Des (2020) s01e01 Episode Script
Episode 1
1
INTERVIEWER (VO):
Can you offer any hope for the unemployed?
MARGARET THATCHER (V0):
I think it's going to be very difficult
to get it down significantly in 1983.
REPORTER NO)".
Drifters who've strayed to London
in the expectation of
streets paved with gold
and beacon lights
that would guide them to prosperity.
MAN (VO): You go to the Job Centre.
“Well, where do you live?”
"No fixed abode”.
“Sir, we're sorry, we can't help you
with a job”.
NEWSREADER (VO): There's a growing army
of younger people looking for Work
or a new life.
What they need is a secure home
with a job,
but often they're denied either.
INTERVIEWEE (VO):
The first thing that they find
is that London isn't
what it appears to be on television.
NEWSREADER NO)". They've often
deliberately cut all links with the past
and this makes them an easy target
for exploitation
by criminals or conmen.
MAN (V0):
It's an increasingly violent place
particularly for young people.
BRUSH SWISHES
DOORBELL RINGS
DOOR OPENS
WOMAN: Come on, in you go. Come in.
— WOMAN 2: Thank you.
DOOR OLOSES
— WOMAN: Love, Tilly's here.
Just through here.
TILLY:
Thanks.
Oh, hey, Peter.
Sorry to come so early.
Just give me two secs.
HE SIGHS
There we go.
They said there should be
some cricket pads'?
Well, it's February.
The boys won't need 'em
until the summer term.
HE CHUCKLES SOFTLY
I'll see them
before then, surely?
Let me get them.
I'm sorry, Peter.
It's not your fault.
Ah
Thanks.
Sorry again for the intrusion.
Till, hang on a minute.
Look, I
I know you're trying
to be a good friend to Carol
and I don't want you
to get in the middle.
But
it can't keep going on like this.
It's crazy.
Whatever happened
between me and her
the boys have got
nothing to do with it.
Please.
I miss 'em.
SHE SIGHS
I'll speak to her.
Thank you.
DOOR SLAMS
— TELEPHONE RINGS
PETER:
Morning.
Anything on the overnight?
Not much. Another burglary in Wood Green
but that's about it.
Any witnesses?
It was only called in
half an hour ago, Guv.
Can you take a statement
on your way home?
The boss in?
— Yep.
Guv?
— Yeah?
Steve called.
They've found suspected human remains
in Muswell Hill
in a in a drain.
Remains?
— That's what he said.
Did he give you an address?
Yeah, said "23 Cranley Gardens".
OK, uh, if he calls again,
tell him I'm on my way.
I thought you were giving up?
I am.
DOOR CLOSES
Mr Cattran called this in.
Alright?
— How do you do?
I was telling the officer, I was called here
last night because of a blockage.
There was a lot more, but when I got back
this morning, it had gone.
Could it have unblocked itself?
— No way.
You'd have to get in there
and clear it by hand.
Plus, one of the ground floor
tenants heard
someone rooting around
here last night.
Do you know how far
the blockage goes up?
About halfway.
But the middle Hat's unoccupied
so it must have come
from the top floor flat.
He's the one that reckoned
it was KFC last night.
That has to be human, right?
Thank you, Mr Cattran.
— That it?
Uh, we'll contact you to come down
the station for a statement.
Right.
Do you think he wanted a medal?
What do you reckon?
Well, let's get them down
to pathology.
Confirm they're human.
Is he home?
At work, apparently.
The Job Centre, Kentish Town.
What do you wanna do?
Well, I guess we wait.
Aye.
I knew you were gonna say that.
PETER:
Dennis Nilsen?
Aye.
My name is Detective
Chief Inspector Peter Jay
and this is Detective
Inspector Steve McCusker.
We'd like to talk to you
about your drains.
Since when were the police
interested in drains?
DOG BARKS
Let's talk about that upstairs,
shall we?
DENNIS:
Alright.
What's this about?
PETER: Human remains have been
found in the drains outside.
DENNIS:
Right.
DOG BARKS
Come on in.
Good girl, good girl.
Don't worry, she's very friendly.
DOG WHIMPERS
Right, don't muck me about.
Where's the rest of the body?
In the cupboard.
STEVE SIGHS
— PLASTIC RUSTLES
STEVE GRUNTS
Dennis Nilsen, I am arresting you
on the suspicion of murder.
You do not have to say anything,
unless you wish to do so
but what you do say
may be given in evidence.
PETER: Don't let anyone up there
'til the pathologist gets here.
So, are we talking about
one body or two?
Fifteen or sixteen, I think.
CAMERA CLICKS
CAMERA CLICKS
CAMERA CLICKS
CHAMBERS:
So, what do we know?
At least one victim.
Partial remains found in a bin liner
in his cupboard.
A young male, judging by the torso.
But going by the smell in the flat,
I'd say there were a lot more.
But there's no actual
evidence of 16 bodies, is there?
It's off limits 'til morning.
Too damp.
We've secured the scene,
but apparently, we risk contamination
if we go in too early.
What he was saying in the car
was pretty convincing, Guv.
Why were you talking to him
in the car?
Well, I was just--
What if he says that confession
was given under duress?
If he's telling the truth we're gonna have
the eyes of the world on us.
We have to do this
by the book from now on.
We need him to identify the remains
before we can charge him.
What do you reckon?
I think we're gonna get a lot more bees
with honey than with vinegar.
DOOR OPENS
— MAN: Thank you.
Sorry for the late call, Ronnie.
— No, that's OK.
I'd like a few minutes with my client
if it's possible?
We're doing it in there, are we?
— Yeah, I thought it'd be
a bit more comfortable
for everyone.
MOSS:
I'm Ronald Moss
DOOR CLOSES
CHAMBERS: This evening, two police officers
entered your flat.
There they found the remains of a man.
Do you want to explain that?
In what context?
How did it get there?
Have you searched
the rest of the flat yet?
CHAMBERS:
We're in the process of that, as we speak.
You'll find more in the, uh, tea chest
in my bedroom
and in the turned-up drawer
in my bathroom.
All in all,
the remains of three people.
In the car, you said that
there was more.
I must advise my client--
195 Melrose Avenue, N2.
There, you'll find the remains
of 12 or 13 people
dating back to 1978.
It's actually a relief
to get this off my chest.
Thank you.
Who do all these remains belong to?
I need a moment with my client.
— No, it's OK.
Uh
I'm afraid I don't remember their names.
None of them?
Well, at the time,
I'd only just met them, you know?
CHAMBERS:
Where did you meet them?
DENNIS:
All over. Bars, or on the street.
Some, I just wanted to give a meal.
London can be a lonely place
sometimes.
A friendly face goes a long way.
So, they were homeless?
Uh, some,
because of the drugs, usually.
It really is a disease.
It's very sad.
And this bloody government
does nothing for them.
CHAMBERS:
Were they all male?
DENNIS:
Aye.
CHAMBERS:
How old were they?
Well, some looked younger
than others.
Um, sorry, I'm not being
very helpful.
No, you're doing fine.
How did you kill them?
I strangled them.
CHAMBERS:
Where did these murders take place?
In my house.
Mostly in my bed, to be specific.
