear about the strange time-capsule nature of it. Yes, we are talking about hacking voicemails, which sounds almost quaint now. But the point lands: the privacy fears that scandal cracked open have only grown in the age of big tech and constant tracking. Williams said the show is set roughly 12 years back, and still, it should make you think about what you share with the device in your pocket today — which is a lot more than anyone left on a voicemail back then.
The inquiry that never properly happened
Writer Jack Thorne thinks the scandal itself still has unfinished business. At a post-screening Q&A, he argued the official follow-through never really happened. Quick explainer: the Leveson Inquiry into the press was planned in two parts. Part one looked at culture and ethics. Part two was meant to dig into possible criminality and the too-cozy relationships between media, police, and politicians. According to Thorne, the Conservative government blocked that second phase. He added that Labour later promised to revive it — and then shelved it anyway. Inside baseball? Definitely. But it matters for understanding why this story still stings.
"We need this painful itch properly scratched so that we can move on from it. Because it was extraordinary, and what it means about our institutions, about the country we live in... it really matters to look at it and look at it properly."
Who is in it, and when it lands
- David Tennant as Nick Davies
- Robert Carlyle as DCS David Cook
- Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9)
- Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs The Post Office)
- Rose Leslie (Vigil)
- Eve Myles (Coldwater)
The Hack premieres on ITV1 and ITVX on Wednesday 24 September 2025.