In what is the most shocking drama of 2020 far, the real-life crimes of Dennis Nilsen have been thrust back into the spotlight thanks to new ITV series Des.
After trailers had teased the show for what felt like forever, Des finally made its debut on Monday night and was met with a huge reaction from viewers, many of whom were left terrified by David Tennant's portrayal of the former police officer who became one of the UK's most prolific serial killers of all time.
After killing a reported 16 young men over a five year period, Nilsen's murderous spree was eventually exposed in 1983 when police received reports of human flesh and bones in the drain of his home in North London.
But it wasn't until he was questioned by detectives that the full extent of civil servant Nilsen's crimes came to light when he casually told them he'd murdered "15 or 16 people."
That reveal gave episode one of Des arguably it's most shocking moment and there will be more to come as the three part drama plays out across consecutive nights.
After the grim discovery at Nilsen's flat at 23 Cranley Gardens on February 9 1983 and his own confession, the then 37-year-old was convicted at the Old Bailey of six counts of murder and two of attempted murder.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment but died in May 2018. at the age of 72 at HMP Full Sutton.
He was 34 years into his life sentence and his cause of death was recorded as a pulmonary embolism and retroperitoneal haemorrhage.
The Des cast also includes Daniel Mays and the drama is based is based on material from the book Killing for Company by criminal biographer Brian Masters, which focuses on one of the most infamous cases in UK criminal history after Nilsen confided in him behind bars.
Episode two will air on ITV on Tuesday with the third and final part following on Wednesday.
