David Tennant Set To Play Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen in a New Series Called DES
David Tennant will take on the role of serial killer Dennis Nilsen in an upcoming drama series called Des. Nilsen was a Scottish serial killer who murdered numerous young men in London in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Tennant will star alongside Daniel Mays, who plays the cop investigating the case; and Jason Watkins (“The Crown”) is cast in the role of Brian Masters, who is the person that wrote the serial killer’s biography, with his full cooperation.
The series is based on Masters’ book Killing for Company, and the three-part series will “explore the personal and professional consequences of coming into contact with a man like Nilsen, who died in 2018.” It’s explained that Nilsen went undetected “until cops investigate fragments of human flesh and bone clogging the drains.”
ITV drama boss Polly Hill, who commissioned the series, said in a statement:
“David Tennant is going to be brilliant as Dennis Nilsen, and with Daniel Mays as Jay and Jason Watkins as Brian, this has an incredible cast to bring this story to screen.”
Kim Varvell, executive producer on the series, added:
“Nilsen’s crimes shocked the nation in the early 1980s. Our program focuses on the emotional impact of those terrible crimes, both on those who came into contact with Nilsen himself, and also on the victims’ families.”
Luke Neal wrote the series about the killer. This is going to be a really interesting role for Tennant to play and I’m sure he’ll be great in it.
Source: Variety