So, they came home with you willingly?
DENNIS:
Yeah.
Were they all homosexual?
I don't remember asking them.
Are you homosexual, Mr Nilsen?
Well, uh
for the sake of convenience
you should probably class me
as a homosexual.
If that's, uh, actually true,
I'm not so sure.
The three in Cranley Gardens.
When did these murders take place?
The most recent was three weeks ago.
Um
the others, last year sometime.
You kept them for a year?
Aye.
In pieces?
No, no. The dissection is
merely for disposal.
It's the dirty platter
after the feast, if you like.
Now, in Melrose, it was simple
because it was, uh
a ground floor flat,
with space under the floorboards
for storage and, uh,
sole access to a garden
when a clearance was called for.
Yeah, no, I remember it, Melrose,
when the bodies began to accumulate
I knew there'd be a smell problem, so
uh, at the weekend,
I'd take up the floorboards
and I'd get blinding drunk,
so I could face it
and put down sort of
black plastic, like a bin liner
for the mess,
and then I'd start dissection
on the kitchen floor.
I learnt if you make an incision
just below the navel,
you can pretty much get to everything
without having
to deal with the rib cage and such.
But it was all, you know, trial and error.
You buried them in the garden?
No, I burnt them, um
I'd wrap them
in an old piece of carpet
and throw a tyre on top
to hide the smell.
I took no pleasure
in cutting up people
or boiling heads, or
you know, burning bodies.
I did it because I had to.
There was no more space.
How many bodies did you have
in the house at any one time?
Well, I never did a stock check.
Or ask their names, it seems.
No
No, that I do regret, yeah.
I wish I could remember their names
to tell you now. I really do.
MOSS:
I have to ask
why did you do this?
Well, I don't really know, um
I was rather hoping
you could tell me that.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
DOG BARKS
CHAMBERS: Take us through them all,
one by one.
With Number 3
he was a young-looking man
I picked up at Euston Station.
I was out on the piss that night
drinking heavily.
Next morning, he was dead
on the floor.
I remember bits and pieces.
I don't remember
any violence at all
Whilst drinking in Soho,
I got into a
a conversation with this Scottish guy
Number 11 was a skinhead type
he had "Cut here"
tattooed on his neck.
He was boasting about his toughness,
about his hardness
After killing him I just went to bed.
End of day, end of drinking,
end of person
The twelfth was a
AUDIO MERGES: I remember being sat on him,
strangling him
and he said "my legs,
I can't move my legs".
I called him an ambulance
Number 14,
I made him an omelette
as he said he wanted
something to eat.
If it was the omelette
that killed him or me, I'm not so sure
but I don't suppose omelettes leave
red marks on a neck, do they?
What do you think, Guv?
I'm thinking there's a lot
of words on those pages
but not a lot of concrete evidence.
You think he's lying?
About the amount?
Possibly.
I dunno, Guv.
There's something
I believe him.
Well, let's get a victims' name
and charge him.
Right. I'd better update the yard.
DOOR SLAMS
CAMERA CLICKS
— WOMAN: That's it, look surprised.
CAMERA CLICKS
— WOMAN: That's it, sure.
Bring that up a bit.
What's this?
Uh, this is the detective. Jay, right?
Charlotte Proctor.
You went to the press?
Well, you seemed like
you didn't believe me
so I had to tell someone.
Can you confirm the remains
you found were human?
Detective, have you
arrested Mr Nilsen yet?
Guv, I wouldn't if I were you.
How didn't we know?
DISTANT SIRENS BLARE
PETER: When I got there this morning,
there was a journo
a few doors down
from Cranley Gardens
with the drain guy from yesterday.
That didn't take him long, did it?
Right, media blackout
from now on, boys.
They get nothing from us, understood?
THEY MUMBLE IN AGREEMEN
Last thing we need
is an early siege before we charge him.
Uh, where are we at
with everything else?
Chris, did you search his office?
We weren't allowed to.
What do you mean?
His colleagues said they couldn't believe
he would do anything like this
and if we wanted to search the office,
we'd need to get a warrant.
You're kidding me.
Take down one of the bags
we found in his flat.
Maybe that would act
as a warrant.
Anything else from the lab?
— Bowen's confirmed strangulation
as the cause of death.
— Well, that was quick.
Yeah, well one of the pieces
we took down had a ligature mark on it.
Has he been able to identify anyone?
— DOOR OPENS
No, not yet. So, all of this is irrelevant
— DOOR SLAMS
until he gives us a name.
He used to be a policeman.
What?
— Where?
In the Met. Willesden. Left in '73.
PETER:
Why did he leave?
Nothing on file. He just left.
Shit.
Are you fucking with us'?
Mr Chambers
— You're ex-police.
You left that out last night.
I didn't mention it
because it's not relevant.
Not relevant?
No, I wasn't doing this
while I was there, so it's not relevant.
Not at the present time,
anyhow.
It's in nobody's interest
for me to lie.
Why did you leave?
Homophobia.
A name. Right now.
Mr Nilsen, you don't have to say anything.
Like I said to you last night
The last one was Scottish. He was saying
how shite Scotland is in the winter.
Scottish name
Stephen.
It was Stephen.
Stephen what?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I really don't remember.
I think now would be a good time
to pause the interview, anyway.
DENNIS:
No, let's keep going.
INDISTINCT OFFICE CHATTER
Steve?
— Yeah?
Get me a list of all Stephens
reported missing from Scotland.
That's gonna be a pretty long list, Guv.
That's all we got. Do it.
CHATTER CONTINUES
— PHONES RING
I want to help the officers
and the men caught up in my mess.
Mr Chambers, may I have a minute
with my client?
As I see it, a solicitor is here
to advise and facilitate my legal rights.
Am I correct? Huh?
Then your advice should've been
to tell the detectives everything.
There's still a process, Mr Nilson.
Mr Moss, I won't be needing you any longer.
I don't advise this.
No, it's my final decision. It's the only way
we're gonna get to the bottom
of this mess, once and for all.
If you could.
Please.
Mr Chambers.
— Ronnie.
DOOR OPENS
Shall we carry on?
I was at McDonald's on the way
to Oxford Street station
he said he hadn't eaten all day.
I mean, what was I meant to say to that?
Um, he had blond hair.
Well
so did some of the others.
Stephen, blond hair, Scottish
I can't remember his second name.
Just take your time.
Take us through it again.
You went home.
What happened then?
We drank, we laughed.
I poured two large glasses of rum and coke.
He said he didn't like rum.
I said, "Well you didn't bloody well
pay for it, did you?"
Yeah. He had a nice laugh.
I mentioned "Tommy",
y'know, the album "Tommy"?
He said he had never heard it,
so I put it on
and watched as he closed his eyes
and listened to it.
I thought to myself, "You lucky bugger.
Experiencing that for the first time".
Yeah“.
I entertained no thoughts of
harming him. Well, you know
I had nothing but concern and affection
for his future and the pain of his life.
But you did strangle him.
Afterwards, I noticed that his jeans
were soaked with urine.
So
I wanted to wash him clean,
so I took his clothes off
and, er
I remember I had difficulty
with his tight wet jeans
but, soon, he was sat there,
naked in my armchair.
