Yahoo News David Tennant's dark ITV drama Des prompts Ofcom complaints
David Tennant's dark ITV drama Des has reportedly prompted Ofcom complaints from disturbed viewers.
The three-part series is based on 1983 arrest of real-life Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilson, and details his gruesome murders of at least 12 men.
The drama sees Tennant's Nilsen recall his horrific actions, which includes the boiling of heads, dismemberment and necrophilia.
Related: Des viewers praise "incredible" cast as last episode of David Tennant's true-crime series airs
According to The Sun, seven viewers filed complaints to the British broadcasting regulator over the disturbing scenes.
Ofcom has since confirmed to Digital Spy: "We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."
Related: David Tennant's Des has broken a ratings record for ITV
Tennant has been heavily praised for his chilling performance as Nilsen, and his co-star Daniel Mays has even admitted that his role on the show has led to him having nightmares.
The actor, who plays Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay, recently told NME: "When you're preparing for a role like this, you have to delve into what happened and it was really, really tough.
"I woke my wife up screaming because I was having a nightmare that I was in an attic with Dennis Nilsen."
He continued: "The content was really toying with my mind, but that was a great thing to experience because when you look at it and policing at that time and what Peter and his team went through, they weren't privy to any form of counselling or anything like that.
"Their counselling was going down the pub and drinking copious amounts of alcohol, not opening up to their wives. Talking about your feelings wasn't common for men of the 1980s, so the drama is also an amazing investigation into what it was like to police at that time too."
Des aired on ITV, and is now available to stream on the ITV Hub.
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