2021 Nominees

Des

New Pictures

UK

- Limited Series

The story of 'the kindly killer' Dennis Nilsen (David Tennant) is told through the prism of three isolated men - a detective, a biographer, and Nilsen himself. While Detective Peter Jay (Daniel Mays) and the police investigation’s attempt to get justice for as many victims as possible provides the narrative and emotional spine, the relationship between Nilsen and his biographer Brian Masters (Jason Watkins) allows us to delve into the mind of one of the most emotionally elusive serial killers the world has ever seen. Des was ITV’s biggest drama launch of 2020 and reached 5.4 million viewers on the 14th September 2020, gripping an audience for a further two consecutive nights and reaching a 7-day consolidation of 9m viewers. It was a critical success too, with reviewers unanimously praising the sensitivity and pain-staking attention to detail of the production, all of which it was widely agreed, finally did a service to Dennis Nilsen’s many voiceless victims.