9.3m tune in as Broadchurch killer is finally revealed

 
PA
23 April 2013
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The conclusion of crime drama Broadchurch pulled in a million extra viewers last night as 9.3 million tuned in to find out the identity of the killer.

ITV’s eight-part murder mystery, which starred David Tennant and Olivia Colman as detectives investigating the death of 11-year-old Danny Latimer, was the most-watched new drama series on any channel in more than a year.

It pulled in an average of 7.1 million viewers across its eight-week run. Last night’s episode peaked at 9.3 million and drew an average of 8.6 million, which was one million more than the series’ previous average high of 7.6 million. The final number is expected to increase once online viewers and repeats are included.

Set in the picturesque Dorset town of Broadchurch, the murderer was eventually revealed to be Joe Miller — the husband of Colman’s character, Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller. After the episode finished, ITV announced that it had commissioned a second series, although details of the characters and storyline will be kept tightly under wraps. Production will start next year.

The series, created by Torchwood writer Chris Chibnall, had bookmakers running odds on who they thought was responsible for Danny’s death.

ITV’s director of television Peter Fincham said: “We’re delighted to be commissioning a second series of Broadchurch. From the moment the murder scene was discovered, viewers became gripped by the series, and we’ve been genuinely thrilled by the audience response.

“David and Olivia’s performances and Chris’s cleverly crafted scripts have created a truly compelling drama.”

Chibnall said: “The whole Broadchurch team has been delighted and properly gobsmacked by the response from ITV viewers. When I first talked to Peter Fincham and Laura Mackie, ITV’s director of drama, about Broadchurch, I mentioned that if people liked it, there was another very different story we could tell afterwards.

“I’m really thrilled we’re going to tell that story too.”

Executive producer Jane Featherstone said: “It’s such a privilege ... to be able to work with Chris and ITV to bring the next chapter of Broadchurch to our screens.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in