Broadchurch Suspect Profile No. 3: Joe Miller

The third of our suspect profiles examines Joe Miller, played by Matthew Gravelle, the too-good-to-be-true husband of Ellie Miller

At the time of writing, Joe Miller, perfect house husband to DS Ellie Miller is odds on favourite to be named as the Broadchurch killer.

Joe originally came from Wales and used to work as a paramedic. He left the profession because he was sick of all of the rules and regulations that stopped him doing his job. Instead he has concentrated on raising the couple’s two boys, Tom and Fred, leaving Ellie as main breadwinner for the family. From the outside the couple seem perfect and happy and everything works well for them. Joe’s an excellent self taught cook and he’s always around for the kids, handy with the late hours that Ellie works. The family are even well off enough to manage to take a three week holiday and they seem to be well liked in the town with a good circle of friends and family.

There is no evidence against Joe and it’s been assumed that Ellie would have been his alibi for the night of the murder. But there has been an overall and growing sense of unease about Joe which many viewers are picking up on. And Steve the psychic has suggested that the killer is someone close to the family

First there was a tense moment over the dinner table when Joe confronted their guest Alec and asked him if he was going to catch the killer. The question hung in the air for several beats before Hardy replied, during which time the two of them apparently sized one another up. It was as though Joe had issued Hardy with a challenge rather than a conversational icebreaker. Later, at Jack’s wake, Joe spotted Hardy sitting on the stairs talking to Tom and stepped in protectively, almost aggressively and ensured that the conversation ended rapidly. Coincidentally, Joe was one of the few people in town who remained convinced of Jack’s innocence. At least one of those people did so because they knew that there was no way Jack could be guilty.

Tom may know something about the killing. But he openly questions his dad about the consequences for the murderer if caught, which would suggest that he doesn’t actually suspect that Joe is mixed up in something. Joe, on the other hand, seems to be acting as if he thinks that Tom has seen something or they have done something together that he doesn’t want Hardy to know about. Joe has joked to Ellie about being one of her suspects in what should be a lighthearted way, but actually results in a genuinely creepy moment. There is suddenly a realisation that Joe is watching Ellie, always, for any sign of suspicion, and here he issued a challenge to mirror that of the one that he seemed to level at Hardy.

Paul Coates revealed that Tom and Danny had fought in the IT class and that he’d reported the incident to both sets of parents. Ellie was completely unaware of this. Ellie was also not aware of the paintballing trip involving Olly, Mark, Nige and both boys. Joe would have been well aware of the location of nephew Olly’s boat and possibly even how to handle it.

Susan Wright is convinced that she witnessed her estranged son Nige Carter carry Danny’s body from the boat and leave him on the beach. But watching from a distance, is it possible that she saw a similar tall, bald headed man?

It does seem that all is not as perfect in the Miller household as we first thought. Ellie is frustrated by Joe’s laid back attitude and jobs left undone, like painting the bedroom. What is he doing all day instead?

Finally we can’t dismiss the conversation between Ellie and Susan as the latter was released on bail. Ellie simply could not accept that Susan would not have known what was going on between her husband and daughters right under her nose. This, it’s feared, may come back to haunt Ellie.

Are the majority right? Is Joe the person who took Danny Latimer's life? Find out in the final episode of Broadchurch on Monday 22nd April at 9pm on ITV.

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