David Tennant's new true-crime drama Des premiered tonight (September 14) on ITV and it was a very grim watch.
The fact-based show stars Tennant as real-life serial killer Dennis 'Des' Nilsen, a man who confessed to murdering up to 16 men over the course of several years after being arrested in February 1983 in London.
The drama began with the police's discovery of Nilsen's latest victim and Nilsen's arrest. Nilsen soon told the police a range of details about his victims but was able to provide only one full name.
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This left the police, including Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay (Daniel Mays), trying to identify the other victims – who had been killed over the course of five years – using minimal DNA evidence, as well as unravelling Nilsen's motivations for the murders.
Meanwhile, biographer Brian Masters (Jason Watkins) wanted to get all the information on the case "as a whole picture" for a book he wanted to write and found himself caught up in the awful details as he sat down to interview Nilsen.
Although it was an uncomfortable watch at times, viewers were full of praise for Tennant's creepy performance:
Daniel Mays' acting was also admired as his character tried to unravel the details of the case and contend with all the pain it was causing, particularly poignantly shown in a scene in which he visited the parents of Nilsen's most recent victim:
Des continues tomorrow (September 15) at 9pm on ITV, with the final episode broadcast on Wednesday, September 16.
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Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
