Broadchurch: Who is Your Top Suspect?

WARNING – contains spoilers from episodes one and two

We’re now two episodes into Broadchurch and the question on everyone’s lips is ‘Who Killed Danny Latimer?’ Now’s your chance to play armchair detective and let us know who you think is the culprit.

All of the main characters have now been introduced. Detectives Hardy and Miller are detecting, the Latimer family are grieving and the shocked neighbours are fretting over their own safety and livelihoods. And inexorably, deep dark secrets are starting to emerge that will change the town of Broadchurch and the relationships of its population forever. We may not know much at this point, but we do know one thing for certain: one of these people killed eleven year old Danny.

It’s a complicated, multi-stranded narrative and there is a lot happening. But which are the genuine clues and which are red herrings? Here’s our handy guide to who’s been up to what among the cast to help you in your sleuthing.

The murder

Two days ago, the body of Danny Latimer was found on the beach at thepicturesque Dorset town of Broadchurch. Although the body had been arranged to look as though Danny had died in an accidental cliff top fall it later emerged that he had been strangled, by a man, judging by the large hand marks. Danny had been facing his killer as he died. He was last seen alive apparently by his mother in his bedroom at around 9pm. A figure resembling Danny was later recorded on CCTV skateboarding through the town. When Danny was absent the following morning his family just assumed that he had gone on his paper round, and it was not until his mother Beth attended Sports Day at his school that the alarm was raised. Danny’s skateboard and phone have not yet been recovered. From his Facebook statuses it seems he knew a few secrets about other people. A large sum of money was found taped under Danny’s bed.

The suspects

Mark Latimer

Danny’s father and currently the main name in the frame. His late night plumbing job proved a fake. He was spotted on CCTV waiting for some unknown person in a car park. He is unwilling or unable to provide an alibi. He certainly has a temper, as his attack on Paul Coates proves. And his fingerprints have been found all over the murder scene. Detectives Hardy and Miller think they’ve got their man, but surely no, not with another six episodes to go? Will Mark be able to come up with a plausible explanation to get himself off the hook? Or is this all a complex double bluff?

Played by Andrew Buchan

Beth Latimer

Danny’s mother has been consumed by her grief after her son’s death. We have only her word that she checked in on Danny at 9pm, and she didn’t seem to think it necessary to chase up his absence. She, along with Mark, seems quite keen to implicate her friends and neighbours in Danny’s death. And what is so ‘complicated’ about her pregnancy that makes her reluctant to reveal it to her family?

Played by Jodie Whittaker

Chloe Latimer

Chloe is Danny’s older sister. She has a secret boyfriend who seems to be leading her astray and was able to procure cocaine quite easily for her employer. Danny knew about the extent of her relationship with boyfriend Dean. Is Chloe in deeper than she appears? And would Danny’s knowledge be enough to lead her to kill her own brother?

Played by Charlotte Beaumont

Susan Wright

Susan is a creepy outsider, an unkempt middle-aged woman who lives alone in a caravan with only her dog for company. She always seems to be lurking on the edge of events, snooping and watching, and seems unwilling to have anything to do with other people. She works as a cleaner and, as one of her customers is the owner of the hut where Danny was apparently killed, she holds the keys. The hut was thoroughly cleaned after the murder but a couple of vital pieces of evidence were missed. She also has a skateboard stashed away in her cupboard.

Played by Pauline Quirke

Steve Connelly

Telephone engineer Steve comes under police scrutiny when he claims to have received a message from Danny from beyond the grave. Dismissed by the police as a crank and a timewaster he is seemingly off the hook at the moment, but is he actually hinting at something that may be actual evidence? Steve claims to have no knowledge of the Latimer family before the murder. His parting shot to Hardy hints that he may either have a genuine gift, or some prior knowledge about the DI.

