The Nilsen Files is a three-part documentary series on BBC Two exploring the victims of one of Britain's most high-profiled serial killers.
Dennis Nilsen, dubbed the Muswell Hill Murderer, brutally killed 15 young men between 1978 and 1983. Many of his victims were vulnerable teenagers at the time who were part of the LGBTQ+ community.
The first episode in the instalment aired last night and viewers are saying it showed a 'horrifying time of widespread homophobia.'
READ MORE: Good Morning Britain fans 'saddened' by house owner's message to gay couple
Throughout the hour-long episodes, each individual victim and their circumstances will be explored as well as the homophobic attitudes that allowed their disappearance and murders to be overlooked.
For years, Dennis targeted vulnerable men and boys, some as young as 14, who historically belonged to marginalised groups. Most were gay, others were homeless and runaways and some were involved in sex work.
A culture of homophobia is often cited as a reason Dennis wasn't caught sooner.
Originally born in Scotland, Dennis moved to North London in 1973 and began carrying out the murders five years later.
In doing so, he would lure his victims to his home where they would be either strangled or drowned.
The notorious killer later admitted to having performed sex acts on some of their corpses. After doing this, he would mutilate and dissect their bodies before flushing them down the toilet, burying them or burning them.
Eventually Dennis was caught after a plumber paid a visit to him as drains around his neighbourhood had become blocked.
Much to the plumber's disgust, he came across human remains causing the blockage in the serial killer's home. This was then reported to the police who began to question Nilsen.
After coming across a bag containing two torsos and shopping bags full of organs - a murder investigation was launched.
After watching the opening episode, viewers took to social media to question how did this ever happen.
One viewer said: "The Nilsen Files: three-parter on BBC two is a horrifying story. A serial killer who murdered young men. A time of widespread prejudice and homophobia in Thatcher's Britain."
Another added: "The attitude towards the victims is exactly what we saw in the investigations into Stephen Port, the Yorkshire Ripper and Rotherham Child Grooming. Horrendous."
A third explained: "This is a significant and righteous piece of work. A consistent focus on the victims’ stories. A detailed unpicking of overt and covert homophobia. And a real sense of the lost lives of these gay men. Thank you."
While a fourth viewer penned: "I know someone who lived 4 minutes away from Melrose Avenue when Dennis Nilsen was murdering young men. She vividly remembers their whole drainage systems being blocked because of all the body parts he was flushing down the toilet."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
