A new RTÉ television documentary series The Nobody Zone – Interview with an Irish Serial Killer explores the twilight world of Kieran Kelly, an Irish serial killer living in London.
Blending documentary and drama with a unique twist, this two-part television series tells the story of a killer on the edges of society building on the award-winning podcast series The Nobody Zone (2020) from RTÉ Documentary On One/Third Ear Productions.
Starting Monday November 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, this true crime series brings to life the extraordinary original audio from Kieran Kelly’s confession to UK police in 1983.
Homeless Irishman Kieran Kelly was arrested in London in 1983 for the relatively minor theft of a wedding ring. During his interview with police, he confessed to a series of brutal murders going back 30 years. On tape, Kelly recounts his crimes with spine-chilling candour and convinces the police that they are in the presence of Ireland and perhaps Britain’s most prolific and dangerous killer. However, questions remain about the real purpose behind Kelly’s willing confession to the police.
Actor Ned Dennehy plays the role of Kieran Kelly
Recalling the interview, retired Detective Superintendent with London Metropolitan Police Ian Brown tells the documentary:
“Kelly showed his animal cunning I suppose, the fact that he was playing us at times, and he laughs and eventually agrees with you, but he’s had his five minutes of fun with you.”
The documentary team had exclusive access to 120 minutes of the UK police audio interview with Kieran Kelly that forms the basis of the key drama element of this production.
Actor Ned Dennehy plays Kelly in a dramatisation of his extraordinary confession. Using Kieran Kelly’s own voice, Ned lip-synchs his performance, bringing to life this incredible scene of a serial killer describing his crimes.
Actor Ned Dennehy as Kieran Kelly in the dramatisation of the 1983 confession to UK police.
In addition to this dramatised confession, the documentary series had access to an expert team of investigators and documentary makers who have accumulated over eight years of research on the life and exploits of serial killer Kieran Kelly.
The contributors to the documentary also include a builder who employed Kelly as a casual labourer over several years, unaware of his murderous activity but wary of his explosive temper and a forensic psychologist has studied the audio tapes to explore the motivation behind Kelly’s crimes and to find clues to his personality and character.
Robert Mulhern, author of The Secret Serial Killer: The True Story of Kieran Kelly was also interviewed for the programme. He says:
“Is Kieran Kelly spinning the police a story? Is he a manipulator? Is Kelly completely mad? On the other hand, is he trying to admit crimes that he didn’t commit in order to confuse the police investigation in the hope that his whole story becomes so unreliable that they can’t convict him on any crime.”
Watch The Nobody Zone – Interview with an Irish Serial Killer on Monday November 6th and 13th November at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.