And he'd only urinated.
He obviously hadn't had a square meal
in a few days.
He had deep cuts on both his wrists,
you know, still open.
So, he must have recently tried
to commit suicide
and I
I very gently carried him through
to the bathroom and put talc on him
to make him look cleaner.
He looked magnificent.
It was like one of those
Michelangelo sculptures.
We need names.
Mmm. I know you do
and I am trying
but some were a long time ago.
Then stay with the last one.
I said. Stephen.
It's not enough, you know that.
I mean, you remember so many details,
there must've been a time in the evening
he told you his full name.
Look“.
All we want to do
is corroborate your claims.
It was definitely a Scottish name.
HE MUTTERS
We joked about that, it was
Like Fraser, or
PETER SIGHS
Stephen.. .Sinclair, it was.
Sinclair.
You're sure?
Aye. Stephen Sinclair.
If this Stephen Sinclair was a drug addict,
chances are he has a record.
Record will have a photo and fingerprints.
We can match those
to what we found at the flat.
He has given us the name,
not to mention the torso in his flat.
Well, can't we just charge him, Guv?
— And what if he's got it wrong?
Or he's playing with us'?
Sinclair walks into our courtroom alive
and well, and there goes the credibility.
You know that.
No mistakes, no shortcuts.
We need to be good police.
Peter, it doesn't feel right giving him
the blue-ribbon treatment here.
HE SIGHS
Whilst he's talking,
we carry on treating him well.
Understood?
ALL:
Yes, Guv.
DOG BARKS
KEY CLATTERS IN LOCK
Is it necessary to still have
Bleep here? It's been two days.
Well, there's nothing we can do about that.
She's an old dog.
Sounds like she's in a lot of distress.
Please. She's done nothing wrong.
She doesn't deserve this.
I'll see what I can do. We won't be starting
until a bit later this morning, Mr Nilsen
but Mr Jay thought you might be hungry.
That's kind of him, thank you.
Another thing. Have there been
any newspaper reports about me?
There was one, yes.
Well, may I have a copy?
I'll ask.
DOOR SLAM ECHOES
PETER:
Sinclair was young.
STEVE:
He'd just turned twenty.
Severe personality problems. Drug abuse.
He really didn't stand a chance, did he?
DOOR SQUEALS
Gentlemen.
Pretty grim viewing, I'm afraid.
Well, as you can see, the dissection
has been done to a high level of skill.
It was actually quite simple to decipher
which parts go with which.
Uh, these are from the last victim.
But his head has been boiled
beyond all recognition.
STEVE SIGHS
Can we fingerprint him?
This last one, absolutely.
The others, probably not.
Too much decay.
Would you care to know the cause of death?
Strangulation.
Well, he was strangled, that's true.
But in the autopsy, we discovered
his lungs were filled with water
so, death was due to drowning.
Why did he leave that out?
PROF BOWEN:
Uh, there's something else.
Tests show he had Hepatitis B.
Quite a common disease
with needle-using heroin addicts
but if any police officer has been
in its vicinity
they'll have to have a vaccination,
I'm afraid.
Oh, for fuck's sake!
Thank you, David.
It's Sinclair.
LOCK CLATTERS
Dennis Nilsen, I am charging you with
the murder of Stephen Sinclair by drowning.
You will now be taken to Melrose Avenue
where you will identify the burn site
of the other victims. Do you understand?
Yeah.
Come on.
HEALEY:
The press are outside.
Who?
— Everyone, I think.
I'll see what's happening.
I'll go and speak to them,
whilst you head out the back.
No, they're out there, as well.
Geoff, get the hood.
No. I've got nothing to hide.
PRESS CHATTER
MAN:
Nilsen, over here!
Nilsen! Nilson, look over here!
MAN 2:
What sentence are we looking at Detective?
Give us a quote!
CHAMBERS: On Wednesday morning,
officers were called to an address
to investigate suspicious fragments
found in a drain.
Upon analysis, they were proved to be human,
and an investigation was opened.
We have now charged a man
by the name of Dennis Nilsen with murder.
JOURNALIST1 (VO): How many people
do you suspect him to have murdered?
CHAMBERS (V0): We won't be revealing
the number at this time.
Can you at least say what
gender he is suspected of killing?
Men.
When did Nilsen start this unusual habit?
Five years, but can you make sure
you attribute the term "unusual habit"
to Mr Wells and not myself, please?
Inspector, how can somebody kill
for five years without the police knowing?
We will be investigating that
at the relevant time.
That's all, thank you.
REPORTER: Inspector, do you feel
you let the people of Muswell Hill down?
Ah, it's strange being back here.
I remember summers here.
Bleep as a little puppy, running around.
We even had a vegetable patch there--
— Where did you have the bonfires?
I'd start here, if I were you.
OK, Dennis.
You're now gonna be taken to Herne Hill
where you will stay whilst you're on remand.
Not back to the station?
No, I'm afraid not.
OK, let's go.
DOG BARKS
I just spoke to some of the boys
from Willesden.
So, they say, rumour has it,
Nilsen left the Police
because he was caught masturbating
in the morgue.
No.
Makes you uneasy, don't it?
How much we're relying on him
to tell us the truth.
NEWS REPORTER (V0):
It was here, outside Hornsea Police Station
that Police confirmed
that Dennis Andrew Nilsen
has been charged with the first of,
what is said to be, multiple murders.
CHAMBERS ON TV". On Wednesday morning,
officers were called to an address
JUAN:
Can you help me with this?
to investigate suspicious fragments
found in a drain.
JUAN:
Bf tan?
Oh, sorry.
CHAMBERS CONTINUES:
On analysis there were proved to be human
and an investigation was opened.
What's happened?
Oh, it's a multiple killer in London.
by the name of Dennis Nilsen with murder.
It's being reported that he was caught
by the discovery of blocked drains
that were filled with the remains
of human flesh
that N//sen had flushed down the lavatory.
— I have to go to work.
It is also being reported
that his victims were men
that Nilsen has lured back to his flat
on the sense of promised frivolity.
DOOR SLAMS
LOCK CLUNKS
DOOR SLAMS
DOORBELL RINGS
DOOR OPENS
Mr Sinclair.
— Yes.
My name is Detective Chief Inspector
Peter Jay.
Are you the parent of Stephen Sinclair?
Before you say any more Officer,
Stephen doesn't live here anymore.
He hasn't done since he started stealing
from us to fund his habit.
We don't even know where he is,
at the moment.
Mr Sinclair, can we come in?
MR SINCLAIR:
Elizabeth?
PETER:
A few days ago, a body was found.
That body, I'm sorry to say,
has now been confirmed as Stephen.
A man has been charged
in connection with his murder.
His murder'?
I'm sorry to say, we can't give you much
information at present
but we will as soon as we can.
In the meantime,
if there's anything that you need um
Can I see him?
I'm afraid that's not possible, Mrs Sinclair.
But surely we need to identify him.
He's already been identified.
But how?
Has somebody come in to see him?
I want to see him.
Maybe somebody's made a mistake.
Mrs Sinclair. It's Stephen.
I can't tell you how sorry I am
to be sure of that.
