Endeavor’s Shaun Evans was “repelled” by the new ITV crime drama.

Endeavor star Shaun Evans said he was “repulsed” by his new role as a serial killer in upcoming ITV crime drama Until I Kill You.

Based on Delia Balmer’s book Living with a Serial Killer, Evans takes on the role of serial killer John Sweeney in the four-part series.

The true story, told from the perspective of Sweeney’s girlfriend Balmer (Anna Maxwell Martin), follows Balmer’s traumatic journey from her encounter with Sweeney to her attempts to bring him to justice after he attempted to murder her.

Related: Ludwig Review: Is the new BBC crime series starring Anna Maxwell Martin worth watching?

Speaking to The Mirror about taking on the role, Vigil star Evans said he felt “repulsed” after reading the book and almost turned down the role.

“Obviously you’re the antagonist and I was kind of repulsed when I read it,” he said. “But then I thought it was an interesting area – but I was scared. It’s a delicate balance because these are real people.”

Maxwell Martin and Evans decided against meeting the real Delia before filming. Instead, Evans opted to listen to recordings of Sweeney’s voice in preparation, and the actor said he kept copies of Sweeney’s drawings of his victims in his on-set dressing room.

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Evans described a scene in which Sweeney tied Delia to the bed for several days and threatened her with a knife and a gun, saying it felt like he was being “punched in the stomach.”

He said: “It’s the scene where Delia was tied to the bed and it’s about how he manipulates her. It was a very upsetting moment and I thought, ‘This actually happened’.”

Maxwell Martin added: “That scene was less impressive to me because when you have to be tied to a bed completely naked, your head goes to a really practical and technical place.”

Until I Kill You has yet to confirm a release date on ITV1 and ITVX.

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