Nilsen was 37 when he was arrested at his north London home in 1983. By Jack Newman For … David Tennant in the Netflix series Criminal. Watkins also knows about playing real-life characters, including Prime Minister Harold Wilson in The Crown and the Bafta-winning title role in The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies. Des starts on ITV on Monday 14 September at 9pm and continues on Tuesday and Wednesday. What's in store for US President-elect Biden in 2021? Many actors would think twice before agreeing to play an infamous serial killer. The murderer, who changed the conversation on killers in the UK after his killing spree between 1978 and 1983 is the star of ITV and Sundance Now's new drama and his story is … Trailer For David Tennant Thriller Des Has Dropped 4 months ago He said: "After he was arrested, Dennis Nilsen became obsessed with was the legend of 'Des' - the reputation that he left behind. In hospital, doctors later repaired a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. David Tennant says serial killer Dennis Nilsen was ‘actually rather boring’ Actor stars as the man who murdered at least 15 young men in London during the late Seventies and Eighties Although about 40 years have passed since the murders, the pain will be largely undimmed for the relatives. “The only thing that the men who were killed by Nilsen did wrong was go home with someone who was being nice to them and had offered them a drink or a meal,” says Neal. It’s about trying to get some sort of sense of him, not to relate to why he did what he did but to try to understand it. The drama from Catherine … In a first look clip of ITV’s Des, we see the Doctor Who star in action as he takes on the lead role.. “I just thought the story was so extraordinary and unbelievable really,” Tennant says. And it’s partly because society allows that to happen that he could get away with it. Luke Neal's script "presented this character who will remain forever unknowable, I suspect", the actor says. Those two questions are cleared up early in the first episode of ITV's Des, which takes its title from the nickname for Dennis Nilsen, who killed at least 15 young men in the late 1970s and early '80s. .css-1xgx53b-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-1xgx53b-Link:hover,.css-1xgx53b-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. David Tennant looks like Fraserburgh-born serial killer Dennis Nilsen in the new ITV drama Des, but did he get his accent right? PA. “The more I researched, the less I became interested in Nilsen as a person and the more I was intrigued by the case, what it said about society at that time,” says Neal. Last modified on Tue 15 Sep 2020 07.02 EDT. .css-q4by3k-IconContainer{display:none;height:1em;width:1em;vertical-align:-0.125em;margin-right:0.25em;}playWhat's in store for US President-elect Biden in 2021? “He also wrote a very extensive self-indulgent autobiography, which I read some of, as well as rereading Masters’s book and looking at billions of articles. Nilsen, who was convicted in 1983 of a series of murders, was a very ordinary monster with a simple yet disturbingly successful method. Tennant gives a remarkable performance as an apparently unremarkable man who - superficially - doesn't fit the "evil monster" tabloid mould. But, you know, you study him and you stare at him and you try in some ways to replicate the way he talked or the way he moved, but you also have to get beyond that. Nilsen himself tried to explain the roots of his "destructive binges" in letters to police that were read at his trial. He recently won lockdown with two comic appearances - in Staged, the brilliant long-distance double act with Michael Sheen, and a TikTok-inspired reunion with Catherine Tate for the BBC's Big Night In. David Tennant stars as Dennis Nilsen in Des on ITV, a new three-part drama about the North London serial killer, set after his initial arrest. What drew him to Des, however, was the sensitivity with which the writer, Luke Neal, and the director, Lewis Arnold, planned to tell their tale. All rights reserved. .css-14iz86j-BoldText{font-weight:bold;}Dennis Nilsen was one of Britain's most notorious serial killers. David Tennant is eerily uncanny as the notorious serial killer Dennis Nilsen in new snaps released of ITV drama Des airing in September. He exploited their need for comfort.”, Tennant agrees that it is “a fascinating study of loneliness – everyone wandering around the city unable to connect” and adding that in many ways Nilsen’s story is a very London tale. The drama is based on the book Killing for Company by Brian Masters and will follow the arrest and trial of Nielsen – also known as the 'Muswell Hill Murderer' – in one of the most infamous cases in UK criminal history. "Anyone who had known him at all, it seemed, said he was at best unremarkable and at worst bloody boring to be around. David Tennant stars as Dennis Nilsen in Des on ITV, a new three-part drama about the North London serial killer, set after his initial arrest. He transforms into Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen in the upcoming miniseries Des, which premieres this Thursday.Nilsen … At his trial, prosecutors described him as a cunning and resourceful murderer who had killed for pleasure. has complained that the drama is "trying to glorify a murderer". Nilsen murdered at least 15 men between the years of 1978 and 1983 in London. David Tennant's startling physical transformation into Dennis Nilsen, one of Britain's most notorious serial killers, is shown in a new trailer. On November 4, 1983, Nilsen was sentenced to life in prison. But, he says, the show goes out of its way not to titillate and examine how Nilsen was able to go unpunished for so long, Thu 10 Sep 2020 09.30 EDT It avoids being titillating and I think that’s incredibly important.”