It seems to be with undue alacrity that Channel 4 has announced it is to make a drama based on the recent death of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.

The poor chap wasn’t even buried when the news came out that acclaimed writer/director Peter Kosminsky would be crafting a script surrounding the mysterious events of the past month or so. Indeed, the news was tastelessly announced on the BBC News website on the morning of Litvinenko’s funeral. 

Kosminsky has a good track record with this kind of drama, having made The Government Inspector which covered the death of Dr David Kelly, but surely a little bit of distance could have been left before a film on the Litvinenko case was made? The story will most likely make for a gripping piece of television (especially with somebody like Kosminsky involved), but for the news to be released at such a unsettling time seems somewhat insensitive.