IT’S CRIMINAL! 10 REASONS BROADCHURCH HAS TOTALLY LOST THE PLOT

The charge: TV’s top murder series is fatally flawed. The evidence: Ludicrous storylines and legal bloopers. Call the MoS’s crack team of expert witnesses...

IT WAS the most eagerly awaited TV series in years. But after millions of fans tuned in for the return of Broadchurch, the ITV drama has been shedding viewers – thanks to ludicrous holes in the plot. The show, written by Chris Chibnall and starring David Tennant as DI Alec Hardy and Olivia Colman as DS Ellie Miller, returned two weeks ago, with Miller’s husband Joe in custody, accused of the murder of schoolboy Danny Latimer. But after a critically acclaimed opening episode, viewers are disappearing in their droves – ratings have plummeted from 7.6million to 6.1million.

In the new series, a determined Hardy is trying to crack a previously unsolved abduction case which pre-dates his arrival in the seaside town of Broadchurch. But the addition of established stars Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Meera Syal to the cast cannot make up for the countless errors. Distinguished lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy QC loved the first series but is now among the disgruntled viewers. ‘There are huge legal gaffes –letting potential witnesses remain in court while others give evidence or arguing legal issues such as the admissibility of a confession in front of the jury,’ she says. ‘If you are a lawyer, you end up shouting, “Get a grip!” at the TV. And I think it does matter because authenticity is important in the credibility of any good drama. The writers and producers need an experienced legal consultant for the programme.’

The Mail on Sunday has put its own crack team of experts on the case. Here Baroness Kennedy, leading criminal barrister Maria Dineen and retired Met detective superintendent Graham Walker point out the glaring errors in the show.