‘A STORY THAT HAD TO BE TOLD’

David Tennant says the drama had to begin with the iconic hospital photo

It’s the picture that in 2006 went round a shocked world: Alexander Litvinenko, bald, jaundiced, swathed in a green robe, angrily dying in a London hospital after being poisoned by radiation. David Tennant plays Litvinenko: “I remember it happening, being appalled, bewildered and shocked. It felt like a story that had to be told, the terrible truth of what was attempted by this gangster. The most important thing we can do is tell the story again and again, because that way, Putin loses.” The starting point of the drama was to re-create that image, which was achieved with startling realism. “We used an actual hospital room,” says Tennant. “The crew were very respectful about the processes that we needed to go through, because it felt very intimate. Even though it was a story with international ramifications.”

Director Jim Field Smith explains how he regarded the image as a springboard for the entire film. “It’s a picture of a man who is much more than that picture. He was a husband, a father and a man with a sense of conviction. Through that moment, you can open up the rest of the story. The hospital photo is iconic.”

Support came from Litvinenko’s widow Marina. “It’s a very important story to keep alive,” she says. “Not just for me, but for Anatoly, our son. It keeps Sasha [Alexander] alive, living with us. And it means his message will be kept alive.”

In fact, the production fulfils a prophecy from none other than Litvinenko himself, explains Marina. “When we escaped from Russia, Sasha said, ‘This escape is definitely going to become a Hollywood movie.’ Frankly, I was thinking more about how we would live another life in the UK, but then Sasha was always a bit more artistic than me.”

“It meant so much to us that Marina and Anatoly gave us their blessing,” says Tennant. “Because while this is a hugely important story for the world, it’s also the story of a couple, and of a family.” ROSIE MILLARD