David Tennant’s most chilling role is a three-episode crime drama you can binge in one night

Let's be honest, David Tennant could play a box of cereal and I reckon viewers would still call it a must-watch, but if we're talking about crime dramas, he's got a knack for it that's seriously underappreciated. Most people will always think of him as the mad bloke with the sonic screwdriver in Doctor Who, but his darker roles deserve a lot more attention. Right, grab a cuppa—here's a breakdown of how Tennant shifts from detective to serial killer across two of telly's most gripping crime stories: Broadchurch and Des.

Broadchurch: The Gold Standard

If you missed Broadchurch (ITV, 2013–2017), you missed some of the best British crime drama of the last decade. Tennant starred as Detective Inspector Alec Hardy, a bloke absolutely haunted by the seaside town's tragic happenings—24 episodes’ worth across three series. Olivia Colman at his side, a parade of suspects, and misery by the bucketload. The show was a massive hit with critics and viewers, so much so that the Americans went and remade it (called Gracepoint), with Tennant even reprising his role but this time with an accent that wandered all over the map. Broadchurch isn't just another whodunit: the writing and acting landed it straight in the 'all-timer' category.

Now, here's the twist: Lewis Arnold directed an episode of Broadchurch in its third series before co-creating and directing every episode of another true-crime project with Tennant—Des.

Des: Tennant’s Most Chilling Turn

Broadchurch showcased Tennant as the brooding detective, but he takes a turn for the macabre in Des, the ITV miniseries from 2020. With just three episodes, it’s almost rude not to binge the lot in one evening. This one’s based on the life of Dennis Nilsen, the Scottish serial killer who murdered several young men between 1978 and 1983 before getting caught thanks to human remains blocking his drain pipes—chilling but true. Instead of the jittery, sneering villain you might expect, Tennant's Nilsen is soft-spoken and almost disturbingly banal—dripping with quiet narcissism and arrogance, convinced he’d gotten away with it all.

Des ended up with a 90% critic rating and a 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes by November 3, 2026.

The twist here is just how understated Tennant keeps things—barely a twitch, never overdoing it. Critics went mad for it, with Radio Times calling it 'one of his best in an impeccable career'. In 2021, Tennant picked up the International Emmy Award for Best Actor for the role, which tells you plenty about the impact. The whole show quietly sidesteps cheap horror movie tropes; think more Mindhunter than Hannibal Lecter.

How Tennant Found Nilsen

Tennant clearly did his homework, and in an interview with Radio Times, he explained exactly how he got into Nilsen’s skin:

In Tennant’s words, 'There is some footage of Nilsen in an interview he did with Granada Television when he was in prison, and he was an avid home movie-maker, some of which survive, so we were able to see those. It was a useful starting point to see how he moved and how he sounded, as there are occasional bits of audio of him around, too. And, of course, the notebooks — he wrote and wrote and wrote in prison.'

He’s quick to point out that the show avoided anything 'titillating' or lurid. The whole point was to get under the skin of Nilsen, not just shock the audience or turn grisly true crime into sleazy entertainment—more David Fincher, less tabloid splash. The result is a surprisingly psychological take, refusing to offer up simple explanations for monstrous behaviour.

Quick Cast Rundown

• David Tennant as Dennis Nilsen
• Daniel Mays as Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay
• Jason Watkins as Brian Masters (the biographer)
• Barry Ward, Ben Bailey Smith, and Ron Cook pop up in supporting roles
• Lewis Arnold directed all three episodes