David Tennant claims he's 'aware of repercussions' with Litvinenko series
David Tennant has admitted he was aware there would be potential backlash with the ITV series Litvinenko.
Marina Litvinenko: Putin's attitude to spy poisoning proves "he did it"
David Tennant said his portrayal of Alexander Litvinenko was a "very delicate" moment for his family.
The ITV series is about the former Russian spy who was poisoned in London in 2006 and his wife's fight for justice.
Alexander, known affectionately as Sasha, died after drinking tea laced with a radioactive substance.
He was convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for his poisoning which David retells in the four-part drama Litvinenko.
The series has already aired on ITVX and it is now making its debut on ITV across Monday to Thursday this week.
Within the series, which David is a producer of, two police officers are called to University College Hospital in London to interview a patient claiming to have been poisoned.
The dying patient was Alexander who spent the last three days of his life explaining what happened to the detectives.
Photographs of Alexander from his hospital bed sent shockwaves around the globe when they made front page news.
The ITV series follows his wife Marina Litvinenko's (played by Margarita Levieva) fight for justice.
READ MORE: The harrowing true story of Alexander Litvinenko's death
David shared with Express.co.uk and other publications: "It’s a story which has repercussions, you are very aware of that.
"You’re not only carrying the story as a fable for our times, but you are also carrying the story of a family and that felt very precious and very delicate."
He added: "I remember it happening and I remember being appalled, bewildered and shocked by the news story like the rest of the world was.
"And reading the way George [Kay] had written the script was captivating and compelling."
"It felt like a story which had to be told," David explained.
The Doctor Who actor also said it felt "important" to retell the story "on a geopolitical scale".
"It's also the emotional fracturing of a family, the terrible truth of what was attempted by this gangster [Putin] who has all this power," David added.
"It was unjust and unfair," he stressed. "What Litvinenko set out to do was to make sure this story was told, that's how it felt."
Don't miss...
'He was having sex with underage boys’ Litvinenko's chilling claims [INSIGHT]
Marina Litvinenko shares son’s reaction to David Tennant role [INTERVIEW]
Vladimir Putin's bitter feud with oligarch Boris Berezovsky explored [EXPLAINER]
The actor felt the most important thing "we can do is tell the story again and again, because that way, Putin loses."
Alexander's death sparked an investigation into a chemical attack on the streets of London.
It also triggered a lengthy investigation between Britain and Russia to find the culprit of his murder.
Last year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Russia was responsible for the killing.
Alexander's wife Marina, who was part of the making of the ITV series, said: "Even if it wasn’t my own story, I knew it was a very important story to keep alive.
“I realised it was so important to keep his words alive with this drama.
“He would be alive with us and his message would finally be listened to.”
In a separate interview about his role, David explained: "It felt incredibly bleak lying there.
"The act of getting into the bed and getting all of the wires attached, the heart monitor, the hospital gown arranged in the correct way…it was quite a palaver.
"So at the beginning of a scene I’d get into the bed and I’d just stay there. That was partly the practicalities of it but it also became a choice.
"It’s hard when you’re playing a real person. You feel a responsibility to the gravity of the moment you are recreating. Because there’s an element of acting that’s always a little bit silly. It’s make believe, it’s pretend.
"It’s quite a hard to explain and you can sound terribly pretentious but I felt a responsibility not to be larking around."
Litvinenko episodes are now available to stream on ITVX and ITV1.