ITV ANNOUNCE THREE NEW DRAMAS FOR 2020
Des
A true-crime drama focusing on one of the most infamous criminal cases in UK history – Dennis Nilsen. Referred to as the ‘kindly killer’, Nilsen (David Tennant) was a local civil servant who spent five years murdering boys and young men he met on the streets of Soho, London from 1978 to 1983. He would meet and befriend these men before offering them food or lodgings for the evening back at his North London flat. His victims were often homeless or living off grid, having slipped through the cracks of 1980s society and were therefore welcoming of this stranger’s apparent generosity. When he was finally caught on 9th February 1983, Nilsen had murdered as many as 15 men over a period of five years, making him Britain’s most prolific serial killer of the time.
The story 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.
Honour
Two part factual drama, Honour, starring Keeley Hawes, is written by Gwyneth Hughes and directed by Richard Laxton. Keeley plays the real-life detective, DCI Caroline Goode, who brought five killers to justice in the heartbreaking true story of Banaz Mahmod, the young Londoner murdered for falling in love with the wrong man. Produced by Hera Pictures in association with Buddy Club, Honour.
The Sister
How far would you go to keep a secret? One rainy evening, Nathan is surprised by an unwelcome face from the past. Nathan (Russell Tovey) has never been able to forget the worst night of his life: a party that led to the sudden, shocking death of a young woman. Only he and Bob (Bertie Carvel), an eccentric old acquaintance, know what really happened… and they’ve resolved to keep it that way. But years later, Bob appears at Nathan’s door with terrifying news that threatens to tear Nathan’s world apart. Because Nathan has his own secrets now. Secrets that could destroy everything he has desperately fought to build for himself and his family. The four-part drama also stars Amrita Archaria and Nina Toussaint-White.