Played by Will Mellor

Olly Stevens

Cub reporter Olly is desperate to make it on to a national newspaper, but as he lives in a town where nothing ever happens he seems destined never to get his big break. He has already shown himself to be unscrupulous in his leaking of the victim’s name. So how far would he actually go to get the scoop that will force the nationals to notice him?

Played by Jonathan Bailey

Karen White

Karen’s arrival in Broadchurch seems to be less motivated by the scent of a good story and more about some dirt that she has on Hardy and his last big case. What does she want with him? To humiliate him? Uncover his own secrets? Revenge? She’s already shown herself to be sly and unscruplulous in her dealings with Olly and Chloe. The question is how far she will go to strike at the detective.

Played by Vicky McClure

Jack Marshall

Jack employed Danny as a paper boy in his newsagents shop. Initially he told the police he didn’t talk to the boy much but later revealed that he also runs the Sea Scouts that Danny attended. He fed Hardy a tale about an argument he witnessed between Danny and the local postman, but the postman later denied any such conversation with the boy.

Played by David Bradley

DI Alec Hardy

The antisocial Hardy arrived in the wake of a failed murder investigation though he stresses that he was exonerated of any blame. He appears to be suffering from stress or panic attacks and is taking medication. Who is the girl whose picture he carries in his wallet – a daughter or a sister, maybe? Is it only coincidence that the murder occurs only a few days after a big city cop experienced in murder investigations arrives in town, a cop with a shattered reputation to repair?

Played by David Tennant

Tom Miller

Ellie Miller’s son. He was seen deleting phone messages and computer files on hearing the news of Danny’s death and is terrified of the prospect of talking to the police. The pathologist believes a grown man killed Danny – but what exactly does Tom have to hide?

Played by Adam Wilson

Dean Thomas

Chloe’s boyfriend. He is older than her and they have a physical relationship. Dean appears to be mixed up in some of the darker goings on in the town, including dabbling in drugs. Danny knew about his relationship with his sister, and possibly some of his other dealings too.

Played by Jacob Anderson

Reverend Paul Coates

We’ve only seen the best of Paul so far, in his role as the town vicar, offering pastoral care to the population and support to the grieving Beth. It is known that he has his own past secrets, about which we have yet to learn. He also has a social life outside the town. Mark took particular issue at Paul speaking on TV about the murder. Was he really raging against a cruel God forsaking them or was his attack on Paul more personally motivated?

Played by Arthur Darvill

Becca Fisher

Australian hotelier Becca was mixed up in the drugs deal involving Chloe, a fifteen year old girl. Is this the extent of her wrongdoing or is there more to be revealed?

Played by Simone McAullay

Maggie Radcliffe

The boss of the local paper and a veteran reporter. Her glory days are now behind her, and her highpoint was reporting on the Yorkshire Ripper murders. Is she looking to relive those days and retire on a high? She has already reined in her junior reporter Olly and is resentful at the arrival in town of big name reporter Karen.

Played by Carolyn Pickles

Characters we know little about

Liz Roper

Beth’s mother and Danny’s grandmother. She’s trying her best to support the family and is one of the few townspeople to turn to Paul Coates in their hour of need. Shows no signs as yet of being a psychotic killer

Played by Susan Brown

Nige Carter

A plumber who works with Mark. So far he has only been seen in the van on the way to work. Appears to be a typical laddish ladies’ man, and is a good friend of Mark’s. It’s not known if he can corroborate any of Mark’s alibi.

Played by Joe Sims

Joe Miller

Ellie’s husband and seemingly overall good bloke. He seems to be managing the kids and the household while Ellie works

Played by Matthew Gravelle

And finally…

DS Ellie Miller

Surely nobody can be that nice to everybody all the time? Can they? Only time will tell if we will eventually see a flaw in Ellie’s character

Played by Olivia Colman

So, it’s over to you. Who do you think is the murderer and why? Leave us a comment with your theories, then check back before the next episode to see who has made the top of your suspect list.

The next episode of Broadchurch is on ITV at 9pm on Monday 18^th March.

Find out more about Broadchurch here