Broadchurch series three: Shock finale applauded as series comes to an end

Broadchurch season three: New cast member spotted on set

1 September

Hit ITV drama Broadchurch has begun filming for its third and – the writers claim – final series.

The cast were spotted filming new scenes around Clevedon, Somerset, reports the Daily Mail, but there was a new face among them.

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Eagle-eyed fans spotted original star Jodie Whittaker with actor Sunetra Sarker, who is best known for her role in Casualty and a star turn on Strictly Come Dancing.

Sarker, who will play an as-yet-unknown character, is not the only change to the hit show - Sir Lenny Henry and veteran actor Roy Hudd are also joining the cast, while leads Olivia Coleman and David Tennant are also back on board.

Broadchurch's third series is set to be as "exciting and spooky as its original", says the Mail, pointing out that multiple cast members have been spotted filming at the Marine Lake in Clevedon after dark.

The plot, which follows a year of research, is believed to centre on a serious sexual assault and aims to look at "the emotional cost to all of those involved and the irreparable damage to friendships and relationships", says the Daily Mirror.

"This is the final chapter of Broadchurch," writer Chris Chibnall told the paper. "We have one last story to tell, featuring both familiar faces and new characters.

"I hope it's a compelling and emotional farewell to a world and show that means so much to me."

Producer Jane Featherstone added: "Broadchurch has been an important part of my life and I am so delighted and privileged to be working with Chris and the team again as we embark on the very final series."

Broadchurch: When can we expect season three?

26 November 2015

After starring in a British crime drama that at its height commanded viewing figures of 9.4 million, actor David Tennant has revealed that much of the third series of Broadchurch has already been written – but he is still in the dark about the plot.

Both Tennant and Olivia Colman, who play detectives Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller, have confirmed that they will return for the third and reportedly final series.

But Tennant says he has "no idea" which direction writer Chris Chibnall will take with the show.

"There are scripts I am told, there are two scripts I think, but I have no clue what is in them. I don't suppose I'll know till next year sometime," he said.

Colman has separately confirmed that the show will not start filming until next summer.

The first series centred around the murder of Danny Latimer and the reaction of his community in the small coastal town of Broadchurch. However, the second series ended with his murderer being cleared and run out of town. The decision to make a third series drew ire from some critics after the second season pulled lower ratings and weaker reviews than the first.

However, the Daily Mirror says Chibnall has "made a killing" from the hit drama, with his company, Imagineering Friends Productions Ltd, reportedly having more than £1.3m in its coffers last year.

ITV has refused to rule out a fourth series, telling the Metro: "ITV hasn't taken a decision about Broadchurch. We commission a series at a time so it's premature to say series three will be the final series."

Meanwhile, Tennant has been busy promoting his new Netflix-exclusive series Jessica Jones, in which he plays villain Dr Zebediah Kilgrave, while Colman stars in Yorgos Lanthimos's latest film The Lobster.

Broadchurch season three: Is it such a good idea?

4 March 2015

Viewers of Broadchurch season two had barely taken in its grisly conclusion when ITV announced that there would be a third series of the show.

But after the second season drew lower ratings and weaker reviews than the first, critics are wondering whether a third bite of the cherry really is a good idea.

In the series two finale, Joe Miller evaded a murder conviction but was served a form of community justice instead, as the Broadchurch cast banished him from the town, while detectives Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller – the only characters confirmed for the third series – finally solved the Sandbrook case.

Claire, Lee and Ricky confessed to a three-way murder scenario, in which Ricky accidentally killed his niece in a rage after discovering her having sex with Lee. He threatened to frame Lee and convinced his daughter Pippa that it was Lee who attacked Lisa. Claire then drugged Pippa with a flask of rohypnol, before Lee smothered the 12-year-old to death.

The Guardian's Vicky Frost was among the critics to ask whether anyone would really kill a child to hide a murder they did not commit, but acknowledged that "it's a drama, not a documentary".

The denouement showcased the strengths and weaknesses of Broadchurch, says Frost. "Parts were breathtaking, but at other times this was as uneven as the rest of the second season; the cast acting out of their skins, but the script and plotting not always helping them out."