But you don't want to see him.
Not like this.
I told him something like this would happen.
But that drug
it changed him.
There was nothing we could do,
was there, love?
No.
He wouldn't listen to us,
no matter how hard we tried.
He just thought of us as a hotel,
or a bank
or a prison.
Not now, Neil.
SHE SOBS
NEIL:
I'm sorry.
SHE SOBS
JUAN:
Bf tan?
BRIAN:
Yeah.
Oh, thank you.
Anything good?
— Oh no, not really.
It's just all so salacious
JUAN:
He just looks so ordinary.
Like someone you'd walk past in the street,
or meet in a bank.
You see, that's what makes the whole thing
so intriguing.
This dichotomy between this seemingly normal,
unobtrusive civil servant
and the nature of his crimes.
It just seems so hard to fathom.
What's there to fathom?
Well, what makes most of us go one way
with our lives, and others, like Nilsen
go so far in the opposite direction?
Probably because he's evil.
I'm going to be late.
See you tonight.
— BRIAN MURMURS
NEWS REPORTER:
The man currently being questioned by police
is a 37-year-old civil servant,
Andrew Niisen
known to his colleagues at work as "Des".
For the past six months, he's been working
here at the Manpower Services Commission
in London's Kentish Town.
I understand that he is also
a former policeman
having been in the force
for about a year in the early seventies.
MAN 1: Really surprised.
— MAN 2: Where did they get the photo from?
MAN 3: Not us.
— MAN 4: Probably robbed it.
If I find out any of you tipped them off
about him being ex-police
I'll personally drag you
to the fucking committee myself!
Do you hear me?
We are in blackout.
That means you don't mention his name
outside this station.
Not to your wives, your mistresses,
your friends down the pub
you understand?
This man killed on our patch for four years.
We find every name,
and we charge and convict him
with every single fucking one.
He gets away with nothing.
Get rid.
KNOOKING ON DOOR
— Come in.
This gentleman is here about Nilsen.
He wants to talk to you, Guv.
What can I do for ya?
Dennis Nilsen tried to kill me.
Where did you meet him?
A pub. The Golden Lion.
Dean Street, Soho.
But, I'm not gay.
No, of course.
He was with a group of people,
who I assume were his friends.
After last orders, he said we should go back
to his for a drink.
I thought he meant all of us
but it was only the two of us that went.
I must have passed out,
because when I came to
he'd tied my ankles together
with his tie, and
he was strangling me with mine.
I managed to fight him off
and get him to the ground.
He then started screaming "Take my money!"
HE SCOFFS
"Take my money!"
Like I was the one attacking him!
Sorry, uh when was this?
Three years ago.
I'd put it to the back of my mind.
Moved on.
But when I saw his face in the newspaper,
it all came back.
Why didn't you go to the police at the time?
I did.
Straight away.
They took me back there.
They were there for
five minutes
spoke to Nilsen, and bought his story
that it was a "lovers' tiff".
It wasn't something they wanted to be around.
They even apologised to him
for wasting his time, and sent me on my way.
OK, um
You're just gonna have to go
from the beginning.
Leave nothing out.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
WOMAN:
So, how many of these has he written to you?
BRIAN:
Well, the fourth came today
and, uh, there's a
there's a poem in the last one.
"Lives of sorrow,
Bones of the dead
Given by the sea,
To Fitful Head".
It's so sensitive.
Well, quite.
Uh, you wouldn't think by reading that
that this man strangled young men
and then disposed of them
down the lavatory, would you?
How is the prison allowing you to meet him?
Uh, he said he'd put me on the visitors list.
Although, they're probably not aware
that I'm a writer.
Well, aren't you frightened?
No, no, he's
he's hardly going to jump over the desk
and strangle me, is he?
WOMAN:
No, but still.
Do you think you'll shake his hand?
No. No, | - | - | shouldn't think so.
DOOR SLAMS
Name?
— Uh, Brian Masters to see Dennis Nilsen.
DOOR CLUNKS
DOOR SLAMS
— DENNIS: You find us OK?
Do you smoke, Brian?
Yes,
do.
Ah
HE CHUCKLES SOFTLY
You can smoke as many real fags
in this room as you like, yeah?
Out there, you're only allowed tobacco.
Yeah.
They say capital punishment's dead,
but Her Majesty manages
to find her little ways, y'know.
HE CHUCKLES
Yes.
I read your book, Brian.
"The Dukes", uh
"Origin, ennoblement
and the history of 26 families".
Are you from aristocracy?
No. No, I'm not.
You're from that kind of world, though, eh?
I bet you're a bloody Tory.
I'm not sure that's entirely relevant.
I'm suppose I'm just I'm not entirely sure
of your intentions as of yet.
Yeah? Your letters sounded genuine,
but now we are sat opposite each other
I worry. I have judged myself
more harshly than any casual observer
or any court ever could.
Aren't you the one judging me, Mr Nilsen?
How's that?
Well, you hear my accent and you assume
that you know everything about me.
No, I'm simply stating it's obvious
where you come from.
I'm not
HE STUTTERS
It's no bad thing.
I just like to know where I stand
with the person I am talking to.
Well, I was
I was brought up on the Old Kent Road.
You don't sound like you were brought up
on the Old Kent Road.
Well, I was lucky. I got an education.
Ah, is that where the accent comes from then?
It's your education is it?
You know, I was under the impression
that I was here to discuss
writing a book about you.
Um
I'm really not that interesting.
Why would you want to write about
a monster like me?
Do you consider yourself to be a monster?
Well, have you read the paper?
— Mm, of course.
It truly amazes me,
people's attraction to the macabre
cos all of us have skeletons rattling around
in our cupboards, y'know.
Secrets they would never dare
to tell to anyone.
So, what comes is this
flood of self-righteous
public condemnation
whilst, simultaneously, everybody's talking
about it over and over and over.
They're consuming it and indulging in it
but at arm's length, which is all very well.
— I'm not here to do that.
But, meanwhile, I'm left here to rot,
whilst others make profits at my expense.
Well, if-if you want some money from this,
I'm sure we can come to some arrangement.
I don't want a penny from any of this.
I just don't want those poor men exploited.
Well, I'm not here to exploit you
or those seventeen young men that you
Fifteen! It was fifteen.
It wasn't 17, it was 15.
See, now, if you're gonna get
your information
from those red top fuckers
telling lies about me every day
we might as well say
goodbye now, Brian.
I have a responsibility for my story
and theirs to be told correctly.
Well, I also have that responsibility.
You know, I'm I have no want to write
some two-bit horror novel
with ghoulish adjectives.
I'm not here to elaborate
or expose or all excuse.
I'm here to comprehend
because the law cannot comprehend
beyond the question of guilty or innocent.
And how do you propose to do that?
By listening.
I want to know about your upbringing,
your teenage years.
Your time in the army.
All of it.
Because only by doing that
do we get the whole picture
Mr Nilsen.
I must warn you, Brian
you will find a full inquiry
into my life and deeds
distressing.
I'm aware of that.
Well, then
I pass the burden of my past and deeds
onto your shoulders.
So, make sure you bring an extra pack of fags
next time, eh?
