SCOTTISH actor David Tennant has secured a major award for his role in the STV drama Des.

The 50-year-old former Doctor Who star picked up the International Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor for playing serial killer Dennis Nilsen in the three-part series.

The National:

Tennant accepted his award from the New York ceremony via videolink as he is currently based in Scotland and filming the second season of Amazon Prime series Good Omens.

"I’m so sorry I’m not there. I’m in a lonely hotel room in Scotland where I’m filming at the moment but thank you for having me,” he told viewers.

"Thank you to the International Emmys for this. This is amazing."

The International Emmy is the third award Tennant has received for his performance in the show. He also picked up gongs for it from the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and the National Television Awards.

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In his speech, the actor added that the programme had been created “slowly and sensitively” over a number of years, given the dark subject matter.

Nilsen, from Fraserburgh, murdered at least 12 men and boys in London over a five-year period. He died in prison in 2018 after spending 34 years locked up.