She says in some ways she would like to see writer Chris Chibnall have an opportunity to "remind everyone of why the first series was so good" in a third series. "In others, I think Broadchurch is perhaps best left alone."

Writing in The Independent, Ellen E Jones says season two had been "foreshadowing its own damp squib demise for weeks now" with few surprises in the finale. "The clues were there in those unrealistic court scenes, the 12 or so minor subplots that no one really cared about, plus more red herrings than Billingsgate fish market after a crimson paint spillage."

Gerard O'Donovan at the Daily Telegraph says the "enormous success" of series one was largely based on the fact that it was more about a community's response to a crime, than about the crime itself. "It was a terrific, intriguing concept that we responded to in our millions," he says.

But, from the outset, series two appeared "devoid of any governing concept other than having a second bite of the cherry", says O'Donovan.

He hopes the producers will uproot Hardy and Miller in series three so they can "leave Dorset far behind, relocating them instead to another completely fresh community of brand new characters who can be far more richly explored and intriguingly torn apart".

Alex Hardy at The Times, who describes the second series as "often tortuous" despite its "sickeningly strong" acting, says he would put money on defence lawyer Sharon's jailed son being the "new Sandbrook" in series three. "The most likely thread for the drama's continuation is also its least believable. Ho hum."

Following the pattern of the second season, Caroline Westbrook at the Metro suggests the third series might show the trial of Ricky and the Ashworths. However, after all the complaints about legal gaffes, Chibnall might be keen to avoid the courtroom.

Morgan Jeffery at Digitial Spy was not impressed by the focus on the inner lives of lawyers Jocelyn Knight and Sharon Bishop. He describes the finale as "strong and shocking" but says the "back-stories invented for Knight and Bishop (geddit?) were so thin and paid so little attention that you wonder why Chibnall even bothered".

He adds: "The lesbian romance between Jocelyn and Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles) was so out-of-the-blue as to be almost insulting... and surely I can't be alone in not caring a jot what happens to Sharon's imprisoned son?"

Chibnall, who has kept previous scripts firmly under lock and key to prevent any spoilers, said only that the "third chapter has been a glint in my eye for a long time and I'm thrilled to be writing these characters once again".

The short stories written by Erin Kelly in collaboration with Chibnall give little away either, although one suggests Miller might return to CID after Joe's trial and another story focuses on Hardy's ex-wife Tess, hinting that she still had feelings for him when she left him.

Broadchurch series 2 finale: seven burning questions

The second series of Broadchurch has thrown up dozens of questions, with only one episode left in which to resolve them. Writer Chris Chibnall has interwoven a courtroom drama, unpicking the events we thought we knew at the end of series one, with a return to another "whodunit" storyline, the Sandbrook case that has haunted Detective Inspector Alec Hardy. Here are seven of the mysteries yet to be resolved:

Will Joe Miller walk free?Last week's episode ended just as the jury was about to announce its verdict in the Joe Miller trial. He confessed to killing Danny Latimer in series one, but his defence lawyers have been trying to convince jurors of his innocence for the past seven weeks. Joe suggested his motive for forcing a trial was to out everyone else's secrets ("nobody's innocent, everyone's hiding things") but have we heard them all?

Is Lisa dead?In the Sandbrook case, Pippa Gillespie and her cousin Lisa Newbury disappeared. Pippa turned up dead, but Lisa has never been found. Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller has previously suggested that "Lisa killed Pippa by accident, got rid of the body, went on the run". The last signal from Lisa's mobile was in Portsmouth, placing her (or at least her phone) on the coast 18 hours after she and Pippa disappeared. Then Miller and Hardy discovered an incinerator in the deserted business premises linked to murder suspect Lee Ashworth and their hopes for Lisa seemed to vanish. But will she show up in the final episode?

Why did the Gillespies and Ashworths have a gate between their gardens?Pippa's parents seemed to have a close relationship with their neighbours Lee Ashworth and Claire Ripley. Flashbacks have revealed that Lee was having an affair with Pippa's mother Cate, while Cate has accused Claire of having an affair with her husband Ricky. In another flashback, Claire and Lisa appear to share a mutual hatred for Cate. Then, last week, Hardy and Miller discovered a gate joining the gardens belonging to the Gillespies and the Ashworths. What was the gate used for?

