Yahoo News The Real Des' real-life Dennis Nilsen footage has viewers praising David Tennant's "uncanny" drama performance
Des viewers were quick to praise star David Tennant's "chilling" turn as serial killer Dennis Nilsen when the ITV true-crime drama series began airing earlier this week, but tonight's airing of documentary special The Real Des has given audiences a new appreciation for the performance.
Following on from the three-part drama Des, which aired its final episode on Wednesday, ITV tonight (September 17) aired documentary special The Real Des: The Dennis Nilsen Story, which explored the personality of the man behind the crimes.
Narrated by David Tennant, the programme included contributions from victims' families, members of the Met Police's investigation team and insights from criminologist David Wilson, who corresponded with Nilsen over several decades.
Related: Dennis Nilsen details that weren't included in ITV's drama Des
But The Real Des also included footage of an interview Nilsen gave to ITV at Albany Prison in 1992, and viewers who were now seeing footage of the real Nilsen for the first time were struck again by how brilliant David Tennant's portrayal in the drama series was.
"Oh my god I haven't seen any real footage of Des till now and it's made David Tennant's performance even more outstanding," one person wrote.
"Listening to the #DennisNilsen interviews is chilling, and just reaffirms what a bloody marvelous portrayal #DavidTennant gave in the #Des dramatisation," another added.
"He hit the mannerisms and voice down to a tee, fab actor."
{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/Rozzy67/status/1306686542983897096" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/Kelllssseeeeee1/status/1306686183582380034" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/OliReading/status/1306686217745035264" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/callikitson/status/1306685798817947649" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/LadyRaaRaa/status/1306689158740615191" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/coleyg15/status/1306693166393823233" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/dancingmoira/status/1306693540924321798" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/bigphil321/status/1306691489209217024" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/LaurenMacPhers3/status/1306691144840028167" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/siobhanmcguigan/status/1306691126297010183" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/EmEssOh/status/1306693772600893441" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/StaceB09/status/1306688946714353664" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}
While David Tennant's performance was the most talked-about by The Real Des viewers, there was also a lot of praise for the "perfect" casting of the show all around, and especially for Jason Watkins as Nilsen's biographer Brian Masters, who also featured in the documentary.
"Based on #TheRealDes the accuracy and casting of #Des is scarily phenomenal," one viewer wrote.
Related: Des on ITV – Who was Kenneth Ockenden, victim of Dennis Nilsen?
"Wow! @Jason__Watkins really nailed his performance as Brian Masters now we're seeing the man himself! Outstanding!" another praised.
"Jason Watkins got Brian's voice spot on," a third added. "What a cast that was."
{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/one9eighty/status/1306701964680593414" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/missemmajv/status/1306694037173403649" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/carol90783713/status/1306693729575743488" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/GriffDillYoung/status/1306696464358309890" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/WideEyedOrion/status/1306693397902766082" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/EatMyHalo/status/1306693439573065732" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/GrantTheHatter/status/1306695197573734401" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}{# store twitter URL for regexes #}{% set twitterUrl = "https://twitter.com/caramellow100/status/1306695167852924929" %}{# amp-twitter only supports status URLs #}{% set supported = twitterUrl matches '/\\/status\\//' %}{% if supported %}
{% endif %}
Des aired on ITV, and is available to watch on the ITV Hub, alongside The Real Des: The Dennis Nilsen Story, now.
Digital Spy has launched its first-ever digital magazine with exclusive features, interviews, and videos. Access this edition with a 1-month free trial, only on Apple News+.
Interested in Digital Spy's weekly newsletter? Sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
You Might Also Like