Oh.
Please call me Des.
INTERVIEWER (VO):
Can you offer any hope for the unemployed?
MARGARET THATCHER (V0):
I think it's going to be very difficult
to get it down significantly in 1983.
REPORTER NO)".
Drifters who've strayed to London
in the expectation of
streets paved with gold
and beacon lights
that would guide them to prosperity.
MAN (VO): You go to the Job Centre.
“Well, where do you live?”
"No fixed abode”.
“Sir, we're sorry, we can't help you
with a job”.
NEWSREADER (VO): There's a growing army
of younger people looking for Work
or a new life.
What they need is a secure home
with a job,
but often they're denied either.
INTERVIEWEE (VO):
The first thing that they find
is that London isn't
what it appears to be on television.
NEWSREADER NO)". They've often
deliberately cut all links with the past
and this makes them an easy target
for exploitation
by criminals or conmen.
MAN (V0):
It's an increasingly violent place
particularly for young people.
BRUSH SWISHES
DOORBELL RINGS
DOOR OPENS
WOMAN: Come on, in you go. Come in.
— WOMAN 2: Thank you.
DOOR OLOSES
— WOMAN: Love, Tilly's here.
Just through here.
TILLY:
Thanks.
Oh, hey, Peter.
Sorry to come so early.
Just give me two secs.
HE SIGHS
There we go.
They said there should be
some cricket pads'?
Well, it's February.
The boys won't need 'em
until the summer term.
HE CHUCKLES SOFTLY
I'll see them
before then, surely?
Let me get them.
I'm sorry, Peter.
It's not your fault.
Ah
Thanks.
Sorry again for the intrusion.
Till, hang on a minute.
Look, I
I know you're trying
to be a good friend to Carol
and I don't want you
to get in the middle.
But
it can't keep going on like this.
It's crazy.
Whatever happened
between me and her
the boys have got
nothing to do with it.
Please.
I miss 'em.
SHE SIGHS
I'll speak to her.
Thank you.
DOOR SLAMS
— TELEPHONE RINGS
PETER:
Morning.
Anything on the overnight?
Not much. Another burglary in Wood Green
but that's about it.
Any witnesses?
It was only called in
half an hour ago, Guv.
Can you take a statement
on your way home?
The boss in?
— Yep.
Guv?
— Yeah?
Steve called.
They've found suspected human remains
in Muswell Hill
in a in a drain.
Remains?
— That's what he said.
Did he give you an address?
Yeah, said "23 Cranley Gardens".
OK, uh, if he calls again,
tell him I'm on my way.
I thought you were giving up?
I am.
DOOR CLOSES
Mr Cattran called this in.
Alright?
— How do you do?
I was telling the officer, I was called here
last night because of a blockage.
There was a lot more, but when I got back
this morning, it had gone.
Could it have unblocked itself?
— No way.
You'd have to get in there
and clear it by hand.
Plus, one of the ground floor
tenants heard
someone rooting around
here last night.
Do you know how far
the blockage goes up?
About halfway.
But the middle Hat's unoccupied
so it must have come
from the top floor flat.
He's the one that reckoned
it was KFC last night.
That has to be human, right?
Thank you, Mr Cattran.
— That it?
Uh, we'll contact you to come down
the station for a statement.
Right.
Do you think he wanted a medal?
What do you reckon?
Well, let's get them down
to pathology.
Confirm they're human.
Is he home?
At work, apparently.
The Job Centre, Kentish Town.
What do you wanna do?
Well, I guess we wait.
Aye.
I knew you were gonna say that.
PETER:
Dennis Nilsen?
Aye.
My name is Detective
Chief Inspector Peter Jay
and this is Detective
Inspector Steve McCusker.
We'd like to talk to you
about your drains.
Since when were the police
interested in drains?
DOG BARKS
Let's talk about that upstairs,
shall we?
DENNIS:
Alright.
What's this about?
PETER: Human remains have been
found in the drains outside.
DENNIS:
Right.
DOG BARKS
Come on in.
Good girl, good girl.
Don't worry, she's very friendly.
DOG WHIMPERS
Right, don't muck me about.
Where's the rest of the body?
In the cupboard.
STEVE SIGHS
— PLASTIC RUSTLES
STEVE GRUNTS
Dennis Nilsen, I am arresting you
on the suspicion of murder.
You do not have to say anything,
unless you wish to do so
but what you do say
may be given in evidence.
PETER: Don't let anyone up there
'til the pathologist gets here.
So, are we talking about
one body or two?
Fifteen or sixteen, I think.
CAMERA CLICKS
CAMERA CLICKS
CAMERA CLICKS
CHAMBERS:
So, what do we know?
At least one victim.
Partial remains found in a bin liner
in his cupboard.
A young male, judging by the torso.
But going by the smell in the flat,
I'd say there were a lot more.
But there's no actual
evidence of 16 bodies, is there?
It's off limits 'til morning.
Too damp.
We've secured the scene,
but apparently, we risk contamination
if we go in too early.
What he was saying in the car
was pretty convincing, Guv.
Why were you talking to him
in the car?
Well, I was just--
What if he says that confession
was given under duress?
If he's telling the truth we're gonna have
the eyes of the world on us.
We have to do this
by the book from now on.
We need him to identify the remains
before we can charge him.
What do you reckon?
I think we're gonna get a lot more bees
with honey than with vinegar.
DOOR OPENS
— MAN: Thank you.
Sorry for the late call, Ronnie.
— No, that's OK.
I'd like a few minutes with my client
if it's possible?
We're doing it in there, are we?
— Yeah, I thought it'd be
a bit more comfortable
for everyone.
MOSS:
I'm Ronald Moss
DOOR CLOSES
CHAMBERS: This evening, two police officers
entered your flat.
There they found the remains of a man.
Do you want to explain that?
In what context?
How did it get there?
Have you searched
the rest of the flat yet?
CHAMBERS:
We're in the process of that, as we speak.
You'll find more in the, uh, tea chest
in my bedroom
and in the turned-up drawer
in my bathroom.
All in all,
the remains of three people.
In the car, you said that
there was more.
I must advise my client--
195 Melrose Avenue, N2.
There, you'll find the remains
of 12 or 13 people
dating back to 1978.
It's actually a relief
to get this off my chest.
Thank you.
Who do all these remains belong to?
I need a moment with my client.
— No, it's OK.
Uh
I'm afraid I don't remember their names.
None of them?
Well, at the time,
I'd only just met them, you know?
CHAMBERS:
Where did you meet them?
DENNIS:
All over. Bars, or on the street.
Some, I just wanted to give a meal.
London can be a lonely place
sometimes.
A friendly face goes a long way.
So, they were homeless?
Uh, some,
because of the drugs, usually.
It really is a disease.
It's very sad.
And this bloody government
does nothing for them.
CHAMBERS:
Were they all male?
DENNIS:
Aye.
CHAMBERS:
How old were they?
Well, some looked younger
than others.
Um, sorry, I'm not being
very helpful.
No, you're doing fine.
How did you kill them?
I strangled them.
CHAMBERS:
Where did these murders take place?
In my house.
Mostly in my bed, to be specific.
So, they came home with you willingly?
