David Tennant didn't want to glamorise Dennis Nilsen.

David Tennant

David Tennant

The 49-year-old actor stars as the real life serial killer in new ITV drama 'Des', which begins with the arrest of one of Britain's most notorious murderers after he killed at least 12 young men between 1978 and 1983 in North London.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph newspaper about the decision to take the main focus away from Nilsen, David said: "Because it's a true story and because it's also a relatively recent true story, there are still people alive who were affected by the horrific things that he did.

"You want to approach that responsibly. [Nilsen] worked in a job centre that you can visit. He lived in houses that still exist. His was just a very ordinary, humdrum life - apart from the fact that he murdered young men in his flat.

"By looking at these stories, you go, 'How close am I to that? How much would it take to tip me into that world?' Indeed, Dennis himself talked about, 'Once you've done one murder, the next one isn't so bad.' "

Instead of sensationalising his story, the three party drama will be focused on Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay (Daniel Mays) - one of the first officers to come into contact with him on the day of his arrest - and Brian Masters (Jason Watkins), who interviewed Nilsen on numerous occasions for the biography 'Killing For Company'.

For David, Masters' book was his introduction to Nilsen's crimes after his flatmate gave him a copy while they were living in Crouch End.

The actor explained: "The person I was lodging with said, 'You should read this - it happened nearby.' I remember reading it and just being appalled. And intrigued."

David suggested Masters' curiosity came from the fact that Nilsen - who was only caught when DCI Jay was called to his home to investigate human remains clogging up the drains - was seemingly quite bland.

He added: "He loved the sound of his own voice, he chatted away all the time, but basically he was just a bit dull.

"That's the bit that has always intrigued me about this story. It's the person next door that we've never asked about - how much do we really know about them?"

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