The Hack is a British true-crime television series detailing the News International phone hacking scandal. It stars an ensemble cast led by David Tennant, Toby Jones and Robert Carlyle with Steve Pemberton, Eve Myles, Dougray Scott, Lisa McGrillis and Adrian Lester, amongst others.
Contents
Premise
Set between 2002 and 2012, the series examines two intersecting real life stories, the work of Nick Davies, a journalist who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World, a now defunct British newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch; and the police investigation into the unsolved 1987 murder of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator with links to the News of the World.
Cast
The cast includes:
David Tennant as Nick Davies
Toby Jones as Alan Rusbridger
Robert Carlyle as DCS Dave Cook
Steve Pemberton as Rupert Murdoch
Cara Theobold as Amelia Hill, a reporter for The Guardian
Rose Leslie as Charlotte Harris, a lawyer
Rosalie Craig as Rebekah Brooks
Dougray Scott as Gordon Brown
Eve Myles as Jacqui Hames
Adrian Lester as "Mr Apollo", Davies' pseudonymous source
Katherine Kelly as Sheridan McCoid
Kevin Doyle as Assistant Commissioner John Yates
Neil Maskell as Glen Campbell, of Panorama
Lara Pulver as Jo Becker
Lee Ingleby as David Leigh
Pip Torrens as Stuart Kuttner
Lisa McGrillis as Sarah Montague
Sean Pertwee as Sean Hoare
Robert Bathurst as Max Clifford
Benji Bloom : Beans, Nick's son
Anya McKenna-Bruce : Bacon, Nick's daughter
Terence Maynard as Rufus Duffy, of The Guardian
Richard Pepple as DI Graham Twyler
Nadia Albina as Gill Phillips, editorial legal director of The 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 as Sienna Miller
Nicholas Rowe as Jeremy Paxman
Mark Stobbart as Andy Coulson
Robert Glenister as DCI Callum Lockhart
Lisa Dillon as Clare Rewcastle Brown
Joseph May as Don Van Natta
Alec Newman as John Mullin
Oliver Milburn as Nick Ross
Steven Waddington as Mike Sullivan, of The Sun
Nigel Lindsay as Jules Stenson, features editor of The News of the World
Elisabeth Hopper as Caroline Davies, Nick Davies' ex-wife
Andrew Whipp as Jonathan Rees
Paul Kaye as Gary Eaton, a witness to the murder
Patrick Baladi as John Whittingdale
Sophie Bould as Jean Davies, mother of Nick
Rebecca Front as Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers
Lucy Russell as Tessa Jowell
Silas Carson as Sam Eldwick
Gavin Spokes as Dick Fedorcio, the Metropolitan Police's head of public affairs
Daniel Ryan as Tom Watson MP
George Russo as Glenn Mulcaire
Cal MacAninch as Tommy Sheridan
Ron Cook as Max Mosley
Roger Ringrose as Justice Maddison
Lucy Black as Sally Dowler, mother of Milly Dowler
Colin R. Campbell as Bob Dowler, father of Milly
The opening episode also includes brief, non-speaking cameos from Harry Hill, Konnie Huq, Gabby Logan and Jonathan Ross.
Episode 3 features a cameo from Alastair Campbell (Tony Blair's strategist and advisor) as himself.
Production
The seven-part series was commissioned by ITVX and Australian streamer Stan. It is written by BAFTA-winning screenwriter Jack Thorne and Annalisa Dinnella. It is directed by Lewis Arnold. The series is produced by ITV Studios with AC Chapter One and One Shoe Films. Executive producers include Patrick Spence and Jack Thorne alongside Joe Williams for ITV Studios, Lewis Arnold and David Tennant. Abi Bach is the series producer.
Initially reported under the working title Mandrake, filming locations included Hemel Hempstead, Muswell Hill and Kilburn, London in February and March 2024.
Broadcast
All seven parts were released on ITVX on 24 September 2025. ITV and STV began linear broadcasts on the same date. In India, it was also streaming on Lionsgate Play from 7 November 2025.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 71% approval rating based on 11 critic reviews.
Julia Raeside writing in the i Paper gave the series five stars out of five, adding:
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 to The Hack closely. Whatever the outcome, it is TV dynamite. Vicky Jessop in the Evening 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". Paul Hirons writing for the Killing Times also gave it four stars and called the series: "surprising, stylish, and brilliantly mounted". Lucy Mangan, writing in The 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." Nick Hilton in The Independent gave three out of five, and noted:
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.
