The upcoming series, which dramatises the 2006 investigation into former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko\u2019s poisoning and death, as well as his wife\u2019s Marina (Margarita Levieva) efforts to push the British government to name her husband\u2019s killers.<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of the drama\u2019s release, co-producer Richard Kerbaj revealed that Tennant \u2013 who stars as Litvinenko \u2013 played a \u201cmuch greater\u201d part in making the show happen than viewers may think.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Tennant saved our show. You will get a lot of people praising his exceptional performance as Alexander Litvinenko. It lives up to his high standards. But what he did for the show is much greater than play that part,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/11\/litvinenko02-093af97-e1669110573773.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C406"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\u201cHe saved our show because it was commissioned a few months before COVID hit. We were then on the rocks for a little while wondering if we would ever be able to film this. Had David Tennant decided not to stay involved, I\u2019m not sure if the drama would have been made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerbaj added that Tennant was \u201cso determined\u201d to play the part of the former Russian Federal Security Services, \u201ceven before\u201d the producer set up a meeting between him and Litvinenko\u2019s widow Marina Litvinenko.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt no point did he wobble. So this is his show as much as anyone else\u2019s, if not more. He played a key role,\u201d he continued. \u201cMuch bigger than just the actor he is on screen. Playing one of the most famous illustrations of Russia\u2019s disregard for human rights, human beings and international laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to praise Tennant\u2019s portrayal of Litvinenko by saying that he played the part with \u201ca great deal of sensitivity\u201d.<\/p>
\u201cDavid Tennant has done something extraordinary for [Marina Litvinenko]. Because so many people had promised to tell her husband\u2019s story in a drama and no one did it. David is beyond an actor. He is exceptional on screen,\u201d he said. \u201cBut his even greater contribution was through the way he connected with Marina and the project and saved it during COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n
The upcoming drama will see Mark Bonnar play Scotland Yard officer Clive Timmons and Neil Maskell play his colleague Brent Hyatt, while ITV recently released a first-look trailer<\/a> of Tennant in the role as Litvinenko.<\/p>\n Litvinenko arrives on ITVX as a full boxset on Thursday 15th December. For more news, interviews and features, visit our Drama<\/a>\u00a0hub, or find something to watch now with our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale <\/strong>now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0a<\/strong>nd get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen t<\/strong>o the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Ga<\/strong>rvey.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Lauren Morris Published: Thursday, 01 December 2022 at 12:00 am The co-producer of ITVX\u2019s Litvinenko has revealed that star David Tennant \u201csaved\u201d the project, which he claims was at risk of being scrapped during the COVID pandemic. The upcoming series, which dramatises the 2006 investigation into former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko\u2019s poisoning and death, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":26386,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/how-david-tennant-saved-litvinenko-when-itvx-drama-was-under-threat.jpg",8256,6192,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/how-david-tennant-saved-litvinenko-when-itvx-drama-was-under-threat.jpg",150,113,false],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/how-david-tennant-saved-litvinenko-when-itvx-drama-was-under-threat-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/how-david-tennant-saved-litvinenko-when-itvx-drama-was-under-threat-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/how-david-tennant-saved-litvinenko-when-itvx-drama-was-under-threat-1024x768.jpg",800,600,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/how-david-tennant-saved-litvinenko-when-itvx-drama-was-under-threat.jpg",1536,1152,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/how-david-tennant-saved-litvinenko-when-itvx-drama-was-under-threat.jpg",2048,1536,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Lauren Morris Published: Thursday, 01 December 2022 at 12:00 am The co-producer of ITVX\u2019s Litvinenko has revealed that star David Tennant \u201csaved\u201d the project, which he claims was at risk of being scrapped during the COVID pandemic. The upcoming series, which dramatises the 2006 investigation into former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko\u2019s poisoning and death,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/26385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"