A Confession viewers shaken by EastEnders star Joe Absolom’s ‘horrific’ portrayal of killer Christopher Halliwell

A Confession viewers have been left shaken by ex EastEnders star Joe Absolom's "horrifying" portrayal of real life killer Christopher Halliwell.

The third instalment of the ITV drama saw Martin Freeman's DS Steve Fulcher question Halliwell as they drove to the sites where he dumped his victims' bodies.

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Halliwell kidnapped and murdered Becky Godden-Edwards in 2003 and Sian O'Callaghan in 2011.

Monday's episode focused on the taxi driver's confession, including how he slayed 22-year-old Sian by stabbing her in the back of the head.

But the shocking link between the disappearances of Sian and Becky was unknown, before Fulcher quizzed Halliwell on the way to find Sian.

As the scenes unfolded, people were left terrified by Absolom's "chilling" depiction of twisted Halliwell and called it "horrifically real" as one more viewer typed on Twitter: "On the edge of my seat."

Others noted Absolom's performance as one wrote: "Joe Absolom is magnificently creepy and scary in this."

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Another tweeted: "This is impressive from Joe Absolom. He’s making my skin crawl."

When Sian went missing in March 2011, CCTV evidence quickly led police to taxi driver Christopher Halliwell.

They arrested him on suspicion of kidnap, with Detective Fulcher believing Sian may still be alive — and that Halliwell was their only hope of finding her.

With this in mind, Fulcher made the decision to interrogate him not at the station, but in an isolated countryside spot without a solicitor present.

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Halliwell confessed to murder and led him not just to Sian’s body, but to that of Becky's, reported missing four years earlier.

The series has an A-list star line-up.

The show is headed up by The Hobbit and Sherlock star Martin Freeman who plays Detective Fulcher.

Harry Potter star Imelda Staunton, who can be seen in the new Downton Abbey, plays Becky's mum Karen Edwards and Benidorm actress Siobhan Finneran plays Sian's mum.