Broadchurch

Broadchurch
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Chris Chibnall
Written by	Chris Chibnall
Starring	David Tennant Olivia Colman Jodie Whittaker Andrew Buchan Vicky McClure Arthur Darvill David Bradley Pauline Quirke Jonathan Bailey Matthew Gravelle Carolyn Pickles Will Mellor Simone McAullay Joe Sims Adam Wilson Jacob Anderson Susan Brown Tanya Franks Charlotte Beaumont Tracey Childs
Composer	Ólafur Arnalds
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Jane Featherstone Chris Chibnall
Producer	Richard Stokes
Cinematography	Matt Gray
Running time	44-46 minutes
Production company	Kudos Film and Television
Original release
Network	ITV, STV, UTV, BBC America
Release	4 March 2013 (2013-03-04) – present

Broadchurch is a British television crime drama broadcast on ITV, involving the death of a young boy and the search for his killer, produced by Kudos and starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman. Casting was announced in June 2012, with filming commencing in Clevedon in August as well as in West Bay in Bridport. The series is set on the Dorset coast. It premiered on 4 March 2013 at 9:00pm on ITV. In January 2013, the series was bought by BBC America for airing later in the year, and is scheduled to be shown beginning August 7, 2013.

The first series achieved high ratings for ITV, winning critical acclaim, and generating a large amount of publicity around the "whodunit" mystery. After the first series ended, ITV announced that Broadchurch would return for a second series.

The Fox Broadcasting Network announced that they would produce a remake of Broadchurch for US audiences to air in the 2014-15 season.

Development

Series creator Chris Chibnall described the project as a labour of love; he had always wanted to create a big ensemble drama exploring how a death might affect a community set in an area where he has lived for the last decade. The location of the series was partly inspired by the fact that he lived near the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. In 2011, he wrote the first episode and asked ITV drama commissioner Laura Mackie to read the script. Soon afterwards, she greenlit production. The series was filmed between August and November 2012, predominantly on the Jurassic Coast at West Bay in Dorset, with the town of Clevedon just outside Bristol doubling as the fictional town of Broadchurch, with interior scenes of the police station shot in studios in Bristol.

The secrecy surrounding the conclusion of the first series was well-noted. Olivia Colman confirmed in an interview with Graham Norton that only four cast members knew the identity of the murderer during filming.

The complete series of Broadchurch was released by Acorn Media UK on 20 May 2013.
It was thought unlikely that Broadchurch would return for a second series - ITV commissioned it for a one-off series and creator Chris Chibnall had described the show as "not set up as a returning franchise" and said, "nothing about [Broadchurch] was devised as a big ITV returning banker". However, the final episode concluded with the caption "Broadchurch will return" suggesting a second series.

ITV confirmed a second series shortly after.

Characters

Police officers

• Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) - Alec is an experienced detective from the city who has recently arrived in Broadchurch, wanting a quiet life after a scandal-tinged work history, after having been involved with a major murder trial — in which the suspect was released free of charge after DNA evidence was found to have been tampered with. Initially he and Ellie are hostile to each other as he was chosen over her to head the investigation and due to their differing personalities and views. As the case drags on, his health begins to fail and he suffers a heart attack in Episode 6. He is divorced, and has a fifteen year old daughter who lives with her mother.

• Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) - Ellie is Alec's colleague, and has a personal connection to Danny's murder, having been friendly with the Latimer family for a number of years. She has lived in Broadchurch all of her life, and her son Tom, who houses a dark secret of his own, had been best friends with Danny. Ellie is deeply affected by the murder, and resents Alec for taking the job she was promised by Superintendent Jenkinson. She acts as liaison with the Latimer family, relaying information which is given to her, and attempting to piece together the events leading up to Danny's death.

• Chief Superintendent Elaine Jenkinson (Tracey Childs) - Elaine is Alec's and Ellie's boss, and tries to settle Alec into life in Broadchurch. Although she is aware of his past, she does not use it against him, and offers him Ellie's job in her absence, having been on maternity leave after the birth of her second child six months ago. Ellie is furious when she learns Sandra has given her job to Alec, despite being promised the promotion herself. She has never been referred to as Elaine by Ellie.

Latimer family

• Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker) - Beth is Danny's and Chloe's mother, and Mark's wife. She is a receptionist with the Broadchurch Echo. She is completely overwhelmed by Danny's death, and struggles to cope, telling Ellie that she is the furthest away from herself than she has ever been before. She struggles to trust her husband, who was unable to account for his whereabouts on the night of Danny's disappearance. She is currently pregnant with her third child; Beth confides in Reverend Coates about her pregnancy. She also finds solace in Steve's information about Danny's death.

