ITV Litvinenko star Sam Troughton’s famous family from Dr Who and Harry Potter actors to sports star

ITV drama Litvinenko will air for the first time on ITV1 tonight, Monday, June 19 – having first premiered on the channel’s streaming service ITVX in December.

The series will air on four consecutive nights starting from Monday, June 19, at 9pm. While a documentary special, Litvinenko: The Mayfair Poisoning, will air at 9pm on Friday, June 23.

Litvinenko tells the tragic real-life story of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. David Tennant leads the cast playing the title role.

Read more: David Tennant’s new Litvinenko drama ITV air date, how many episodes and full cast

Other cast members include Margarita Levieva as Marina Litvinenko, Mark Bonnar as DSU Clive Thomas and Neil Maskell as DI Brent Hyatt. It also stars Sam Troughton as DI Brian Tarpey – who has some famous relatives.

What have I seen Sam Troughton in before?

Sam Troughton was born in Hampstead, in London, and attended Bridgetown Primary School in Stratford-upon-Avon and then Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa. He went on to study drama at the University of Hull, graduating in 1998.

He is a Shakespearean actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company on numerous occasions – and in 2000, 2001 and 2002 he was nominated for the Ian Charleson Awards, awarded to young actors for performances in classic plays.

Troughton is known for appearing in films such as Vera Drake, The Ritual, Mank, Alien vs. Predator and Slumber. While his previous TV credits including Hex, Robin Hood, The Town, Vera, Chernobyl and The Outlaws.

In Litvinenko he plays DI Brian Tarpey one of the police officers investigating Litvinenko’s posioning in 2006.

Who are Sam Troughton’s famous family?

But Sam Troughton isn’t the only famous member of his family. Sam is the son of fellow actor David Troughton who is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and his many roles on British television including A Very Peculiar Practice and New Tricks.

Sam is also the grandson of the second Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton. He played the Doctor between 1966 and 1969, reprising the role between 1972 to 1973, 1983 and 1985. He died in March 1987 aged 67 years old.

While Sam’s younger brothers are the former Warwickshire cricketer Jim Troughton and actor William Troughton, who has played the role of Tom Archer in the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme The Archers since 2014.

Sam’s cousin is also Harry Potter actor Harry Melling. Melling is known for playing Dudley Dursley in five of the Harry Potter films and his role as Harry Beltik in Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit.