‘Things have to change'

Jason Watkins on playing the brilliant scientist at the centre of ‘Climategate’

- IAN MACEWAN

The true story of one man’s fight to exonerate himself and science is at the heart of BBC1’s new conspiracy thriller The Trick. Inspired by the ‘Climategate’ affair, a computer-hacking scandal that rocked the scientific world in November 2009, the one-off drama sees Jason Watkins (McDonald & Dodds) play Professor Phil Jones, the director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, who was thrust into the centre of a media storm.

After cyberterrorists hacked into the university’s IT system and leaked hundreds of stolen emails, climate-change deniers used data out of context to claim that man-made global warming was a hoax, and Professor Jones soon found his life and reputation under threat.

Here, Jason, 54, tells us more...

Do you remember hearing about ‘Climategate’ back in 2009?