ITV's new drama The Hack, starring David Tennant and Robert Carlyle, takes a look at the phone-hacking scandal at News of the World.
Alongside that, the seven-part series will also look into the murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan and how that eventually related to the scandal.
A synopsis for the programme reads: "Set between 2002 and 2012, the drama deftly interweaves two real life stories, the work of investigative journalist Nick Davies, played by David Tennant, who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the News of the World, and running parallel, the story of the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan, led by former Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook, played by Robert Carlyle."
Jack Thorne, who recently won an Emmy award for his writing on the Netflix hit Adolescence alongside Stephen Graham, penned the screenplays for the series.
Daniel Morgan's murder might not be common knowledge to audiences, so how did it figure into the phone-hacking scandal?
Who was Daniel Morgan?
Daniel Morgan was a private investigator who worked for Southern Investigations, a company he had founded with his business partner Jonathan Rees.
He was murdered with an axe in a pub car park in Sydenham, London, in March 1987.
Rees was arrested in April 1987 on suspicion of murder, along with Morgan's future replacement at Southern, Detective Sergeant Sid Fillery, and two brothers, Glenn and Garry Vian.
All were released without charge, and over the next three decades, there were multiple inquiries and investigations conducted to try to solve it.
The Hack picks this up when Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook (played by Carlyle) is assigned to investigate the murder in 2002.
'The Hack' delves into the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World and the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
Led by David Tennant, Robert Carlyle, and Toby Jones this impactful 7-part series is coming to ITV & @ITVX pic.twitter.com/FayYwGTNoW— ITV (@ITV) January 29, 2025
Allegations of police corruption emerged throughout the decades, with previous investigations being dropped due to lack of evidence.
Eventually, Rees, Fillery, the Vian brothers and a builder named James Cook were arrested again on suspicion of murder, and a trial began at the Old Bailey in 2009.
However, the trial collapsed in 2011 after evidence obtained from supergrasses was deemed inadmissible by the court.
In May 2013, the Home Office announced it was to hold an independent inquiry into Morgan's death.
This was eventually published in June 2021, which found the Met Police to have been "institutionally corrupt" in its handling of the investigation into Morgan's murder.
One of the theories shared in the report regarding why someone would want to harm Morgan was that he was on the verge of revealing links between corrupt police officers and organised criminals.
Almost two years later, in May 2023, the Met Police stated that they had found relevant documents in a locked cabinet, and apologised to the family and the panel.
How did the investigation into Daniel Morgan's murder relate to the phone-hacking scandal?
After the collapse of the Old Bailey trial in 2011, it was revealed that Rees had earned £150,000 a year from the News of the World for supplying illegally obtained information about people in the public eye.
Rees had served a seven-year sentence for perverting the course of justice and was hired by News of the World after his release in 2004.
He worked with them, as well as the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, investigating the bank accounts of the royal family and obtaining information on public figures.
Rees had a network of contacts with corrupt police officers, who obtained confidential records for him as part of this.
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Despite detailed evidence, the Metropolitan Police failed to pursue investigations into Rees's corrupt relationship with the News of the World over more than a decade.
In their investigation of phone-hacking at News of the World, The Guardian focused its criticism on parent company News Corporation's handling of Rees' services.
The newspaper alleged his activities included unauthorised access to computer data and bank accounts, corruption of police officers and the alleged commissioning of burglaries, for information about targets.
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