Tennant plays the poisoned Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko for ITV’s new-look streamer. 

While there’s a year until we see his new Doctor in action, David Tennant is transforming for his next role too.

We’ve seen him age up for Doctor Who, or sport red hair for the Demon Crowley, but this is about as far away from science fiction and fantasy as you can get; he’s playing the poisoned former Russian Federal Security Services and KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko.

Ahead of the show, simply titled Litvinenko, ITV have released a first-look at Tennant in the role. It replicates the iconic photo of Alexander Litvinenko in his hospital bed which made international headlines.

Litvinenko will stream exclusively on ITVX this December.

Litvinenko

The drama comes from writer George Kay and director Jim Field Smith. The pair were collaborators on the Netflix series Criminal which also starred David Tennant as the subject of one of its intense interrogations.

Litvinenko tells the story of how, in November 2006, two police officers were called to University College Hospital in London to interview a patient in declining health. That patient was Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident who claimed to have been poisoned on the orders of Vladimir Putin.

During the police interviews, Alexander provided meticulous details from his hospital bedside about the events leading up to his illness. His information would ultimately help detectives track down two Russians who had poisoned Litvinenko with Polonium 210, a highly toxic radioactive substance.

Also starring Mark Bonnar, Neil Maskell and Margarita Levieva, the story will also focus on Marina, Litvinenko’s widow. She fought tirelessly to persuade the British Government to publicly name her husband’s killers and acknowledge the role of the Russian State in his murder.

Litvinenko launches on ITVX on Thursday 15th December.

ITVX

The show arrives in December, as does streamer ITVX (replacing ITV Hub). ITVX promises an ad-enabled free tier, as well an ad-free subscription option. It will also offer will offer live-streaming of events and sports, plus access to BritBox content.

Various high profile programmes have been commissioned ahead of the launch, including Stonehouse, Archie and Nolly; the broadcaster is promising one flagship show per week.

Additionally, the service brings 10,000 hours of free programming, including more than 250 films; promised titles include the Back to the Future trilogy, the Despicable Me trilogy and Wonder Woman. The Fast and Furious series arrives in 2023 too.

Cult Classics

Particularly catching our eye are an offering of cult shows. ITVX will bring access to Gerry Anderson classics such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Terrahawks, Joe 90, Stingray, Space 199 and UFO. Additionally, there’s Supernatural, The 100 and Nikita on the list too.

ITVX launches on December 8th.