• Mark Latimer (Andrew Buchan) - Mark is Danny's and Chloe's father, and Beth's husband. He is a plumber, electrician and general handyman. After Danny's death, he began desperately grieving for his son, becoming determined to find the killer. His alibi is called into question when he is unable to account for his whereabouts on the night of Danny's death, but has a secret which he needs to keep: he has been having an affair with hotel owner Becca. He is also best friends with employee Nigel, and asks Nige to provide an alibi for him on the night of Danny's death. Beth later discovers his affair with Becca.

• Chloe Latimer (Charlotte Beaumont) - Chloe is Beth's and Mark's 15-year old daughter. She is a student currently studying for her GCSEs. Chloe is overwhelmed by her brother's sudden death, but her relationship with an older boy, Dean, is a more stressing problem on her mind: he has been dealing drugs, and has been using Chloe as a go-between between himself and hotel owner Becca. She is also the first to be interviewed by the national press in relation to Danny's death.

• Danny Latimer (Oskar McNamara) - Danny (11) is Beth's and Mark's only son, and the victim of the murder. Shortly before his death, a consignment of petrol was stolen from a nearby farm, and he was spotted on CCTV riding through the town centre on his skateboard at 3am. Moments before he died, he was seen bleeding, standing atop the cliffs below which he was found. The police were informed by newsagent Jack that Danny had an argument with a Royal Mail delivery driver on the morning of his death, a fact which currently seems insignificant but may hold a clue as to the motive behind his murder.

• Liz Roper (Susan Brown) - Liz is Danny's and Chloe's grandmother, Beth's mother, and Mark's mother-in-law. She is a bursar at the local school that Danny attended. She is completely at a loss following her grandson's death, but manages to be the one who holds her family together. She suspects that Mark may be involved in Danny's death after he is hauled in by the police for questioning, although later changes her mind when he is released without charge.

Miller family

• Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle) - Joe is Ellie's husband, and Tom's and Fred's father. He does his best to support his wife throughout the murder investigation, staying at home to support their two children. Joe is a house-husband, but before the birth of his children, was a paramedic. Joe appears untouched by his son Tom's strange behaviour. In the final episode, Joe is revealed to have killed Danny.

• Tom Miller (Adam Wilson) - Tom is Ellie's and Joe's elder son, and said to be Danny's best friend, though Tom denies this. He is a pupil in the final year of primary school. After Danny's disappearance, Tom began to act strangely, and tried to wipe his entire mobile phone and computer hard drive of contact with Danny. When interviewed by the police, he also clams up about the circumstances surrounding Danny's death.

• Fred Miller (Benji Yapp) - Fred is Ellie's and Joe's younger son, who was just six months old when Ellie returned to work as a police officer. Joe has been looking after Fred since he gave up his paramedic job.

Journalists

• Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles) - Maggie is the editor of the Broadchurch Echo. She is furious when her junior reporter, Olly, makes the decision to tweet the identity of the murder victim and make it common knowledge. She is determined to work with the police rather than against them, and takes a motherly approach to her relationship with Olly. When she uncovers information about Susan, she confronts her, and tries to discover why she has been leading a double life. However, Susan threatens her, and warns her to keep her nose out of her private business.

• Olly Stevens (Jonathan Bailey) - Olly is Ellie's nephew and a budding reporter for the Broadchurch Echo. An early mistake, in which he tweets the identity of the murder victim, leads the mainline press to stream into Broadchurch, a decision which alienates him from his aunt and his boss, Maggie. He soon forms a relationship with Daily Herald reporter Karen, and attempts to use her to uncover information about Danny's murder. When he confronts Jack with the information about his former sex convictions, Jack threatens to kill him. Olly is very ambitious and seeks a job for a national newspaper, like the Daily Herald and hopes Karen will help him get there, it is revealed in the exclusive video that he was finally offered a job and turned it down to stay in Broadchurch.

• Karen White (Vicky McClure) - Karen is a high-flying reporter for the Daily Herald, who is determined to get to the bottom of the murder, and to uncover the whole story. She is not fazed by the sensitivity of the murder, and instantly locks horns with Alec, and threatens to expose his shadowy past about the former case in which he failed the family of the victim. On the instructions of her boss, Len, she manipulates the Latimer family into revealing information about Danny's life, and uses Beth as an empathetic figure to try and coax information out of the public pertaining to Danny's murder. In the aftermath of the publicising of the murder case, she finds herself antagonised by the townsfolk, especially Maggie and Olly.

