Des viewers praise David Tennant’s chilling performance in true-crime drama

From Digital Spy

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.

Photo credit: ITV

Related: How David Tennant’s Des avoids true-crime dramas’ biggest trap

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:

Story continues

Des continues tomorrow (September 15) at 9pm on ITV, with the final episode broadcast on Wednesday, September 16.

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