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Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen's Drawings To Appear In ITV Drama 'Des' Tonight

Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen's Drawings To Appear In ITV Drama 'Des' Tonight

The real life drawings of serial killer Dennis Nilsen will appear in the ITV drama as it airs tonight.

Joanna Freedman

Joanna Freedman

Serial killer Dennis Nilsen's real life note book full of depraved drawings will feature in ITV's new drama, Des.

The three-part series, in which David Tennant stars as the infamous murderer and necrophile, follows the arrest and trial of Nilsen, who killed at least twelve young men and boys in the five years between 1978 and 1983.

Watch a trailer below:



It also stars Line Of Duty actor Daniel Mays, Jason Watkins and Ben Bailey Smith.

Speaking to Metro about the upcoming show, Ben, who plays police officer Brian Lodge, said the most "chilling" part of filming was using the murderer's real sketches on set.

"The drawings really disturbed me - they had a book of sketches that Nilsen had made,' he said.

"Sometimes of the victims themselves, sometimes of the murder scenes and they are really good drawings. It did send a chill up my spine seeing those.

"It's really troubling stuff and those little moments really made me think 'oh my God', this actually really did happen," he added.

Ben Bailey Smith plays a detective in the ITV drama (
ITV)

Nilsen was known as the 'Kindly Killer' due to his astounding honesty and composure during interviews, but he was actually as evil as they come.

He prayed on the homeless, and those living off the grid, susceptible to the generosity of strangers, offering them food and lodgings in his North London flat.

After killing his victims, Nilsen would also perform sex acts on them before dismembering them and disposing of parts by burning them on a bonfire or flushing them down the toilet.

He was sentenced to life in prison on 4th November, 1983, after being found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The serial killer is depicted by David Tennant in the drama (
ITV)

However the worst part is he's since admitted to there being "fifteen or sixteen" bodies, but added that he couldn't remember the victims' names.

Nilsen died in prison on May 12, 2018 at the age of 72, and to this day there are many families who have never seen justice.

The show - based on Brian Masters' true crime book Killing For Company - tells the story from three different perspectives - Nilsen, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay (played by White Lines' Daniel Mays) and biographer Brian Masters (Jason Watkins).

"Des will explore how a man like Nilsen was able to prey on the young and vulnerable in 1980s Britain," ITV says.

Nilsen died while serving time in prison for his crimes (
PA)

"The series will not only highlight the police investigation and trial but also the effect of the media coverage on public perceptions of the victims at the time, raising questions of just how far have we really come since then."

The first episode of Des airs on ITV on Monday at 9pm, then at the same time on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: True Crime, TV News, TV Entertainment, ITV

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