Daniel Mays smoked so many cigarettes while filming Des that he was given his own award.
Des, which told the story of real-life serial killer Dennis Nilsen, concluded on Wednesday (16 September), with audiences praising the show for its gritty and gripping depiction of one of Britain’s most notorious criminals.
However, a number of viewers complained about the amount of smoking taking place on screen, with both Nilsen (David Tennant) and police officer Peter Jay (Mays) being constantly shown with a cigarette in hand.
Acknowledging the comments about the series, director Lewis Arnold shared a picture to Twitter of Mays holding an unofficial ITV award for “Most Cigarettes Smoked Onscreen”.
“Lots of people tweeting about the smoking,” Arnold wrote. “We are aware there is a lot. So much so we got @DanielMays9 an award…”
Des was set in the 1980s, a time when smoking indoors was still legal. While some criticised the amount of smoking in the show, others pointed out that it was normal at the time.
“I was a cop at the time. Trust me, nowhere near enough smoking in Des,” one commenter joked.
“Smoking in government buildings and enclosed public places; became illegal only; in 2006 in Scotland and 2007 in the UK,” another wrote. “To those of us who have seen many moons, this is rather normal or even minimum!”
Others pointed out that with Nilsen killing at least 12 young men and the show describing the details of how he disposed of the bodies in some detail, smoking felt like a minor thing to complain about.
“Makes me laugh (sort of); people complaining about all the smoking, and not remotely disturbed by a man who boiled somebody's head in a pan on the stove,” one fan replied.
Read our review of the final episode of Des here.
