Entertainment
The need to get Litvinenko drama on TV ‘grew more and more’ after Russian invasion of Ukraine-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro
‘It’s only become more relevant’.
David Tennant plays former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko (Picture: ITV)
While the ITVX drama series Litvinenko starring David Tennant had been in the making for a few years, the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year made the need to tell the story ‘more relevant’.
The four-part series is based on the shocking true story of the poisoning of the former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, who died in 2006, three weeks after being exposed to a radioactive substance.
On his deathbed, Litvinenko accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of being the man responsible.
The show’s writer George Kay said shining a light on Russia’s actions in foreign nations has always been necessary, but has been growing in the past year.
‘When we first started on it [the show] obviously that war hadn’t begun but of course there is this encroaching atmosphere around Russia and its foreign policy that means that over time it just got more and more relevant,’ he said.
‘It was relevant at the time [of Litvinenko’s murder] and it had been relevant for over a decade, and it’s only become more relevant since.
Investigating the case also became dangerous for police officers (Picture: ITV)
‘Obviously it’s a terrible war but the need to get this on TV felt like it was growing and growing during production and the edit.’
But Kay said that while in 2006 Putin was a dangerous force, he was ‘not the Putin we know now’.
‘In 2006 he was someone the British wanted to be allies with and keep a good relationship with so it wasn’t in the British Governments interest to point out he had ordered this murder,’ he explained.
Litvinenko was poisoned in 2006 (Picture: Supplied by the Litvinenko family)
‘Sasha [Alexander] hadn’t been a British citizen for long so in a way it was an ex-KGB crime, but happened to be in Central London.
‘There was this shift in perspective and coming to understand what Putin was about. Alexander was a British man with great values and a great family and great integrity and was someone the British police fought for so hard for.’
After he died, a full statement written by Litvinenko was released, in which he directly addressed Putin.
A UK public inquiry found Russian President Vladimir Putin had ‘probably’ approved the poisoning (Picture: EPA)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (Picture: Ukraine Presidency/SIPA/Shutterstock)
‘You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed,’ he wrote.
‘You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life.
‘May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people.’
In full: Litvinenko statement
I would like to thank many people. My doctors, nurses and hospital staff who are doing all they can for me, the British police who are pursuing my case with vigour and professionalism and are watching over me and my family.
I would like to thank the British government for taking me under their care. I am honoured to be a British citizen.
I would like to thank the British public for their messages of support and for the interest they have shown in my plight.
I thank my wife Marina, who has stood by me. My love for her and our son knows no bounds.
But as I lie here I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death.
I may be able to give him the slip but I have to say my legs do not run as fast as I would like.
I think, therefore, that this may be the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition.
You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed.
You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilised value.
You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilised men and women.
You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life.
May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people.
Alexander Litvinenko
21 November 2006
It was a powerful statement, and his explosive claims turned out to be true.
A decade-long fight to hold those responsible then unfolded.
A UK public inquiry concluded in 2016 that Russians Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi had deliberately poisoned Litvinenko by putting Polonium-210 into his drink at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair.
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Headed by the former High Court judge Sir Robert Owen, the inquiry found the poisoning had ‘probably’ been carried out with the approval of Putin.
The European Court of Human Rights also ruled last year, following a case brought by Litvinenko’s widow Marina, that Russia was responsible for his killing.
Russia has always denied any involvement in the death and refused to comply with international arrest warrants issued for Kovtun and Lugovoi.
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The first episode of Litvinenko will follow his final days as he appeals to police to take his claims seriously.
As it becomes clear what has unfolded, and the possible threat to the wider public, a murder investigation begins, despite the victim still being very much alive.
Litvinenko starts streaming on December 15 on ITVX.
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