• Len Danvers (Simon Rouse) - Len is Karen's boss at the Daily Herald, and is desperate to get an exclusive on the murder before any of the other national papers. He is unconvinced by Karen's interest in the case at first, but soon agrees to play along. When Karen manages to uncover information that is yet to be reported, he uses her to get an exclusive from the Latimer family, and is the first to have an exclusive interview and a photo shoot with Beth after Danny's murder.

Townsfolk

• The Reverend Paul Coates (Arthur Darvill) - Paul is the resident vicar in Broadchurch. He is the first person in whom Beth confides following Danny's death. He also tutored the local computer club, which both Danny and Ellie's son Tom attended. After being spotted by Ellie and Beth in the early hours of the morning, Alec suspects that he has a secret of his own regarding Danny's murder, but soon discourages the accusations by claiming that he suffers from insomnia and sleep deprivation.

• Susan Wright (Pauline Quirke) - Susan is a local busybody and misanthrope, a former assistant for the Sea Brigade, cleaner and a physical marketing assistant for the local tourist industry. She prefers to observe Broadchurch's day to day business from afar, but takes particular interest in Danny's death, which happened not far from her home. In Episode 8 it is revealed that Susan has moved away.

• Steve Connolly (Will Mellor) - Steve is a telephone engineer, who initially stumbles upon the investigation when he is called to add extra telephone lines in the police station. He is also known to Mark through his work as a handyman. He soon finds himself deep in the case, when he reveals information to the police that he claims has been sent to him psychically: Danny was murdered by somebody that he knew, and he was put in a boat. Alec threatens to arrest him if he does not stay away from the Latimer family, and continues to provide them with false hope about finding evidence relating to Danny's death.

• Jack Marshall (David Bradley) - Jack is the owner of a local newsagent's shop where Danny used to work, doing a paper round. When it is discovered that Jack has a previous conviction for having sex with a minor, he is called in for questioning. He is also seen burning photos of his time with the Sea Brigade, including photos of Danny taken when he was a member. After suffering interference of the press, Jack commits suicide.

• Nigel Carter (Joe Sims) - Nigel is Mark Latimer's employee at his plumbing firm and is also his best friend. He is very close to the Latimer family, and often helps out with everyday activities such as cooking and cleaning. He is seen to have a number of dangerous weapons in the back of his van, including a crossbow and an axe.

• Becca Fisher (Simone McAullay) - Becca is the owner of the local hotel, where Alec is staying during his time in Broadchurch. She is also having an affair with Mark Latimer, which is later discovered by his wife, Beth. She has also dealt drugs through Mark's daughter, Chloe, from her boyfriend and fellow dealer, Dean.

• Dean Thomas (Jacob Anderson) - Dean is a sixth form student studying for his A-levels and is also Chloe Latimer's boyfriend. He is two years older than Chloe.

• Lucy Stevens (Tanya Franks) - Lucy is reporter Olly's mother, and Ellie's sister. She was formerly an assistant to an important banker, but was made redundant from her position, leaving her bankrupt and heavily in debt, leading to bailiffs repossessing her assets, much to the dismay of her son. She hasn't spoken to Ellie for a number of years.

