The Hack: What is the true story behind the phone hacking scandal?
The Hack stars David Tennant as Guardian journalist Nick Davies, Toby Jones as Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger and Robert Carlyle as Police officer Dave Cook
Calling all true crime fans! ITV's new drama, The Hack, starring David Tennant, Toby Jones and Robert Carlyle, tells the true story of News of the World's phone hacking scandal, which took the world by storm back in 2011. Set between 2002 and 2012, the drama "deftly interweaves two real-life stories," according to the synopsis. The first is the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies (David Tennant), who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World; the second is the investigation by Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook (Robert Carlyle) into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
HELLO!'s Acting TV Editor Nicky Morris said of the new series: "The Hack is definitely one of the shows I'm most looking forward to watching this year. Not only is the series based on a shocking true story, but it's penned by Adolescence and Toxic Town writer Jack Thorne and boasts a stacked cast led by David Tennant." Before you go and binge-watch all seven episodes of the new series on ITVX, here's everything you need to know about the true story behind the phone hacking scandal.
David Tennant plays Nick Davies
What is the true story behind the phone hacking scandal?
The story begins in the 1990s, when it was later revealed that reporters and private investigators working for the News of the World were intercepting voicemails in order to generate exclusives. They targeted celebrities, politicians and even crime victims to source stories.
Among those falling victim to the hacking was none other than David Tennant, who stars in The Hack. "I got a phone call from the police saying your name is in a notebook, and I joined one of the bundles of people who took that to court," he told The Guardian.
"It didn't come as a massive surprise, but the whole thing had always felt like a gross invasion. It felt like the world had gone a bit mad, that we lost a moral compass, that a layer of humanity was being stripped away by what was happening here."
News of the World's former royal editor Clive Goodman
A "rogue reporter"
While the hacking occurred throughout the 1990s, it wasn't until 2006 that the cracks first started to appear. News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were arrested and jailed for hacking into the phones of members of the Royal Family.
At the time, News of the World's editor Andy Coulson noted Clive was simply a "rogue reporter," insisting the practice wasn't widespread. However, Andy eventually resigned, but went on to become Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications.
The Guardian's Nick Davies eventually uncovered vital evidence
The exposure of News of the World
Despite the official denials, investigative journalist Nick Davies of The Guardian (played by David Tennant in The Hack) kept digging, and eventually uncovered evidence of secret payoffs, proving phone hacking was rife across the newsroom.
The tipping point came in 2011, with the shocking revelation that News of the World had hacked the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The discovery that her messages were not only accessed but deleted – giving her family false hope that she was still alive – sparked national outrage.
The scandal led advertisers to distance themselves from the paper, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation was forced to announce the closure of the 168-year-old newspaper. Its final edition was printed in July 2011.
Andy Coulson was found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones after an eight month trial at the Old Bailey
Did anyone go to prison after the phone hacking scandal?
In the years that followed, former editor Andy Coulson was found guilty of conspiracy to intercept voicemails and sentenced to 18 months in prison, alongside three other journalists.
Meanwhile, former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks was arrested in 2014, but was later acquitted of all charges.
Now back to that second storyline and the unsolved 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook (portrayed by Robert Carlyle) investigated Daniel's killing and uncovered links between his business partner and corrupt police officers who had been selling information to tabloids.
A 2021 inquiry into the case declared the Metropolitan Police "institutionally corrupt" in their handling of Morgan's murder investigation. To this day, his killers have never been brought to justice.
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