As Broadchurch returns to TV screens in the UK and Ireland, viewers might be finding it hard to remember who is who and who did what in the last episode. And to confuse the issue further, a whole lot of new faces have turned up. Here's a quick run down of who's who and what they've been up to so far.
Alec Hardy (David Tennant)
Who is he: The detective who led the hunt for the killer of
Danny Latimer and arrested Joe Miller for the murder of Danny Latimer. Hardy came to Broadchurch following his failure on his previous case at Sandbrook.
Last seen: Losing his job due to a heart condition that
could kill him at any time
Now: Hardy remains in Broadchurch, moving out of the hotel
and into a bright blue waterside cottage. He is shortly going into hospital
for his life-saving heart procedure, and is confident that he will see Joe
Miller imprisoned for Danny’s murder. His reasons for remaining in town
following the close of the case become clear when he receives a call for help someone
called Claire Ripley who turns out to be a key witness in Hardy’s last case in
Sandbrook. He has been providing unofficial witness protection to Claire since
the case collapsed and the accused, Claire’s husband Lee Ashworth, walked free.
Now, Hardy realises, Lee is in town and is coming after them both. However, he
hopes this will give him the opportunity to finally close the Sandbrook case.
Whether Hardy remains in the police is unclear. He is no
longer working as a Detective Inspector, but Olly Stevens refers to him as ‘not
on active duty’, implying that he has taken enforced leave rather than a dismissal.
Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman)
Who is she: The detective sergeant who also worked on the
Danny Latimer case. Before that she was a close friend of the victim’s family.
Ellie is Joe Miller’s wife and mother to Tom and Fred.
Last seen: Ellie learned that her husband Joe was Danny’s
killer. With her life in tatters she was planning to leave Broadchurch
Now: Ellie has transferred across to the Devon force where
she works in the traffic division. She is raising Fred alone; however Tom
refuses to have anything to do with her and has stayed in Broadchurch with
Ellie’s sister. Of all of those affected by Danny’s murder, she is the one who
has lost everything and is the most isolated. Ellie is receiving counselling
and pinned many of her hopes of a reconciliation with Tom on Joe pleading
guilty. She is reluctantly drawn into Hardy’s plan to continue to provide
protection for Claire and to draw out the culprit and close the Sandbrook case.
On her return to Broadchurch Ellie must face the hatred of her former friend
Beth Latimer who believes that she could have prevented Danny’s death.
Ellie considers herself guilty for allowing the events to
happen behind her back.
Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle)
Who is he: Joe, husband to Ellie and father to Tom and Fred,
is the killer of Danny Latimer.
Last seen: Joe confessed the murder to Alec Hardy claiming
that he was meeting Danny in secret and struggling with his feelings for the
boy. He has been on remand awaiting trial
Now: The pivotal moment in the first episode was Joe changing
his plea to Not Guilty, meaning that the case will now go to trial and the
residents of Broadchurch must relive the terrible events of Danny’s death
instead of laying them to rest. Joe has a legal team who are prepared to do all
that it takes to secure his release, starting with the exhumation of Danny’s
body for further forensic analysis.
While on remand, Joe has been receiving visits from Paul
Coates
Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker)
Who is she: Wife to Mark and mother of Chloe and murder
victim Danny. She used to work in the town’s tourist information office.
Last seen: Saying her final goodbyes to her son after his
funeral, Beth seemed content that his killer was behind bars and was looking
forward to the arrival of her new baby
Now: Heavily pregnant Beth thought that her biggest concern
was readying the tub for her water birth until Joe Miller’s change of plea. Now
she and the rest of her family must relive the terrible events all over again
as the case goes to trial and they have already witnessed the exhumation of
Danny’s body.
Beth finds it impossible to forgive Ellie Miller for her
part in the case, unconvinced that Ellie did not know what Joe was up to.
However, there is also something that Beth doesn’t know...
Mark Latimer (Andrew Buchan)
Who is he: Husband of Beth and father to Chloe and Danny.
Mark runs his own plumbing business. He had a fling with Becca Fisher on the
night that Danny was killed.
Last seen: With his family saying goodbye to Danny and
preparing for a new arrival and the recovery of his relationship with Beth
following his affair
Now: Mark is devastated by the turn of events that saw Joe’s
case going to trial and was left broken when he witnessed Danny’s body being
exhumed to collect further evidence.
In an uncomfortable parallel to Joe’s clandestine meetings
with Danny, Mark has also started meeting Tom Miller in, of all places, Susan
Wright’s abandoned caravan to play video games. Is this just a secret lads’
club that Mark wants to keep quiet because of Beth’s hatred of the Millers, or
is history about to repeat itself?
Chloe Latimer (Charlotte Beaumont)
Who is she: Beth and Mark’s daughter and sister to Danny. Chloe occasionally helps Becca out at the hotel.
Last seen: At her brother’s funeral. Shortly before, Chloe
introduced her boyfriend Dean to the family, though he has yet to appear in the new series. It was Chloe who encouraged Becca to provide an alibi for her dad.
Now: As the rest of her family, Chloe is devastated by Joe’s
change of plea, though she continues to give as much support to Beth as she can
ahead of the birth of the baby. Chloe has noticed that Mark doesn’t seem to
like being around the house as much lately.