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate
1	"Episode 1.1"	James Strong	Chris Chibnall	4 March 2013 (2013-03-04)
The quiet seaside town of Broadchurch is rocked by the murder of eleven year old boy Danny Latimer. DS Ellie Miller is put out when Superintendent Jenkinson hires DI Alec Hardy to head up the investigation. Having known the Latimer family quite well for some years, Ellie has to deal with her own personal struggles, as well as with those people whose lives have been destroyed by Danny's death. Budding reporter Olly tries to squeeze information out of the police and local personnel in order to better his own career. Things soon become tense between Ellie and Alec when her nephew Olly manages to extract information from her for his press report. Journalist supremo Karen tries to persuade her boss Len to allow her to get an exclusive on the death. With onlookers, journalists and police all trying to get to the bottom of Danny's death, many in the town become suspects.
2	"Episode 1.2"	James Strong	Chris Chibnall	11 March 2013 (2013-03-11)
The investigation into Danny's death continues, but takes an unlikely turn when his father, Mark becomes a serious suspect, after his alibi fails to prove his whereabouts, and incriminating evidence of fingerprints and blood found at a summer house up on the cliffs seems to be evidence against him. Meanwhile, Ellie's son Tom struggles to keep a secret from his mother, and suddenly decides to wipe both his mobile phone and computer to remove evidence. It is not clear what he is trying to hide. Meanwhile, Danny's mother, Beth, breaks down after an eye-opening experience in the supermarket, and she confides in the Reverend Paul Coates that she is three months pregnant. Coates sees it as his duty to try to comfort the community. Ellie and Alec are soon at odds when a surprise witness comes forward with information surrounding Danny's death. Danny's sister Chloe has to think fast when forensics find cocaine in her room, and a stash of £500 under Danny's bed. Attempting to remove suspicion from her boyfriend Dean, she reveals that hotel owner Becca has been dealing drugs for some time. However, in order to keep her licence to run the hotel, she agrees to provide information. Danny's missing skateboard, which was caught on CCTV at 3am with him riding it is at Susan's, stashed away in her caravan. Danny's sister Chloe liaises with her boyfriend Dean about the possibility of his drug-dealing activities getting out. Newsagent Jack reveals that he saw Danny having an argument with a postman on the day of his death, and suggests that the postman may have information.
3	"Episode 1.3"	Euros Lyn	Chris Chibnall	18 March 2013 (2013-03-18)
Mark is hauled into the police station for questioning, after being unable to account for his whereabouts on the night of Danny's death. That is, however, until Ellie is rocked, when she discovers his true alibi: he was meeting hotel owner Becca for illicit sex. The question is, will Beth discover his affair? As she confides in the Reverend Paul Coates, Steve approaches her with a message from beyond the grave, and information that Danny (Oskar McNamara) was killed in a fishing boat. When the boat is found burning out at sea, questions are raised as to who the owner could be. Meanwhile, Susan denies all knowledge of Mark ever repairing a burst pipe at the house up on the cliffs, and Ellie's son Tom (Adam Wilson) is brought in for questioning. Will he finally tell the truth about the texts and the hard drive content? Karen sheds some light on Alec's past, and reveals her true reason for being in Broadchurch: she wants to discover the truth about Danny's killer first. Nige struggles to provide an alibi for himself on the night of Danny's death, while Beth uncovers the extent of Mark's lies.
4	"Episode 1.4"	Euros Lyn	Chris Chibnall	25 March 2013 (2013-03-25)
Echo journalist Olly uncovers information about newsagent Jack, including the secret that he was jailed for sexually assaulting a minor before he lived in Broadchurch. Meanwhile, Maggie discovers a photo of Susan in her archive, where Susan is listed as Elaine Jones, throwing suspicion on a possible double life; Nige confronts Susan, telling her to keep quiet about what happened. Does he know more than he is letting on? Beth finds comfort in Steve's information, but Alec believes he is a fake, and warns him to stay away from the Latimer family. After a pleasant dinner with Ellie and Joe, Alec heads home, only to pass out on his bathroom floor, and to be found by hotel owner Becca. Distraught by the lack of national press coverage, Beth and Mark are persuaded into getting news of Danny's murder into the newspapers by journalist Karen, only for the idea to completely backfire and result in an invasion of national press arriving on their doorstep. The Reverend Paul Coates acts suspiciously when questioned by Alec and Ellie, but the shock revelation arrives when Nige informs Mark that he saw Jack and Olly fighting, after he revealed his sex conviction to the police. Then Jack arrives to try and convince Mark and Beth that is he is not the killer.
5	"Episode 1.5"	Euros Lyn	Chris Chibnall	1 April 2013 (2013-04-01)
Jack struggles as his situation becomes more and more grave after his past criminal record hits the newspapers. Everyone in Broadchurch is forced to choose sides about whether to believe Jack's or the press's story. Alec and Ellie struggle to contain the national press, while Ellie's own emotions bubble up. Unknowingly, Ellie's son Tom is thrown into danger after he catches the eye of Susan, and Mark becomes aware of Chloe's antics with her secret boyfriend. Olly and Karen start a fling.
6	"Episode 1.6"	James Strong	Louise Fox Chris Chibnall	8 April 2013 (2013-04-08)
Files are piling up at the police station but, with no fresh leads or witnesses, the case is becoming stale. Hardy is stunned when he's told to scale back resources and feels his hope of catching Danny's killer is slipping away. However, at the Broadchurch Echo, Maggie grows determined to solve a mystery that has taken a very personal turn for her. How will her efforts affect the official investigation?
7	"Episode 1.7"	James Strong	Chris Chibnall	15 April 2013 (2013-04-15)
Following his collapse, Hardy awakens in the hospital and continues with the investigation, despite the growing concerns, suspicions and outrage of those around him, especially Ellie. With Susan in custody, they commence questioning and she reveals, eventually, that she saw Nige place Danny's body on the beach. The Reverend Paul Coates tells Hardy that Tom and Danny were not getting along and gives him the smashed laptop that he recovered from the boy. Meanwhile, Maggie and Olly plot to get the scoop on Hardy's health issues and attempt to dig into his past. At dinner, Dean, Chloe's boyfriend, reveals to the Latimers that Danny had been going with Nige and him to the farm some evenings to catch animals. He was under the impression that Mark knew and had condoned this. It is revealed that Susan knows Nige to be her lost son, and the story involving her family is explained. Hardy agrees to an exclusive interview and, to the Echo writers' surprise, reveals the painful and complete story surrounding his past and the failed Sanbrook case. The two interviewers are left speechless and with much more respect for Hardy. As the case begins to come together and the secrets of every character are explored, Hardy pushes harder and harder to be sure that this case is solved.
8	"Episode 1.8"	James Strong	Chris Chibnall	22 April 2013 (2013-04-22)
After weeks of speculation, the events surrounding Danny's death are revealed. Shock waves ripple though Broadchurch as the community struggles to come to terms with the news. Joe confesses to strangling Danny after the boy threatens to expose the inappropriate attachment the murderer is nurturing with him. At last the Latimer family were able to hold the funeral for Danny, in which beacons were set alight across the nearby bays in memory of the boy. Following the final episode in a special 'YouTube' video the family held a wake for Danny, where Ollie turns down a job at the Herald and Alec spoke to Karen White who had tried to get an exclusive out of him on the investigation. The video ends with 'Broadchurch will return'.

