Plot | Cast | Trailer | Where to watch | Q&A | Fun facts
Looking for your next must-watch? Well, brace yourself, The Hack (your latest true-crime binge) is premiering Wednesday 24th September, 9pm on ITV1 and STV, and it’s ready to pull back the curtain on one of the UK’s biggest-ever media scandals!
Produced by the team behind the series that shook the country to the core (Mr Bates vs the Post Office) and written by BAFTA and Emmy-winning Jack Thorne (Adolescence), it promises the kind of drama and moral questions that’ll have you shouting at your TV!
As former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said in an exclusive Q&A, “the story has yet to be properly investigated,” so consider this your front-row seat into the journey just like with Mr Bates vs The Post Office. With secrets waiting to be uncovered, powerful forces working behind the scenes, and truths that some would do anything to hide, The Hack is a shocking true-story drama you will not want to miss!
What is The Hack about?
Prepare for a double dose of drama that is part mystery, part true-crime thriller, because The Hack doesn’t just follow one story, it follows two, running side by side and colliding in the most unexpected ways. On one side, investigative journalist Nick Davies is chasing the biggest scandal in British media, the News of the World phone-hacking saga. Working largely on his own, his sources are secret, names appear redacted, and the deeper he digs, the more shocking the revelations become, all while the world seems unwilling to believe him.
Meanwhile, Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook is locked in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse chase to solve the decades-old murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan. Every move matters, every suspect could hold the next clue, and the line between hunter and hunted keeps shifting.
With these two gripping stories unfolding in parallel, The Hack is so intense you will be gripping your chair and double-guessing the truth every step of the way, and if the huge success of Mr Bates vs the Post Office is anyyyyything to go off, (it’s still the topic of many conversations now) this will be a must-watch!
Who's in The Hack?
The Hack’s A-class cast is so good that even the smallest of roles feature familiar faces!
- David Tennant (Doctor Who, Des) stars as investigative journalist Nick Davies, a single parent of two and freelance journalist who works tirelessly to uncover the truth behind the phone hacking scandal while facing secrecy, disbelief, and powerful forces trying to bury the truth.
- Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs the Post Office) plays Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, who navigates the intense pressures of exposing one of the biggest media scandals in UK history.
- Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty) plays Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook, the determined police officer locked in a tense cat-and-mouse investigation to solve the decades-old murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
Make sure to keep any eye out for Katherine Kelly (In Flight, Protection), Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentleman), Cara Theobold (Downton Abbey), Rose Leslie (Miss Austen, Game of Thrones), Dougray Scott, Phil Davies (The Gold, Poldark) and Eve Myles (Broadchurch).
Exclusives from the premier Q&A of The Hack:
When asked why he wanted to write about The Hack, Jack Thorne answered:
“This was a story I thought I knew. I’d followed it, or thought I had. Then I started getting research through and read Nick’s book and suddenly realised I didn’t know half of it. That’s the key test when you’re telling a story: can you shed light on something?
I assumed the drama was about journalists behaving badly. Actually, it’s about the world’s response to brave people breaking this story. It wasn’t complicity so much as complacency — a reluctance to look at themselves and their relationships. That felt urgent to explore, and I was keen to be involved.”
We’re living in a dangerous time. I grew up trusting everything I saw on the news. Now, no one trusts anything. Fact itself is under threat.
Alongside Jack, the real Alan Rusbridger was at the Q&A and when asked about his friendship with Nick he responded:
“We joined The Guardian on the same day in 1979. Our career paths diverged, he was always a reporter, I became an editor — but knowing him all my professional life made trust easy. I knew how good a reporter he was. There were things I took on simply because it was Nick… I think it’s quite something to be played by the most handsome actor in Britain!”
When asked why now is the time for this story Alan says:
“Murdoch’s press has paid over £1 billion in settlements to keep evidence from coming out. Legal letters are still flying. Even now, News UK lawyers are warning people to tread carefully. The truth still hasn’t fully emerged.”
Fun facts about The Hack:
- The camera truck burned down during filming — leading to what Jack Thorne may have been the largest insurance pay out in ITV drama history.
- So many actors wanted to be part of this story that even those with only one or two scenes signed on immediately.
- Alan Rusbridger and Nick Davies both joined The Guardian on the same day in 1979.
- Murdoch paid over £1 billion in settlements.
The trailer:
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When are where can I watch The Hack?
If you don’t want to get FOMO then you better tune in to ITV1/ STV on Wednesday 24th September at 9pm, orrr if you can’t wait that long it will be dropping as a boxset on ITVX and STV Player at 7am on the same day!
If you loved the recommendation take a peep at ITV’s other latest drama Coldwater, or dive into our best dramas to stream recommendations!