. David Tennant's latest role may be his most gruesome one yet. On May 10, 2018, Dennis Nilsen was transported from prison to York Hospital after complaining of severe stomach pains. 'I'm Australian - why do I need to prove my loyalty? David Tennant has been transformed into the Scottish serial killer and necrophile Dennis Nilsen in a first look at the chilling ITV drama. It was never our intention to glorify Nilsen.”, It is partly because of this that Neal and Arnold chose to eschew flashbacks, a standard device in true-crime dramas. “Not only because it shows us how Nilsen was manipulating different people as they came into his orbit, but also because it allows us to comment on how society views serial killers and to examine our obsession with them.”. US Congress overrides Trump defence spending bill veto, First Minneapolis police death since George Floyd captured on bodycam, Covid-19: New variant 'raises R number by up to 0.7', Wham! There was so much misinformation out there about the victims, and the coverage was so terrible, “I was really intrigued when I read Luke’s script, not only because it captured the period so brilliantly, but also because the idea of coming into the story at the moment that Nilsen was arrested seemed like the perfect way in, because then you’re not dealing with this potential kind of gore-fest. “I’d read Masters’s book and found myself drawn to this kind of unknowable psychology – just the fact that it went on for years with nobody even suspecting that Nilsen was anything other than a rather boring and inconspicuous man.”. The actor portrays the notorious murderer in a new drama, Des. David Tennant plays Dennis Nilsen in Des, the new three-part ITV drama which will explore the gay serial killer’s life and the investigation which led to his capture.. On November 4, 1983, Nilsen was sentenced to life in prison. It is the first time this has happened in his presidency, just days before he leaves. Image: Stan. VideoThe train carriage for stray pets, 'We welcomed the Brexit deal like a Christmas present', India's love affair with classic British motorbikes. A recreation of the infamous shots of Nilsen being lead out of Hornsey Police Station after admitting murder. Des starred David Tennant as real-life serial killer Dennis Nilsen (Credit: ITV) What did the friend saying about David Tennant in Des. David Tennant is currently starring in the new ITV drama Des as Dennis Nilsen, one of Britain's most notorious serial killers who killed as many as 15 men before being apprehended. “We had no desire to glorify him, and presenting his version of events as the true version would have been doing that.”. David Tennant on why it’s important killer Dennis Nilsen’s story is told in ITV’s Des: ‘This is dark and bleak – and ready to be told’ We may earn commission from links on this page. If Des succeeds, which it does, it is because Neal and Arnold are less interested in the killer than in how his crimes went undetected for so long. Des: Horrific way children reacted to Dennis Nilsen murders Des cover-up: Dennis Nilsen's secret smirk hidden from ITV drama Des star David Tennant divides fans with Dennis Nilsen portrayal At the time, he was working in a Job Centre, following stints in the police and the Army catering corps. “London is where people go to fall through the cracks, and it tended to be those people Nilsen preyed on. David Tennant is set to play Dennis Nilsen, an infamous killer known as the Muswell Hill murderer, in the new ITV drama Des. "It certainly would seem that those who worked with him at the job office found him pleasant enough. David Tennant explains why he played him in a new TV drama as "boring". Of course, when you do a story like this, everyone involved is very aware that you have to tread carefully and that you must be sensitive to the variety of reactions that it will provoke.". David Tennant portrays serial killer Dennis Nilsen in ITV drama Des. David Tennant's latest role may be his most gruesome one yet. Netflix. He had read Killing for Company, Brian Masters’s bestselling book about the murderer, out of “local interest” and had previously been attached to a “very dark” film about Nilsen, which fell through. "Then you try and sort of join the dots as best you can and present something that will look like a truth. In 'Des,' David Tennant plays Dennis Nilsen, a withdrawn civil servant who just happens to be one of Britain's most famous serial killers. David Tennant (Credit: ITV) ITV has commissioned a new ITV drama, Des , starring David Tennant ( Good Omens ) as the serial killer Dennis Nilsen. "That's one of the reasons for telling this story. Arnold agrees that it was important to keep the focus on Nilsen’s victims “particularly because in some cases, their families had been trying desperately to find out where they had gone”. Almost 40 years later, Nilsen remains a cautionary tale in north London; proof that you never know what your unassuming neighbour might be doing. (ITV) The story of Dennis Nilsen, one of the UK’s most prolific serial killers, is being retold in ITV’s new drama, Des . Image: Stan. BBC. I was also interested in what it says about our society that 15 people can go missing and nobody really notices. © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. "I think Dennis Nilsen himself became rather obsessed with his legacy after he was caught," the star says. DAVID Tennant today looked a world away from serial killer Dennis Nilsen as he popped to the shops with his baby daughter. He was found guilty of … Des, starring David Tennant as Nilsen – who passed away in 2018 after spending 35 years in prison – will run from 9pm tonight (Monday) to Wednesday on ITV