Series 2

The final episode of series 1 finished with a caption reading "Broadchurch Will Return", indicating that series 2 of the programme was in development. ITV have confirmed that Broadchurch has been commissioned for a new series to begin production in 2014.

Ratings

The series launched it to 6.15 million viewers with a 25.2% share, with an extra 716k (4.4%) switching on to watch on +1. It won its time-slot beating Mayday and Embarrassing Bodies. The second episode continued to perform well pulling in 5.78 million viewers with a 23.2%, with an extra 606k (3.7%) watched on +1. It once again won its competitive time slot beating Embarrassing Bodies and BBC One's Shetland. The third episode climbed to its biggest audience so far pulling in 7.30 million viewers with a 30.9% share, adding an extra 241,000 (1.1%) on +1. Once again it won its time slot. The fourth episode continued to a massive audience, pulling in 6.88 million viewers with 28.1% share, and further 308k (1.79%) watched on +1. The fifth episode climbed in the ratings from the previous week to help give ITV a win over BBC One, overnight data revealed. The fifth episode attracted 6.29 million viewers (24.5%) at 9pm. A further 310,000 tuned in on ITV+1. The sixth episode climbed once again in the ratings, overnight data revealed. The penultimate episode won an audience of 6.93 million (27.7%) on ITV at 9pm, with 342,000 (1.9%) tuning in on ITV+1.

Summary of episode ratings

Episode	Date	Official ITV rating (millions)	Weekly rank ^1	Share (%)	Official ITV HD rating (millions)	Official ITV +1 rating (millions)	Total ITV viewers (millions)
Episode 1	4 March 2013	7.43	6	25.2	0.73	0.91	9.07
Episode 2	11 March 2013	7.38	6	23.2	0.70	0.92	9.01
Episode 3	18 March 2013	8.29	5	30.9	0.94	0.42	9.65
Episode 4	25 March 2013	8.03	8	22.3	0.88	0.50	9.42
Episode 5	1 April 2013	7.38	6	24.5	0.91	0.52	8.81
Episode 6	8 April 2013	7.58	7	27.7	0.85	0.52	8.95
Episode 7	15 April 2013	7.84	6	28.9	1.17	0.55	9.56
Episode 8	22 April 2013	8.63	3	34.2	1.26	0.58	10.47

American adaptation

It was announced in August 2013 at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour that American television network Fox will be developing an American version of Broadchurch. Chris Chibnall will write the premiere episode and executive produce the series. Production will begin in January 2014 for a spot in FOX's 2014-15 season.

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
Freesat Awards	Best British TV Programme or Series	Broadchurch	Won
Monte-Carlo Television Festival	Outstanding Mini-Series	Broadchurch	Nominated
	Outstanding Actor in a Mini-Series	David Tennant	Nominated
	Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series	Olivia Colman	Nominated

External links

• Broadchurch at IMDb
• BAFTA Guru - Broadchurch: TV Q&A