David Tennant dons a face mask as he heads out in north London… ahead of playing serial killer Dennis Nilsen in ITV’s Des
He’s set to play Dennis Nilsen in the three-part ITV drama Des.
And David Tennant cut a casual figure as he headed out for a stroll in north London on Wednesday.
The Doctor Who star, 49, donned a blue and white printed shirt with camel chino trousers as he donned a protective face mask for the stroll.
Out and about: David Tennant, 49, cut a casual figure as he headed out for a stroll in north London on Wednesday, ahead of his debut in the ITV drama Des
David looked relaxed as he headed out for the day as fans await his latest role, which will air on Monday.
He opted for a blue and white paisley printed shirt with camel chinos as he carried his essentials in a brown leather satchel.
David wasn’t taking any chanced in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as he donned a protective face mask for the outing.
Casual: The Doctor Who star donned a blue and white printed shirt with camel chino trousers as he donned a protective face mask for the stroll
It comes as fans await David’s performance in the much-anticipated drama Des, which sees him play the Scottish serial killer Des.
David recently revealed that in preparation for the role, he watched footage of Nilsen and tried to read as much of his writings as possible to accurately portray the killer.
The star explained how it wasn’t too difficult to get hold of information as Nilsen ‘wrote and wrote and wrote in prison’.
However the actor was determined not to glorify the real life story, instead focusing on trying to show an audience what is known about Nilsen.
Lookalike: David is set to play the serial killer Dennis Nilsen in new ITV drama Des, which begins on Monday 14th September (pictured in character)
He told The Radio Times: ‘What we didn’t want to do is titillate or turn Des into a horror movie. That is not the kind of story we are trying to tell. What we are doing is trying to figure out who this creature was.
‘We can never really understand Nilsen’s point of view so we have to come to it through Jay [Detective Peter Jay, played by Daniel Mays] and Brian Masters. They both view him through very different lenses.’
Described as a loner, Nilsen became known as the Muswell Hill Murderer, as he committed his later murders in the Muswell Hill district of North London.
Most of Nilsen’s victims were homosexual or homeless men who he would pick up in bars across London or on the street.
Transformation: New pictures from the series show David in his role (left) bearing a striking resemblance to murderer (right) who killed 12 men
After inviting them to his home, Nilsen would ply his victims with food and alcohol before killing them. His preferred method was strangulation.
Once dead, he dismembered their bodies by dissecting them in his house. In his first address, Melrose Avenue, he buried their remains in the garden. In Cranley Gardens however he was forced to take other measures.
Once arrested he told police how he boiled the heads of his victims in a large cooking pot to dispose of their brains.
He would cut up the rest of their bodies and store them in plastic bin bags at the property. When the stench of their rotting corpses became stronger, he tried to flush their limbs down the toilet and drains.
Nilsen was convicted of six counts of murder and two of attempted murder and jailed for life in 1983, with a recommendation he serve a minimum of 25 years.
He died in prison on 12 May 2018 at the age of 72. Des begins on ITV on Monday, September 14th.
Getting ready: David also revealed that in preparation for the role (pictured during episode one), he watched footage of Nilsen and tried to read as much of his writings as possible