What plan have Lee and Claire concocted?Two weeks ago, Lee was seen growling at his wife Claire: "We had a plan and you screwed it." The plan remains a mystery. Claire seemed exceptionally upset about being asked to move out of a house funded by Hardy to protect her from Lee, despite the fact that she had reunited with her husband. Could their plan have involved Hardy from the start?

Where will the pendant lead us?The pendant apparently belonging to Pippa has played a central part in the Sandbrook plot since series one. Hardy revealed that it had turned up in Lee's car, clinching the case against him, but was later stolen from Hardy's wife's car, causing the trial to collapse. We now know that it originally belonged to Claire, who stole it back from Hardy's wife. But what does this all mean?

And what about the bluebells?Bluebells have been a running theme in the second series. Hardy and Miller discovered a dried bluebell in an envelope in Claire's wardrobe and Ricky Gillespie has an apparently significant picture of bluebells hanging on his wall at work. And if Claire and Ricky were having an affair, was Claire pregnant with his child? Hardy discovered Pippa's body in the river after traipsing through bluebells. But, as yet, there is no explanation about how this all links together.

Has Reverend Coates got a secret?

Reverend Coates is one of the few people in Broadchurch to escape a character assassination in court. We know that he is a recovering alcoholic and has been holding secret meetings with Joe Miller in prison. He told Claire last week that he was "in trouble once" and living rough. He said he had "hit rock bottom" and only stopped when he faced the "demons" he had been avoiding. Was he talking specifically about his alcoholism or was there something else lurking behind his addiction?

Broadchurch: will final episode be a 'bitter disappointment'?

Broadchurch left viewers in suspense last night as the credits interrupted the final verdict in Joe Miller's trial – but some critics are concerned that next week's outcome will be a "bitter disappointment".

The defence's "juicy" piece of evidence turned out to be a £1,000 payment from Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller to her sister, presented to the jury as bribery for evidence against Joe.

Claire Ripley shoved the missing pendant back into Detective Inspector Alec Hardy's hands and Lee Ashworth revealed there was somebody waiting for him in France, prompting speculation that missing babysitter Lisa Newbury is still alive.

But Daisy Wyatt at The Independent says it is hard to look beyond the "ridiculous plotlines" and clunky dialogue that have led us to the penultimate episode.

The scene in which prosecutor Jocelyn suddenly declares her undying love for newspaper editor Maggie over a glass of Merlot on a cliff top was "laughably absurd", says Wyatt.

"While Claire sits on the beach explaining to Ellie that her 'life was destroyed in the ripples that keep coming at me' as the shot pans out to the waves crashing around her, you have to wonder if Broadchurch can salvage any subtlety in time for its finale."

Alex Hardy at The Times thinks the whole thing has turned into "a sort of Grand Designs for the homeless", with Lee sleeping rough in a beautiful tumbledown cottage and Claire slumming it in picture-postcard beach huts. But he says the penultimate episode contained "less nonsense" than other recent instalments.

"The trial's conclusion had some intensely suspenseful turns and we're getting to see the likes of Olivia Colman act her chops off again," says Hardy. "I at least want to watch next week's finale, which is more than I could have said a few weeks ago."

But The Guardian's Vicky Frost thinks the only really exciting bit was when defence lawyer Abby "got what she deserved", as Jocelyn's junior told her she was a "truly horrible person".

On the whole, Frost suggests we could have "skipped straight to next week's finale without it causing many problems".

The Daily Telegraph's Ben Lawrence is mourning the "unpretentious whodunit" of series one. "Now, it's weighted with an enigmatic hauteur that makes it hard to care about," he says.

Nevertheless, Lawrence says that after a "frisson of excitement" in the final scenes it might not be too late.

"I can't wait to see the outcome," he says, "even though I suspect it will be a bitter disappointment."

Broadchurch: Raging Olivia Colman helps save series two

After five weeks of dwindling popularity, Broadchurch appeared to be back on form last night thanks to a "phenomenal" performance from Olivia Colman.