DENNIS:
Yeah.
Were they all homosexual?
I don't remember asking them.
Are you homosexual, Mr Nilsen?
Well, uh
for the sake of convenience
you should probably class me
as a homosexual.
If that's, uh, actually true,
I'm not so sure.
The three in Cranley Gardens.
When did these murders take place?
The most recent was three weeks ago.
Um
the others, last year sometime.
You kept them for a year?
Aye.
In pieces?
No, no. The dissection is
merely for disposal.
It's the dirty platter
after the feast, if you like.
Now, in Melrose, it was simple
because it was, uh
a ground floor flat,
with space under the floorboards
for storage and, uh,
sole access to a garden
when a clearance was called for.
Yeah, no, I remember it, Melrose,
when the bodies began to accumulate
I knew there'd be a smell problem, so
uh, at the weekend,
I'd take up the floorboards
and I'd get blinding drunk,
so I could face it
and put down sort of
black plastic, like a bin liner
for the mess,
and then I'd start dissection
on the kitchen floor.
I learnt if you make an incision
just below the navel,
you can pretty much get to everything
without having
to deal with the rib cage and such.
But it was all, you know, trial and error.
You buried them in the garden?
No, I burnt them, um
I'd wrap them
in an old piece of carpet
and throw a tyre on top
to hide the smell.
I took no pleasure
in cutting up people
or boiling heads, or
you know, burning bodies.
I did it because I had to.
There was no more space.
How many bodies did you have
in the house at any one time?
Well, I never did a stock check.
Or ask their names, it seems.
No
No, that I do regret, yeah.
I wish I could remember their names
to tell you now. I really do.
MOSS:
I have to ask
why did you do this?
Well, I don't really know, um
I was rather hoping
you could tell me that.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
DOG BARKS
CHAMBERS: Take us through them all,
one by one.
With Number 3
he was a young-looking man
I picked up at Euston Station.
I was out on the piss that night
drinking heavily.
Next morning, he was dead
on the floor.
I remember bits and pieces.
I don't remember
any violence at all
Whilst drinking in Soho,
I got into a
a conversation with this Scottish guy
Number 11 was a skinhead type
he had "Cut here"
tattooed on his neck.
He was boasting about his toughness,
about his hardness
After killing him I just went to bed.
End of day, end of drinking,
end of person
The twelfth was a
AUDIO MERGES: I remember being sat on him,
strangling him
and he said "my legs,
I can't move my legs".
I called him an ambulance
Number 14,
I made him an omelette
as he said he wanted
something to eat.
If it was the omelette
that killed him or me, I'm not so sure
but I don't suppose omelettes leave
red marks on a neck, do they?
What do you think, Guv?
I'm thinking there's a lot
of words on those pages
but not a lot of concrete evidence.
You think he's lying?
About the amount?
Possibly.
I dunno, Guv.
There's something
I believe him.
Well, let's get a victims' name
and charge him.
Right. I'd better update the yard.
DOOR SLAMS
CAMERA CLICKS
— WOMAN: That's it, look surprised.
CAMERA CLICKS
— WOMAN: That's it, sure.
Bring that up a bit.
What's this?
Uh, this is the detective. Jay, right?
Charlotte Proctor.
You went to the press?
Well, you seemed like
you didn't believe me
so I had to tell someone.
Can you confirm the remains
you found were human?
Detective, have you
arrested Mr Nilsen yet?
Guv, I wouldn't if I were you.
How didn't we know?
DISTANT SIRENS BLARE
PETER: When I got there this morning,
there was a journo
a few doors down
from Cranley Gardens
with the drain guy from yesterday.
That didn't take him long, did it?
Right, media blackout
from now on, boys.
They get nothing from us, understood?
THEY MUMBLE IN AGREEMEN
Last thing we need
is an early siege before we charge him.
Uh, where are we at
with everything else?
Chris, did you search his office?
We weren't allowed to.
What do you mean?
His colleagues said they couldn't believe
he would do anything like this
and if we wanted to search the office,
we'd need to get a warrant.
You're kidding me.
Take down one of the bags
we found in his flat.
Maybe that would act
as a warrant.
Anything else from the lab?
— Bowen's confirmed strangulation
as the cause of death.
— Well, that was quick.
Yeah, well one of the pieces
we took down had a ligature mark on it.
Has he been able to identify anyone?
— DOOR OPENS
No, not yet. So, all of this is irrelevant
— DOOR SLAMS
until he gives us a name.
He used to be a policeman.
What?
— Where?
In the Met. Willesden. Left in '73.
PETER:
Why did he leave?
Nothing on file. He just left.
Shit.
Are you fucking with us'?
Mr Chambers
— You're ex-police.
You left that out last night.
I didn't mention it
because it's not relevant.
Not relevant?
No, I wasn't doing this
while I was there, so it's not relevant.
Not at the present time,
anyhow.
It's in nobody's interest
for me to lie.
Why did you leave?
Homophobia.
A name. Right now.
Mr Nilsen, you don't have to say anything.
Like I said to you last night
The last one was Scottish. He was saying
how shite Scotland is in the winter.
Scottish name
Stephen.
It was Stephen.
Stephen what?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I really don't remember.
I think now would be a good time
to pause the interview, anyway.
DENNIS:
No, let's keep going.
INDISTINCT OFFICE CHATTER
Steve?
— Yeah?
Get me a list of all Stephens
reported missing from Scotland.
That's gonna be a pretty long list, Guv.
That's all we got. Do it.
CHATTER CONTINUES
— PHONES RING
I want to help the officers
and the men caught up in my mess.
Mr Chambers, may I have a minute
with my client?
As I see it, a solicitor is here
to advise and facilitate my legal rights.
Am I correct? Huh?
Then your advice should've been
to tell the detectives everything.
There's still a process, Mr Nilson.
Mr Moss, I won't be needing you any longer.
I don't advise this.
No, it's my final decision. It's the only way
we're gonna get to the bottom
of this mess, once and for all.
If you could.
Please.
Mr Chambers.
— Ronnie.
DOOR OPENS
Shall we carry on?
I was at McDonald's on the way
to Oxford Street station
he said he hadn't eaten all day.
I mean, what was I meant to say to that?
Um, he had blond hair.
Well
so did some of the others.
Stephen, blond hair, Scottish
I can't remember his second name.
Just take your time.
Take us through it again.
You went home.
What happened then?
We drank, we laughed.
I poured two large glasses of rum and coke.
He said he didn't like rum.
I said, "Well you didn't bloody well
pay for it, did you?"
Yeah. He had a nice laugh.
I mentioned "Tommy",
y'know, the album "Tommy"?
He said he had never heard it,
so I put it on
and watched as he closed his eyes
and listened to it.
I thought to myself, "You lucky bugger.
Experiencing that for the first time".
Yeah“.
I entertained no thoughts of
harming him. Well, you know
I had nothing but concern and affection
for his future and the pain of his life.
But you did strangle him.
Afterwards, I noticed that his jeans
were soaked with urine.
So
I wanted to wash him clean,
so I took his clothes off
and, er
I remember I had difficulty
with his tight wet jeans
but, soon, he was sat there,
naked in my armchair.
