VIDEO & PHOTOS: David Tennant Wins Best Drama Performance At The 2021 National Television Awards

David Tennant scooped the award for Best Drama Performance for his role as Dennis Nilsen in the true crime drama Des at last night's National Television Awards.

David was presented with the trophy by his Good Omens and Staged co-star Michael Sheen. After being greeted by Michael on the stage, who pretended to accept the award himself, David told him 'I know how hard it was to hand that over'. He then joked 'I’m very sad you’re not up here receiving this award…though obviously not that sad, because I’m delighted.' He went on to thank ITV and everyone involved in the drama and praised them for helping to tell a story in a way which doesn't glorify serial killers. 

Turning to his wife Georgia Tennant in the audience he said : 'On a personal note I want to thank Georgia and my family. We had just had a baby when we filmed this and the last thing Georgia needed was me sloping off to go to a very dark place and play a serial killer. So thank you for putting up with me Georgia, I love you.'

You can watch the full acceptance speech below:


In Des David Tennant appears as serial killer Dennis Nilsen, who murdered over fifteen young men and boys in London over a period of five years. Co-starring Daniel Mays and Jason Watkins, Des focuses on Nilsen's capture and subsequent trial, one of the most infamous criminal cases in UK history. The three-part series is based on the book Killing For Company by Brian Masters and premiered on ITV in the UK. 

Known as the ‘kindly killer’, Nilsen was a local civil servant who murdered vulnerable and often homeless males he met on the streets of Soho from 1978 to 1983. He would befriend these men before offering them food or lodgings for the evening back at his North London flat, before strangling or drowning them. Nilsen would then keep the bodies for company, dismembering and disposing of them only when they started to decompose. When he was finally caught on 9th February 1983, it was following a complaint of problems with the drains at his London flat, which were found to be blocked with human flesh. 

The story is told through the prism of three isolated men - Detective Peter Jay (Daniel Mays), who arrested Nilsen and sought to get justice for his many victims, his biographer Brian Masters (Jason Watkins) and Nilsen himself. Des was written by Luke Neal and directed by Lewis Arnold. 

Viewers in the UK can still catch Des on ITV Hub. 

See photos from the night below:
























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