Bloody hands & shifting sands
BROADCHURCH fever is once again sweeping the nation and the only downside is the realisation that this is the final series of the hard-hitting drama.
It’s difficult to pinpoint just what makes it such a ratings winner.
Is it the dark, harrowing storylines set against the breathtaking backdrop of dramatic cliffs and golden sands?
Or could it be the chemistry between odd couple investigators DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Coleman) and DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant)?
We reckon it’s a bit of both, with taut, well-scripted plots and a gripping performance by ex-corrie star Julie Hesmondhalgh as rape victim Trish Winterman for good measure.
Episode three airs tomorrow night, with Hardy and Miller urging an unco-operative Trish to be more open with them.
ATTACK
They believe she has information that, although not directly related to the attack at the party, could help the investigation.
Her recent sexual history appears complicated – as was hinted at last week – making her an all-too human survivor of an unspeakable crime.
Meanwhile back at base, the officers of Broadchurch CID are slowly making their way through the painstaking process of interviewing witnesses and collecting statements.
As they put the pieces of the puzzle together they start to uncover inconsistencies and lies – and previously hidden connections between Trish and some suspects.
And the list of suspects is mounting. There’s Trish’s shifty ex Ian, played by Fast
Show star Charlie Higson, who refused a DNA test. Then there’s cabbie Clive Lucas (Sebastian Armesto) whose tale of a broken radio doesn’t tally. And loner Ed Burnett (Lenny Henry) who has an inside track on how the investigation is proceeding thanks to his daughter DC Katie Harford, who has clashed with DS Miller. It’s good to see the return of familiar faces such as newspaper editor Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles) who laments the demise of local print media and wonders what’s next for her career-wise. “It’s not Trumpton,” declared Ellie in the first episode, “I don’t know everybody in town.”
Perhaps not, but it’s the sense of a close-knit community that adds to the tension and whodunnit element. Broadchurch blew us away in season one, though it lost some of its punch in the trial-led second series.
It’s good to see it back on form, and sad to think it won’t be returning.
Broadchurch airs tomorrow on UTV at 9pm.