And he'd only urinated.
He obviously hadn't had a square meal
in a few days.
He had deep cuts on both his wrists,
you know, still open.
So, he must have recently tried
to commit suicide
and I
I very gently carried him through
to the bathroom and put talc on him
to make him look cleaner.
He looked magnificent.
It was like one of those
Michelangelo sculptures.
We need names.
Mmm. I know you do
and I am trying
but some were a long time ago.
Then stay with the last one.
I said. Stephen.
It's not enough, you know that.
I mean, you remember so many details,
there must've been a time in the evening
he told you his full name.
Look“.
All we want to do
is corroborate your claims.
It was definitely a Scottish name.
HE MUTTERS
We joked about that, it was
Like Fraser, or
PETER SIGHS
Stephen.. .Sinclair, it was.
Sinclair.
You're sure?
Aye. Stephen Sinclair.
If this Stephen Sinclair was a drug addict,
chances are he has a record.
Record will have a photo and fingerprints.
We can match those
to what we found at the flat.
He has given us the name,
not to mention the torso in his flat.
Well, can't we just charge him, Guv?
— And what if he's got it wrong?
Or he's playing with us'?
Sinclair walks into our courtroom alive
and well, and there goes the credibility.
You know that.
No mistakes, no shortcuts.
We need to be good police.
Peter, it doesn't feel right giving him
the blue-ribbon treatment here.
HE SIGHS
Whilst he's talking,
we carry on treating him well.
Understood?
ALL:
Yes, Guv.
DOG BARKS
KEY CLATTERS IN LOCK
Is it necessary to still have
Bleep here? It's been two days.
Well, there's nothing we can do about that.
She's an old dog.
Sounds like she's in a lot of distress.
Please. She's done nothing wrong.
She doesn't deserve this.
I'll see what I can do. We won't be starting
until a bit later this morning, Mr Nilsen
but Mr Jay thought you might be hungry.
That's kind of him, thank you.
Another thing. Have there been
any newspaper reports about me?
There was one, yes.
Well, may I have a copy?
I'll ask.
DOOR SLAM ECHOES
PETER:
Sinclair was young.
STEVE:
He'd just turned twenty.
Severe personality problems. Drug abuse.
He really didn't stand a chance, did he?
DOOR SQUEALS
Gentlemen.
Pretty grim viewing, I'm afraid.
Well, as you can see, the dissection
has been done to a high level of skill.
It was actually quite simple to decipher
which parts go with which.
Uh, these are from the last victim.
But his head has been boiled
beyond all recognition.
STEVE SIGHS
Can we fingerprint him?
This last one, absolutely.
The others, probably not.
Too much decay.
Would you care to know the cause of death?
Strangulation.
Well, he was strangled, that's true.
But in the autopsy, we discovered
his lungs were filled with water
so, death was due to drowning.
Why did he leave that out?
PROF BOWEN:
Uh, there's something else.
Tests show he had Hepatitis B.
Quite a common disease
with needle-using heroin addicts
but if any police officer has been
in its vicinity
they'll have to have a vaccination,
I'm afraid.
Oh, for fuck's sake!
Thank you, David.
It's Sinclair.
LOCK CLATTERS
Dennis Nilsen, I am charging you with
the murder of Stephen Sinclair by drowning.
You will now be taken to Melrose Avenue
where you will identify the burn site
of the other victims. Do you understand?
Yeah.
Come on.
HEALEY:
The press are outside.
Who?
— Everyone, I think.
I'll see what's happening.
I'll go and speak to them,
whilst you head out the back.
No, they're out there, as well.
Geoff, get the hood.
No. I've got nothing to hide.
PRESS CHATTER
MAN:
Nilsen, over here!
Nilsen! Nilson, look over here!
MAN 2:
What sentence are we looking at Detective?
Give us a quote!
CHAMBERS: On Wednesday morning,
officers were called to an address
to investigate suspicious fragments
found in a drain.
Upon analysis, they were proved to be human,
and an investigation was opened.
We have now charged a man
by the name of Dennis Nilsen with murder.
JOURNALIST1 (VO): How many people
do you suspect him to have murdered?
CHAMBERS (V0): We won't be revealing
the number at this time.
Can you at least say what
gender he is suspected of killing?
Men.
When did Nilsen start this unusual habit?
Five years, but can you make sure
you attribute the term "unusual habit"
to Mr Wells and not myself, please?
Inspector, how can somebody kill
for five years without the police knowing?
We will be investigating that
at the relevant time.
That's all, thank you.
REPORTER: Inspector, do you feel
you let the people of Muswell Hill down?
Ah, it's strange being back here.
I remember summers here.
Bleep as a little puppy, running around.
We even had a vegetable patch there--
— Where did you have the bonfires?
I'd start here, if I were you.
OK, Dennis.
You're now gonna be taken to Herne Hill
where you will stay whilst you're on remand.
Not back to the station?
No, I'm afraid not.
OK, let's go.
DOG BARKS
I just spoke to some of the boys
from Willesden.
So, they say, rumour has it,
Nilsen left the Police
because he was caught masturbating
in the morgue.
No.
Makes you uneasy, don't it?
How much we're relying on him
to tell us the truth.
NEWS REPORTER (V0):
It was here, outside Hornsea Police Station
that Police confirmed
that Dennis Andrew Nilsen
has been charged with the first of,
what is said to be, multiple murders.
CHAMBERS ON TV". On Wednesday morning,
officers were called to an address
JUAN:
Can you help me with this?
to investigate suspicious fragments
found in a drain.
JUAN:
Bf tan?
Oh, sorry.
CHAMBERS CONTINUES:
On analysis there were proved to be human
and an investigation was opened.
What's happened?
Oh, it's a multiple killer in London.
by the name of Dennis Nilsen with murder.
It's being reported that he was caught
by the discovery of blocked drains
that were filled with the remains
of human flesh
that N//sen had flushed down the lavatory.
— I have to go to work.
It is also being reported
that his victims were men
that Nilsen has lured back to his flat
on the sense of promised frivolity.
DOOR SLAMS
LOCK CLUNKS
DOOR SLAMS
DOORBELL RINGS
DOOR OPENS
Mr Sinclair.
— Yes.
My name is Detective Chief Inspector
Peter Jay.
Are you the parent of Stephen Sinclair?
Before you say any more Officer,
Stephen doesn't live here anymore.
He hasn't done since he started stealing
from us to fund his habit.
We don't even know where he is,
at the moment.
Mr Sinclair, can we come in?
MR SINCLAIR:
Elizabeth?
PETER:
A few days ago, a body was found.
That body, I'm sorry to say,
has now been confirmed as Stephen.
A man has been charged
in connection with his murder.
His murder'?
I'm sorry to say, we can't give you much
information at present
but we will as soon as we can.
In the meantime,
if there's anything that you need um
Can I see him?
I'm afraid that's not possible, Mrs Sinclair.
But surely we need to identify him.
He's already been identified.
But how?
Has somebody come in to see him?
I want to see him.
Maybe somebody's made a mistake.
Mrs Sinclair. It's Stephen.
I can't tell you how sorry I am
to be sure of that.
But you don't want to see him.