Nige Carter (Joe Sims)
Who is he: Mark’s apprentice and closest friend. Nige lives
locally with his mum.
Last seen: Nige was devastated to learn that he was adopted
and that his real mum was Susan Wright and his dad an convicted murderer who
abused and killed one of his sisters. He threatened Susan until she left town after he told police that she had witnessed him carrying Danny's body onto the beach.
Now: Nige continues to support the Latimers as much as
possible, both in their preparations for the new baby and around Joe’s trial.
Previously Nige provided an unconvincing alibi for Mark on
the night of Danny’s death. Once again he rather shakily covers for Mark again
when he is absent spending time with Tom. Does Nige know about the arrangement
or is he just assuming that Mark is straying from the marital bed again.
Paul Coates (Arthur Darvill)
Who is he: The town vicar, Paul was also revealed as a
recovering alcoholic
Last seen: Leading the funeral service for Danny. Paul also
seemed to be growing close to Becca Fisher
Now: Paul is still the town vicar and he and Becca are in a
relationship. Paul has also been secretly visiting Joe in jail to offer him
spiritual guidance but is keen to keep this arrangement from everyone else. He
begged Joe to reconsider his plea.
Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles)
Who is she: The owner and editor of the local newspaper, the
Broadchurch Echo
Last seen: Hearing Hardy’s account of what happened in
Sandbrook
Now: Still running the Echo and training her protégé Olly
Stevens. It is Maggie who approached her old friend Joceyln Knight QC to beg
her to take on the Latimers’ case.
Olly Stevens (Jonathan Bailey)
Who is he: Junior reporter at the Broadchurch Echo. Olly is
also Ellie’s nephew
Last seen: Hearing Hardy’s account of what happened in
Sandbrook.
Now: Olly’s tweet about the murder brought the national
press to town and his exposure of Jack Marshall led indirectly to the newsagent’s
suicide. His experience of the ruthlessness of the national press led him to
curb his ambitions and stay in town, where he supports his mother who has
addiction issues.
Lucy Stevens (Tanya Franks)
Who is she: Olly’s mum and Ellie’s sister. Lucy has a history of debt through her addictions and is always coming to Ellie for money
Last seen: She gave Ellie a crucial piece of evidence (in
exchange for a large loan) regarding her late night sighting of a man disposing
of clothing
Now: Lucy seems to have cleaned up her act now that she is
acting as Tom’s guardian, although she isn’t past a cash bet with Olly over
Paul and Becca’s relationship. She doesn’t seem to have informed Olly that she
was a witness in the murder case and he is curious as to why she thinks she
might have to testify
Tom Miller (Adam Wilson)
Who is he: Ellie and Joe’s eldest son and brother to Fred.
Tom was also believed to be Danny’s best friend although they had actually
fallen out and Tom had sent threatening texts and emails
Last seen: Learning that his father was Danny’s killer
Now: Tom refuses to have anything to do with Ellie, believing
that she set Joe up as the murderer. He refused to leave Broadchurch with her and now lives with his aunt Lucy and cousin
Olly.
Tom has started meeting Mark Latimer to play computer games
in the caravan once used by Susan Wright. He says Susan gave him the keys when
she invited him round to help her with her dog, Vince.
Becca Fisher (Simone McAullay)
Who is she: An Australian who runs the local hotel alone after her ex abandoned her
Last seen: After news of her affair with Mark broke, Becca
was seen growing closer to Paul Coates, who also gave her financial advice on
running her hotel.
Now: Becca is still managing the hotel and has started a
relationship with Paul. She has no idea that Paul has been visiting Joe in
prison.
We’re also introduced to some new characters. Here’s what we
know about them so far:
Claire Ripley (Eve Myles)
Claire is the wife of the main suspect in the Sandbrook case
who gave Alec Hardy valuable evidence leading to the arrest of Lee
Ashworth.When the case collapsed and Lee walked free, Hardy realised that he
had put Claire in danger and has been protecting her ever since.
Sharon Bishop (Marianne Jean-Baptiste)
A London based QC who is engaged to act for Joe Miller in
his trial. Sharon will stop at nothing in her quest to have Joe released and is
already picking holes in Hardy’s case. As Joe confessed readily at the time,
she is hoping that the evidence will be flawed. There are hints that Sharon has
something to prove and may have failed to win a previous case.
Jocelyn Knight (Charlotte Rampling)
A former QC and a friend of Maggie Radcliffe, Broadchurch
resident Jocelyn is persuaded to act for the prosecution in the trial of Joe
Miller. She is a former mentor to Joe’s QC, Sharon Bishop
Abby Thompson (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
A London-based barrister who is horrified when her client
Joe Miller changes his plea to not guilty in the dock. Her boss is Sharon
Bishop whom she persuades to take on Joe’s defence.
Lee Ashworth (James D'Arcy)
Hardy knows that Lee is responsible for the abduction and
murders in Sandbrook, but after the loss of a crucial piece of evidence the
trial collapsed and Lee was freed. Lee is targeting Hardy, and broke into his
home searching for the whereabouts of his estranged wife Claire. Lee stood on
the hill above the churchyard watching Hardy as Danny’s body was exhumed.
Broadchurch continues on Monday 12th January at
9pm on ITV in the UK and at 10pm on TV3 in Ireland.
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