David Tennant to star in new serial killer drama at ITV

Monday 25 November 2019 by Charlotte Whyatt  News

David Tennant has been cast as serial killer Dennis Nilsen for ITV’s new drama Des. 

Based on Brian Master’s 1995 true-crime book Killing for Company, the three-part series will explore Nilsen’s 1983 arrest and subsequent trial in which a jury found him guilty of six counts of murder. 

Events will be told from the perspective of three different characters, Tennant’s Nilsen, Master (Jason Watkins) and arresting officer Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay (Daniel Mays). 

Other cast members include Ron Cook, Faye McKeever, Chanel Cresswell, Barry Ward, Tony Way in unspecified roles. 

Des was developed by Luke Neal and Lewis Arnold, who both recently worked on the acclaimed HBO Sky miniseries Catherine the Great starring Helen Mirren. 

Neal also wrote the first two episodes with Kelly Arnold penning the third. 

Sometimes referred to as the “British Jeffery Dahmer” due to the similar nature of their crimes, Nilsen is thought to be responsible for the murders of at least twelve young men between 1978 and 1983. 

Authorities were alerted to his horrific activities when an unsuspecting plumber discovered evidence of human remains in the drain outside his North London flat. 

A release date for Des has yet to be announced.

Source: Flickering Myth