Doctor Who star David Tennant's transformation for the upcoming ITVX drama Litvinenko reportedly took "several hours" to complete.
The series is set to tell the true story of two police officers who looked into the circumstances surrounding the death of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, an inquiry that is regarded as one of the most difficult in the history of the Metropolitan Police.
Litvinenko, who will be played by Tennant, died in 2006 of suspected poisoning by polonium-210, and his final days were spent emaciated in a hospital bed.
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Tennant had to spend "several hours" per day in the makeup chair, according to the series' creator George Kay, in order to replicate one of the last photos taken of Litvinenko while he was in the hospital (via Metro).
Kay also went on to praise the native Scot's Russian accent for playing a part in the transformation, saying: "What I would say about [him playing Litvinenko] is it is about the incredible work he did with the Russian dialect coach. His accent is absolutely on point."
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He continued: "There is a terrible version of this if you think about how it could have gone wrong. If he didn’t put in the incredible amount of effort into it and speaking to Marina (Litvinenko, Alexander’s wife) and researching the character and the symptoms of what was happening.
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"The wonderful and make up is a nice icing on the cake but there is also so much work going on beneath the surface in terms of being ready for those scenes."
The Blacklist's Margarita Levieva will play Litvinenko's wife Marina, while Line of Duty's Mark Bonnar will star as detective Clive Timmons.
Other cast members include Neil Maskell (Peaky Blinders), Barry Sloane (Six), Daniel Ryan (Vera) and Richard Pepper (Holby City).
Litvinenko premieres December 15 on ITVX.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
