The Hack is based on a true story that’s almost too wild to believe. David Tennant’s (Broadchurch, Dr Who) latest twist-filled series follows the 2000s News of the World phone hacking scandal and the 1980s murder of investigator, Daniel Morgan.
The Hack comes from the Emmy winning Adolescence creator Jack Thorne and is brought to life by an exceptional cast. Tennant is joined by Robert Carlyle (Cobra, The Full Monty), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office) and Rose Leslie (Vigil, The Time Traveller’s Wife).
You can watch the series exclusively on Stan in Australia.
How much of The Hack is a true story?
Flash back to 2009. Kanye infamously promised to ‘let Taylor finish’ when he interrupted her at the MTV Music Awards, Lady Gaga’s Poker Face and The Black Eyed Pea’s ‘I Gotta Feeling’ were dominating the charts, and, over in the UK, one of the biggest media scandals in the world was reaching boiling point.
Murdoch-owned UK newspaper, News of the World’s widespread phone hacking was exposed by The Guardian in July, 2009.
The Guardian’s investigation revealed that News Of The World had hacked into voicemails to procure stories for the newspaper to run. In some instances, the newspaper was even found to have hacked into voicemails from the royal family and victims of the London terror attacks.
It wasn’t just phone hacking though. News of the World was also found to have engaged in police bribery.
Which brings us to the murder of Daniel Morgan. Morgan was a private investigator working in London who was found murdered next to his car in 1987, almost two decades before the News of the World scandal came to light.
In the show, we watch as these two stories are weaved together to tell the sprawling, decades long story of the News of the World scandal.
“A huge amount of work has gone into making this a fair dramatic representation. All of the producers involved went to enormous lengths,” Jack Thorne (the show’s creator) told TV Week.
Which celebrities were involved?
Countless celebrities, politicians and even victims of crime were part of the phone hacking scandal.
In the series, we watch actress Sienna Miller’s real-life story unfold.
Miller told the BBC, “It was completely crazy. The number of accurate stories that were appearing in the press was baffling.”
Several stories about Miller focused on her pregnancy with partner Jude Law before she had announced the news to the public.
Miller recalled to the BBC, “I remember my doctor’s office phoning me and saying, ‘We’ve sent the records that you’d asked for.’ And me saying, ‘I didn’t ask for any records’.”
Other celebrities involved include Elle Macpherson, Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm) and members of the royal family, like Prince William.
But it wasn’t just celebrities, even victims of crime were targeted. It was revealed as part of investigations in 2011 that News of The World had hacked the voicemail of murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl Millie Dowler.
It was also alleged that the tabloid had hacked the voice mails of multiple victims of the 7/7 London bombings.
What happened to News of the World?
After the scandal came to light, News of the World closed after 186 years of publishing.
The news was announced on 7 July 2011.
Approximately 200 staff lost their jobs.
Who was charged with Daniel Morgan’s murder?
Spoiler alert! Despite several investigations, no one has been charged with the murder of Daniel Morgan.
In 2021 an investigation into how Morgan’s murder was handled found that the Metropolitan Police had not found an outcome in the case due to “a form of institutional corruption.”
Morgan’s business partner, Jonathan Rees, was a suspect in the murder but never convicted. Rees later went on to work with News of the World to illegally supply information used in news stories.
Who went to prison for The Hack in real life?
Because the scandal was so wide reaching, there were countless prison sentences handed out in the wake of the News of the World scandal.
Andy Coulson, the paper’s editor, received an 18-month prison sentence. Multiple staff on his team received similar sentences including the Royal reporter Clive Goodman, news reporter Ian Edmonson and chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck.
Coulson served less than 5 months of his sentence in prison and went on to serve as the Director of Communications for UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Where are the real-life characters of The Hack now?
Nick Davies, The Guardian journalist played by David Tennant has been retired since 2016. He’s currently focused on travelling and living his best life post-retirement alongside speaking at events.
Amelia Hill, who works with Nick to bring the story to life is still a senior journalist at The Guardian today.
Charlotte Harris, the journalist Nick teams up with is also a very real character. Today she is co-chair of London law firm Brown Rudnick’s brand and reputation arm.
Alan Rusbridger (Toby Jones), the editor of The Guardian at the time of the scandal now works at the editor of Prospect magazine.
The important thing was not to necessarily get lookalikes all of the time in this show. But to cast actors that felt like they could represent the soul of these people,” said the show’s creator, Jack Thorne.
“I’ve had the opportunity to sit with Alan Rusbridger quite a few times now. He is such a kind but also exacting, quiet and powerful man. He carries so many different hats inside that brain of his which he seems to be able to put on effortlessly,” he added.
David Cook (Robert Carlyle), the detective whose story we follow as he investigates the murder of Daniel Morgan, is now retired.
Was David Tennant affected by the phone hacking scandal?
Yes! David Tennant has a personal tie to the News of the World. He sued the owners of News of the World in 2017 in response to the hacking scandal.
“This is a story I lived through, I remember it happening, I had a glancing personal experience with it myself,” Tennant revealed when asked what drew him to the script.
What is Fleet Street in The Hack?
In The Hack, characters often refer to Fleet Street. Fleet Street was historically the heart of London’s publishing and printing industry. Most newspapers had their offices in Fleet Street. While most have now moved, it’s still known as the heart of news in London.
You can watch The Hack on Stan from September 24.
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