David Tennant hails Marina, the widow of poisoned Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, after meeting her as he prepared to play her late husband in a harrowing ITV drama
- David Tennant says widow of poisoned Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko is a ‘hero’
- The actor, 51, met Marina as he prepared for his role as her murdered husband in the upcoming ITV drama Litvinenko, which is due to air on ITVX on December 15.
- Doctor Who actor David said Marina was his motivation for taking on the role of former Federal Security Service officer Alexander, hailing her as ‘remarkable’
- Russian Federal Security Service and KGB officer, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, Alex died in 2006 after ingesting a radioactive substance
David Tennant says the widow of poisoned Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko is a ‘hero’.
The actor, 51, met Marina as he prepared for his role as her murdered husband in the upcoming ITV drama Litvinenko, which is due to air on ITVX on December 15.
Doctor Who actor David said Marina was his motivation for taking on the role of former Federal Security Service officer Alexander, hailing her as “remarkable”.
Praise: David Tennant, 51, says widow of poisoned Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko is a ‘hero’
He told the Mirror: ‘I think she became the motivation for telling this story. Marina is a remarkable person. She is the hero in many ways.
“When you meet her, all you get is this amazing woman who just wants to scream about it as loud as possible for the rest of her life.”
The first look at the show saw David transform into a Russian spy and critic of Putin for the tense drama.
TV part: The actor met Marina (pictured) as he prepared for his role as her murdered husband in the upcoming ITV drama Litvinenko
He is seen lying in a hospital bed before his death from poisoning in the first trailer for the new miniseries.
Alexander, a former Russian Federal Security Service and KGB officer and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, died in agony in November 2006 after ingesting a rare radioactive substance.
David said Marina had ‘fearlessly’ dedicated her life to making sure Alexander’s death ‘doesn’t go for nothing’, with the widow continuing to speak publicly about her late partner, making sure ‘the world knows what happened”.
TV drama: The first look at the show saw David (left, in the show) transform into a Russian spy and critic of Putin (right, in 2006 before his death) or the tense drama
Marina will be played in the series by Russian-American actress Margarita Levieva who starred in The Deuce and The Blacklist.
A British public inquiry concluded in 2016 that Russians Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi deliberately poisoned Alexander by putting polonium-210 in his drink at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair.
Led by former High Court judge Sir Robert Owen, the inquiry found the tea poisoning was ‘probably’ carried out with the approval of the Russian president.
On screen: Marina will be portrayed in the series by Russian-American actress Margarita Levieva (right) who starred in The Deuce and The Blacklist
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) also ruled last year, following a case brought by Marina, that Russia was responsible for her murder.
Russia has always denied any involvement in the death and had refused to comply with international arrest warrants issued for Kovtun and Lugovoi.
Sir Robert’s inquiry said the use of the radioactive substance – which could only have come from a nuclear reactor – was a ‘strong indicator’ of state involvement and that the pair were likely to have acted under the direction of the Russian security service, the FSB, for which Alexander worked.
Possible motives included Alexander’s work for British intelligence agencies after fleeing Russia, his criticism of the FSB, and his association with other Russian dissidents, while it was said there was also a “dimension personally” to the antagonism between him and Putin.
Kovtun died in June of Covid-19 in Moscow, according to Russian news agency Tass.
On Air: TV drama Litvinenko is set to air on ITVX on December 15
