Des.. ITV David Tennant Drama...

[Elderflower14]

Who else is watching?? Hope its not too gory!!

I love David Tennant and think he has a beautiful face... but somehow the way this is filmed and the way he hardens his features and plays the part, he looks plain, bordering ugly, in this. He is so transformed in this that he's almost unrecognisable. The episode flew by and I'm curious to see the rest.

I read the book when I was about 12 (parents censored none of my reading material, obviously!) and remember...

...spoiler...

Feeling somewhat sympathetic towards DN in parts, especially when it covered the abuse he experienced as a child. Also, there was a part that covered how he’d contemplated suicide so many times but didn’t as he had nobody then to care for his dog.

Will be interesting to see if I feel the same as a grown woman compared to how I felt as a 12 year old.

...end of spoiler...

Hope it's not too macabre and accurate with what Nilsen got up to.. I suspect itv had to carefully depict this as they'd receive a bucket load of complaints to ofcom!!

Apparently he was quite an unassuming and kindly Police Officer before he went on his killing spree.

I'm amazed that he managed to cover up
The smell.

Sorry.. But how did he deal with the smell..... It is beyond comprehension

@unique1986

Could do with some females in this..

Why? There were not any female detectives involved in the case.

Remember this well, now watching programme on channel 5 about him, seems so long ago though, the smoking, no CCTV then either

He reminds me of the cold John Christie serial killer.

I watched it. It actually took me a while to recognise David Tennant, I hadn't read anything in advance. I'm always amazed that actors can make themselves so very different. It's such a skill.
Looking forward to the next episodes

@unique1986

Could do with some females in this..

Agree.

And make Dennis Afro-Caribbean just to ensure it’s a bit more representative.

And maybe have it set in Bristol just because practically everything David Tennant does is set in Scotland so would be nice to see him diversify a tad.

It's very "of its time" I think. Constant smoking and no females!

I'm finding it very realistic - also intrigued by how he dealt with the smell....and the presence of his dog around the corpses.

The constant smoking will have helped with hiding the smell.

@VodselForDinner don't forget to add a non binary police officer as well.

I know we did smoke loads in the 80s but I found it funny and then annoying that basically every scene had a million sucks and puffs squeezed into it. Like the director had said "Without frilly bonnets, how can we make sure all the viewers know that this is The Past? I know --- FAGS!!"

@Handsoffisback

Is he still alive does anyone know?

No, he died in prison not so long ago. 2018, IIRC. He was in his 70s.

@Handsoffisback I believe he died in prison last year. He got life without parole at court.

Just watching it on plus 1. DT is fab whatever he does. I'm amazed at the lack of forensic care (in his flat), the police interview in that office. But then it was the 80s. The constant smoking. They must have lived in a constant cloud of smoke. Those poor poor men 😪

David Tennant does give good murderous sociopath vibes in his acting. Bad Samaritan, Deadwater Fell and now Des, his character acting has creeped me out in all of these.

Re my earlier comment on his accent, I'm now watching the documentary on C5 which features a lot of Nilsen's home movies - and Tennant has it absolutely spot on!

There was a picture of DN and a picture of DT next to each other in a magazine yesterday. The similarity was uncanny.