The Hack is a British true-crime television series detailing theNews International phone hacking scandal. It stars an ensemble cast led byDavid Tennant,Toby Jones andRobert Carlyle withSteve Pemberton,Eve Myles,Dougray Scott,Lisa McGrillis andAdrian Lester, amongst others.

Set between 2002 and 2012, the series examines two intersecting real life stories, the work ofNick Davies, a journalist who uncovered evidence ofphone hacking at theNews of the World, a now defunct British newspaper owned byRupert Murdoch; and the police investigation into the unsolved 1987murder of Daniel Morgan, aprivate investigator with links to the News of the World.^[1]

The cast includes:^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

• David Tennant asNick Davies
• Toby Jones asAlan Rusbridger
• Robert Carlyle asDCS Dave Cook
• Steve Pemberton asRupert Murdoch
• Cara Theobold as Amelia Hill, a reporter forThe Guardian
• Rose Leslie as Charlotte Harris, a lawyer
• Rosalie Craig asRebekah Brooks
• Dougray Scott asGordon Brown
• Eve Myles asJacqui Hames
• Adrian Lester as "Mr Apollo", Davies' pseudonymous source
• Katherine Kelly as Sheridan McCoid
• Kevin Doyle asAssistant CommissionerJohn Yates
• Neil Maskell as Glen Campbell, ofPanorama
• Lara Pulver asJo Becker
• Lee Ingleby asDavid Leigh
• Pip Torrens asStuart Kuttner
• Lisa McGrillis asSarah Montague
• Sean Pertwee asSean Hoare
• Robert Bathurst asMax Clifford
• Terence Maynard as Rufus Duffy, ofThe Guardian
• Richard Pepple as DI Graham Twyler
• Nadia Albina as Gill Phillips, editorial legal director ofThe Guardian
• Phil Davis as Alastair Morgan, brother of Daniel
• Ace Bhatti as Rahul Shah
• Ricci Harnett as Garry Vian
• Jay Simpson as Glenn Vian
• Charlie Brooks as Kim Vian
• Lucy Speed as Molly Vian
• Georgia Jay asSienna Miller
• Nicholas Rowe asJeremy Paxman
• Mark Stobbart asAndy Coulson
• Robert Glenister asDCI Callum Lockhart
• Lisa Dillon asClare Rewcastle Brown
• Joseph May asDon Van Natta
• Alec Newman asJohn Mullin
• Oliver Milburn asNick Ross
• Steven Waddington as Mike Sullivan, ofThe Sun
• Nigel Lindsay as Jules Stenson, features editor ofThe News of the World
• Elisabeth Hopper as Caroline Davies, Nick Davies' ex-wife
• Andrew Whipp asJonathan Rees
• Paul Kaye as Gary Eaton, a witness to the murder
• Patrick Baladi asJohn Whittingdale
• Sophie Bould as Jean Davies, mother of Nick
• Rebecca Front asDeputy Assistant CommissionerSue Akers
• Lucy Russell asTessa Jowell
• Silas Carson as Sam Eldwick
• Gavin Spokes as Dick Fedorcio, the Metropolitan Police's head of public affairs
• Daniel Ryan asTom Watson MP
• George Russo asGlenn Mulcaire
• Cal MacAninch asTommy Sheridan
• Ron Cook asMax Mosley
• Roger Ringrose asJustice Maddison
• Lucy Black as Sally Dowler, mother ofMilly Dowler
• Colin R. Campbell as Bob Dowler, father of Milly

The opening episode also includes brief, non-speaking cameos fromHarry Hill,Konnie Huq,Gabby Logan andJonathan Ross.^[3][10]

Episode 3 features a cameo fromAlastair Campbell (Tony Blair's strategist and advisor) as himself.

The seven-part series was commissioned byITVX and Australian streamerStan. It is written byBAFTA-winning screenwriterJack Thorne and Annalisa Dinnella. It is directed byLewis Arnold. The series is produced byITV Studios with AC Chapter One and One Shoe Films.^[11][1] Executive producers include Patrick Spence and Jack Thorne alongside Joe Williams for ITV Studios, Lewis Arnold andDavid Tennant. Abi Bach is the series producer.^[12]

Initially reported under the working titleMandrake,^[13][1][14] filming locations includedHemel Hempstead,Muswell Hill andKilburn, London in February and March 2024.^[15][16][17]

All seven parts were released on ITVX on 24 September 2025. ITV and STV began linear broadcasts on the same date.^[18]

The review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported an 64% approval rating based on 11 critic reviews.^[19]

Julia Raeside writing in thei Paper gave the series five stars out of five, adding:^[20]

The Hack is a complicated story, brilliantly told by a group of creatives at the very peak of their powers and Thorne manages to weave the many strands into a galloping narrative spiked with wit and bold emotional flourishes. The press and politicians will no doubt be watching the audience reaction toThe Hack closely. Whatever the outcome, it is TV dynamite.

Vicky Jessop in theEvening Standard gave the series four stars out of five, calling it: a "welcome refresher on one of the biggest abuses of power of our time".^[21] Paul Hirons writing for theKilling Times also gave it four stars and called the series: "surprising, stylish, and brilliantly mounted".^[22]Lucy Mangan, writing inThe Guardian, gave the show two out of five, criticising the "many breakings of the fourth wall by Tennant [that] only undermines any sense that the writer trusts his story."^[23] Nick Hilton inThe Independent gave three out of five, and noted:^[24]

As well as its headliners,The Hack makes use of some top UK talent in its panoply of real-life characters ... The willingness of these actors (the named cast runs for seven pages on the press release) to take small parts in an ensemble speaks to the impact phone-hacking had on showbusiness culture.

• The Hack atIMDb
• The Hack onITVX

• 2025 British television series debuts
• 2025 British television series endings
• 2020s British crime drama television series
• 2020s British television miniseries
• British English-language television shows
• ITV crime dramas
• ITV television dramas
• Television series by ITV Studios
• Television series set in the 21st century
• Television shows set in London
• Television shows shot in London
• True crime television series
• Works about the News International phone hacking scandal

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