PHONE-HACKING SCANDAL DRAMA 'THANK YOU & GOODBYE' IN DEVELOPMENT

The first television drama of the phone-hacking scandal, titled Thank You & Goodbye, is currently in development by Rise Films, Deadline has revealed.

The series will be written by Luke Neal, the writer behind ITV’s drama Des, and will take viewers inside the News Of The World newsroom, exploring how it became acceptable for journalists to tap into the private messages of public figures.

Rise Films managing director, Teddy Leifer, said: "The story of the phone-hacking scandal becomes more relevant every day. The scandal and subsequent inquiry exposed just how interconnected certain newspapers were with the upper echelons of the political elite. Even though the News Of The World was shut down, key players implicated in the scandal continued to take up positions of influence and shape the media ecosystem that surrounds us today."

Luke Neal said: "I believe by exploring — without judgement or sensationalism — the human nature of the people who contributed to this gross abuse of power, and trying to understand how and why they did this, is the only true way to stop this happening it again."

More information will be revealed in due course.

[Source: Deadline exclusive]