Her "put-upon policewoman" DS Ellie Miller has been "everybody's punchbag for weeks", says Christopher Stevens at the Daily Mail. But last night she finally lost her temper with son Tom, who had lied on oath minutes earlier in an attempt to keep his dad Joe out of jail for the murder of Danny Latimer.

"I'm your bloody mother!" she roared at him, ordering him to come home with her after months of separation. Colman in a "paddy" makes German Chancellor Angela Merkel look "positively mumsy", says Stevens. "In fact, the solution to the Ukraine crisis could be to have Olivia fly to Moscow and give President Putin a talking to. He'd soon behave."

On Twitter, where the show was dubbed "Boredchurch" last week, the mood changed, with several viewers describing Colman's outburst as "phenomenal".

Matilda Battersby at The Independent said it was a "brilliant show of maternal rage", with last night's episode proving to be a "considerable improvement on last week's hair-tearingly tedious instalment".

Miller was not the only one to lose her cool. Bereaved mother Beth Latimer (Jodie Whitaker) fled the court howling after her husband revealed he was ready to call off their marriage on the night of their son's death, while Claire (Eve Myles) hurled cereal across her kitchen in a major temper tantrum.

The latter is looking increasingly suspicious, as we learned last night that she stole the missing pendant, a key piece of evidence in the Sandbrook case, which led to her husband's exoneration.

"Everything, we now know, depends upon a pendant," says Benji Wilson at the Daily Telegraph, who suggests the second series is finally over its mid-season slump. "I want to know what happened, which is surely the baseline requirement for any half-decent thriller," he says.

Like Alec Hardy's ticker, which was given the help of a pacemaker last night, Broadchurch is "finally pumping properly again", says Ben Dowell at the Radio Times.

"With Hardy's heart now in working order and Ellie finally getting her act together, the stage is set for a thrilling final two episodes. Strap yourselves in."

Broadchurch series 2: was last episode the worst so far?

3 February

With just three episodes left in the second series of Broadchurch, critics are hoping for something "spectacular" to save Chris Chibnall's "diminishing" show.

The second season has faced criticism for its plot blunders and an overload of storylines, with last night's episode described by some viewers as the worst yet.

"It amounted to a hill of beans," says The Independent's Chris Bennion. "Apart from the grim revelation that missing babysitter Lisa Newbury might have ended up in an agricultural furnace, we ended up exactly where we were at the end of episode four, scratching our heads, unsure of what to focus on.

"At the heart of the excellent first series was one question – who killed Danny Latimer? Try summing up this series in four simple words."

Gerard O'Donovan at the Daily Telegraph says it looked promising in the first half, but was ultimately the "weakest episode so far".

He says it "fell apart" in three scenes, which involved Alec Hardy warning Ellie Miller off the Sandbrook case, despite trying with all his might to get her involved in previous weeks.

"We can only hope (against hope) that something spectacular is being kept in reserve for the final three episodes," says O'Donovan.

The Guardian's Vicky Frost thinks this week's episode was actually better than its predecessor. "There was still plenty of clunky exposition and ponderous legal jousting this week – at least things looked pretty, though," she says.

But in The Times, Alex Hardy complains that the "visuals are so super-styled they resemble a set of paintings you'd buy in a seaside gift shop".

The first series "quietly gripped, simply by sinking into the rifts that a death creates", says Hardy. "Since it returned five weeks ago it's been more like a spider diagram whose ever-expanding limbs are groaning under the weight of subplot piled on subplot."

Christopher Stevens at the Daily Mail is still upset that the show is "floundering in a mire of errors", some of them "so bizarre that Broadchurch would fail its GCSE in Common Sense".

But he is among the few to suggest that last night's episode was actually the best in the second series, as Ellie Miller "dragged" the story forward.

"Curiouser and curiouser. Just as Broadchurch seemed to be lost in a Blunderland of madness and mistakes, the plot took a twist that could steer it back onto the path of compelling crime drama," he says. "It was the first time that this series has come close to matching the outstanding acting and writing of the previous season."