Not like this.
I told him something like this would happen.
But that drug
it changed him.
There was nothing we could do,
was there, love?
No.
He wouldn't listen to us,
no matter how hard we tried.
He just thought of us as a hotel,
or a bank
or a prison.
Not now, Neil.
SHE SOBS
NEIL:
I'm sorry.
SHE SOBS
JUAN:
Bf tan?
BRIAN:
Yeah.
Oh, thank you.
Anything good?
— Oh no, not really.
It's just all so salacious
JUAN:
He just looks so ordinary.
Like someone you'd walk past in the street,
or meet in a bank.
You see, that's what makes the whole thing
so intriguing.
This dichotomy between this seemingly normal,
unobtrusive civil servant
and the nature of his crimes.
It just seems so hard to fathom.
What's there to fathom?
Well, what makes most of us go one way
with our lives, and others, like Nilsen
go so far in the opposite direction?
Probably because he's evil.
I'm going to be late.
See you tonight.
— BRIAN MURMURS
NEWS REPORTER:
The man currently being questioned by police
is a 37-year-old civil servant,
Andrew Niisen
known to his colleagues at work as "Des".
For the past six months, he's been working
here at the Manpower Services Commission
in London's Kentish Town.
I understand that he is also
a former policeman
having been in the force
for about a year in the early seventies.
MAN 1: Really surprised.
— MAN 2: Where did they get the photo from?
MAN 3: Not us.
— MAN 4: Probably robbed it.
If I find out any of you tipped them off
about him being ex-police
I'll personally drag you
to the fucking committee myself!
Do you hear me?
We are in blackout.
That means you don't mention his name
outside this station.
Not to your wives, your mistresses,
your friends down the pub
you understand?
This man killed on our patch for four years.
We find every name,
and we charge and convict him
with every single fucking one.
He gets away with nothing.
Get rid.
KNOOKING ON DOOR
— Come in.
This gentleman is here about Nilsen.
He wants to talk to you, Guv.
What can I do for ya?
Dennis Nilsen tried to kill me.
Where did you meet him?
A pub. The Golden Lion.
Dean Street, Soho.
But, I'm not gay.
No, of course.
He was with a group of people,
who I assume were his friends.
After last orders, he said we should go back
to his for a drink.
I thought he meant all of us
but it was only the two of us that went.
I must have passed out,
because when I came to
he'd tied my ankles together
with his tie, and
he was strangling me with mine.
I managed to fight him off
and get him to the ground.
He then started screaming "Take my money!"
HE SCOFFS
"Take my money!"
Like I was the one attacking him!
Sorry, uh when was this?
Three years ago.
I'd put it to the back of my mind.
Moved on.
But when I saw his face in the newspaper,
it all came back.
Why didn't you go to the police at the time?
I did.
Straight away.
They took me back there.
They were there for
five minutes
spoke to Nilsen, and bought his story
that it was a "lovers' tiff".
It wasn't something they wanted to be around.
They even apologised to him
for wasting his time, and sent me on my way.
OK, um
You're just gonna have to go
from the beginning.
Leave nothing out.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
WOMAN:
So, how many of these has he written to you?
BRIAN:
Well, the fourth came today
and, uh, there's a
there's a poem in the last one.
"Lives of sorrow,
Bones of the dead
Given by the sea,
To Fitful Head".
It's so sensitive.
Well, quite.
Uh, you wouldn't think by reading that
that this man strangled young men
and then disposed of them
down the lavatory, would you?
How is the prison allowing you to meet him?
Uh, he said he'd put me on the visitors list.
Although, they're probably not aware
that I'm a writer.
Well, aren't you frightened?
No, no, he's
he's hardly going to jump over the desk
and strangle me, is he?
WOMAN:
No, but still.
Do you think you'll shake his hand?
No. No, | - | - | shouldn't think so.
DOOR SLAMS
Name?
— Uh, Brian Masters to see Dennis Nilsen.
DOOR CLUNKS
DOOR SLAMS
— DENNIS: You find us OK?
Do you smoke, Brian?
Yes,
do.
Ah
HE CHUCKLES SOFTLY
You can smoke as many real fags
in this room as you like, yeah?
Out there, you're only allowed tobacco.
Yeah.
They say capital punishment's dead,
but Her Majesty manages
to find her little ways, y'know.
HE CHUCKLES
Yes.
I read your book, Brian.
"The Dukes", uh
"Origin, ennoblement
and the history of 26 families".
Are you from aristocracy?
No. No, I'm not.
You're from that kind of world, though, eh?
I bet you're a bloody Tory.
I'm not sure that's entirely relevant.
I'm suppose I'm just I'm not entirely sure
of your intentions as of yet.
Yeah? Your letters sounded genuine,
but now we are sat opposite each other
I worry. I have judged myself
more harshly than any casual observer
or any court ever could.
Aren't you the one judging me, Mr Nilsen?
How's that?
Well, you hear my accent and you assume
that you know everything about me.
No, I'm simply stating it's obvious
where you come from.
I'm not
HE STUTTERS
It's no bad thing.
I just like to know where I stand
with the person I am talking to.
Well, I was
I was brought up on the Old Kent Road.
You don't sound like you were brought up
on the Old Kent Road.
Well, I was lucky. I got an education.
Ah, is that where the accent comes from then?
It's your education is it?
You know, I was under the impression
that I was here to discuss
writing a book about you.
Um
I'm really not that interesting.
Why would you want to write about
a monster like me?
Do you consider yourself to be a monster?
Well, have you read the paper?
— Mm, of course.
It truly amazes me,
people's attraction to the macabre
cos all of us have skeletons rattling around
in our cupboards, y'know.
Secrets they would never dare
to tell to anyone.
So, what comes is this
flood of self-righteous
public condemnation
whilst, simultaneously, everybody's talking
about it over and over and over.
They're consuming it and indulging in it
but at arm's length, which is all very well.
— I'm not here to do that.
But, meanwhile, I'm left here to rot,
whilst others make profits at my expense.
Well, if-if you want some money from this,
I'm sure we can come to some arrangement.
I don't want a penny from any of this.
I just don't want those poor men exploited.
Well, I'm not here to exploit you
or those seventeen young men that you
Fifteen! It was fifteen.
It wasn't 17, it was 15.
See, now, if you're gonna get
your information
from those red top fuckers
telling lies about me every day
we might as well say
goodbye now, Brian.
I have a responsibility for my story
and theirs to be told correctly.
Well, I also have that responsibility.
You know, I'm I have no want to write
some two-bit horror novel
with ghoulish adjectives.
I'm not here to elaborate
or expose or all excuse.
I'm here to comprehend
because the law cannot comprehend
beyond the question of guilty or innocent.
And how do you propose to do that?
By listening.
I want to know about your upbringing,
your teenage years.
Your time in the army.
All of it.
Because only by doing that
do we get the whole picture
Mr Nilsen.
I must warn you, Brian
you will find a full inquiry
into my life and deeds
distressing.
I'm aware of that.
Well, then
I pass the burden of my past and deeds
onto your shoulders.
So, make sure you bring an extra pack of fags
next time, eh?
Oh.
Please call me Des.