What's On Scotland: STV's The Hack 'raises serious unanswered questions' about phone-hacking scandal

The creators behind STV’s new seven-part drama The Hack say they hope the series will spark fresh questions about one of the biggest scandals in press history.

Set between 2002 and 2012, the drama interweaves two real-life stories: investigative journalist Nick Davies’ dogged reporting on phone hacking at the News of the World, and the long, troubled police inquiry into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan, led by Met Detective Chief Superintendent David Cook

David Tennant plays Davies, Robert Carlyle takes the role of Cook and Toby Jones appears as former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger.

Written by BAFTA, Tony and Olivier award-winning playwright Jack Thorne, 46, whose Netflix hit Adolescence swept the Emmys, The Hack follows on from the success of STV dramas such as Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Producer Patrick Spence, who also worked on Mr Bates, said the series aims to shine a light on the “uncomfortable relationships” between senior figures in the media, the Met Police and government.

“This is a story about abuse of power. It is about the damage that can be done when people who have power abuse it. It’s that simple. And it’s about the courage that is needed to fight back against people who would abuse their power at the highest level.”

For Carlyle, telling Cook’s story was a responsibility. Both he and Spence worked with the retired officer to ensure his perspective was fully represented.

“Through getting to know him, he said he could have gone even higher in his career. But he didn’t want to go any higher,” he said.

“Because that was a boys’ club that he never ever felt he was really part of. And didn’t want to be part of. So, he was always a bit of a loner within the force.

“This investigation and what happened to him destroyed his marriage, career and health. It’s very difficult for him. It brings up a lot of pain. He won’t watch it. I understand that.

“Dave Cook was not perfect, but I hope people understand why that was the case. That’s certainly the way that I’ve tried to play it.

“There was that sometimes slightly robotic and emotionless nature of a police officer. So, I tried to be true to that, but at the same time give something else to show there is a heart here, there is a man here, a human being here.

“We really don’t understand what people like Dave Cook go through. And I think that Dave was done wrong.”

Spence added: “The thing I would say is on behalf of David Cook, his attitude was ‘I want the full story out,’ and what we’ve done is we’ve told the full story. You can draw your own conclusion about David and his actions. We drew our own, which is why we chose to feature him in the way we do.

“He’s come under significant criticism, which we think should have been more nuanced than it was. We think his actions were motivated by righteous thinking.”

Carlyle, 64, who rose to fame in Trainspotting and The Full Monty, revealed he believes his own phone may have been hacked in the 1990s.

“There were several of my friends that were a victim of that. It’s possible I was too – I don’t know. I can’t prove it. But there were things happening to me back at that time, stuff that was coming out in the press about my private life, that was strange.”

Tennant and Carlyle, despite both attending Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama just a few years apart, only met for the first time on set. Carlyle described working with Tennant as “a privilege,” adding: “He’s one of the most professional actors I’ve ever worked with. He’s on it, every second of every moment.”

Daniel Morgan, a 37-year-old father of two, was murdered with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, in March 1987. His killing remains one of Britain’s most notorious unsolved murders.

Cook’s pursuit of the case put him under intense pressure: in 2002, while leading the inquiry, he and his family were placed under surveillance by Southern Investigations, at the request of the News of the World.

The phone-hacking scandal led to the closure of the News of the World in 2011 and the Leveson Inquiry into press standards. News Group Newspapers has since settled numerous claims for damages from high-profile victims of unlawful information-gathering. But Spence says the series underlines the need for further scrutiny.

“In our dreams, it would lead to Leveson 2. There are some serious unanswered questions that the drama will lay out in front of everyone by the end,” he said.

“We don’t have the authority to compel some of those people to answer the questions honestly, but the drama tees those questions up again.

“We hope people will gather together as one nation and say: why did we not know about this? What are the answers? And turn again to the Met and the government and say: ‘look again.'”

The Hack will air on STV at 9pm on Wednesday September 24, and is available for streaming on STV Player.