David Tennant

What can we expect from the new series of Broadchurch?

It’s a very different type of story. I think we all found it hard to predict where Chris [Chibnall] was going to go and how he was going to tell a story faithful to season one without underselling the veracity of it.

It would have been ludicrous and a bit disappointing to discover another body on the beach and begin another eight episodes of whodunit... he absolutely doesn’t do that.

Tonally it’s the same show but structurally it is completely different.

This is a really clever and exciting bit of writing, still a thriller but not the same type. Without giving anything away, it is almost impossible to describe but by the first commercial break people will be enthralled.

Do you see Emmett Carver, your character from the US version Gracepoint, as a totally different character to Alec Hardy?

I wouldn’t say Carver and Hardy are completely different characters – in my head they occupy very different spaces.

Clearly in many ways they are quite similar but don’t feel like the same person, in fact they feel quite distinct.

Although the story is in many ways similar, Gracepoint feels like a different world.

How did it feel to be back in West Bay?

I loved being back in West Bay. A lot of people assume we film the whole thing in Dorset but of course we don’t.

We film the beach scenes, anything to do with water down there, everything else in London for interiors and we use locations around Bristol, but West Bay is the location that everyone recognises – the Jurassic cliffs (which poor Danny was found at the bottom of in season one) still feature prominently in season two, we’ll see the police station again and other locations audiences have seen before.

We always enjoy coming back here – this is where Chris Chibnall our writer lives, so he writes to his locale.

Is it getting harder to keep the Broadchurch secrets?

No, I don’t think it has got any harder to keep the secrets. I think it frustrates those around you but I am well-practised at not giving anything away; withholding everything.

I don’t mind it. I quite like being the holder of secrets.

I get frustrated if I’m the one that doesn't know them, but happy to be in the slightly superior position of knowing what comes next...

Olivia Colman

How do you feel about the Broadchurch effect?

We all loved it when we were filming and the scripts were brilliant so you hope people are going to get that, but as the audience built it was incredibly flattering that people loved it as much as we did.

It is great if people enjoy what you do.

I was gripped as well because I hadn't seen everybody else’s scenes and it was the way that everybody on the cast and crew really kept the secret – it made it special.

We had each other if we needed to talk about it, but I did get a lot of texts and emails from close friends and family asking me who did it and I quite enjoyed the power of saying no to them all!

What was it like winning a BAFTA for your role as Ellie Miller?

That was incredibly special. Just amazing and makes me eternally grateful to Broadchurch and Chris Chibnall for giving me the chance to play that role.

To win one anyway is pretty special, but to win one for something you feel really affectionate towards is really lovely.

How have the new cast fitted in?

Marianne [Jean-Baptiste] is the coolest women on the planet. Everyone loved her. Charlotte Rampling is amazing. I was nervous about meeting her as she is a proper legend but she is so sweet and brought everybody a box of chocolates on her last day.

Eve Myles is so funny, she has told me some of the worst jokes I have ever heard, yet still I think about them in the middle of the night and laugh.

And Phoebe [Waller-Bridge] is a very good friend of old so whenever we were at unit base at same time it was lovely. She is an extraordinary creature; the funniest human I’ve ever met.

Broadchurch is the best job; an absolute treat. It was a long job but there wasn’t one day when I wasn’t excited about getting up and going to work. I feel very lucky.

What was it like being back in West Bay?

Like going back to a childhood holiday, you know when you go to the same place each year – “Yay, we’re here again and the doughnut shop is open”.

And the people are incredibly nice considering we must turn it upside down for them but they welcomed us.

Jodie Whittaker

How has the Broadchurch phenomenon affected your life?

When it came out it was brilliant as I went onto another job and changed the colour of my hair.

I’m not as recognisable as some of the other characters so it didn't really affect me.

Work-wise I was already cast in something when it came out and cast in season two so hopefully next year I can ride the wave!

It was really exciting that it did so well because we all worked so hard on it – this was really a passion project and we’re so happy that everything we felt gripped the audience so much.

I couldn’t distance myself from the fact it was me in a scene as it was really emotional, and I was moved by things I knew were coming up – especially when David Bradley’s character was found on the beach, that broke me.

It was an amazing time for us all.

What is it like being back to film series two and what do the new cast bring to the production?

I’ve never done a second series or done anything twice, so I really love the fact that we all slipped back into it, even though there were new characters and I was really nervous.

We had such a lovely time on the first series even though it was harrowing material. As a group of people we all really enjoyed working together so we wondered, will it be the same?

But the injection of new cast and crew has been so exciting.

Your jaw drops to think you’d be working with Marianne (Jean-Baptiste) or Charlotte (Rampling), but they just became a part of it and now I can’t remember what it was like without them.

What did you feel reading the new scripts?

I'd only read episode one but Chris pitched it to us all. He was very open and suggestions we had were taken on board, so we sort of knew where he was going with it.

I knew his scripts would live up to what he promised from series one.

It gets more and more exciting towards the end to get each new script. I know the characters so well but don't know what is going to happen and that is so unusual in any job.

How do you manage to keep all those secrets all over again?

What is cleverly generated on this job is the sense of excitement and the unknown, and that is what I love. For a lot of actors it could be really stressful because you don't know how to prepare, but it works for us because we have so much trust in Broadchurch.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Actress, singer-songwriter, composer and director Marianne Jean-Baptiste is joining the cast of series two, much to the delight of Broadchurch fans.

Probably best known for her Oscar and Golden Globes-nominated performance as Hortense Cumberbatch in 1996’s Secret and Lies, US fans might recognise Marianne from her role as Vivian Johnson on the US show Without a Trace.

Were you aware of the Broadchurch phenomenon?

I wasn’t aware of the phenomenon of Broadchurch. Living in LA I didn’t see all the hype; people telling me what I should be watching can be a bit off putting.

But without that knowledge I could just judge for myself what I was seeing and I thought it was amazing.

How was it joining the cast for series two?

Being in the position along with Charlotte Rampling of being outsiders it could work either way – if it works, great. If not, great. You don’t have to be embraced on a film or TV set but coming in they were all so welcoming, we felt wanted, we were excited to be part of it. I spoke to Chris Chibnall and he said we have one rule – no egos! And he was right, we laughed every day. Proper big belly laughs three or four times a day! It has been a fantastic experience. Chris Chibnall is a great guy, kind and clever. I signed up without even seeing the scripts...

Did you enjoy your time in West Bay ?

I did some drawing, even brought my water colours, the light is so gorgeous. It is one of the first things I noticed when I watched Broadchurch. I thought where is this, it has got to be the south of France or somewhere, because the light is fantastic.

How do you deal with the secrecy involved?

I have encountered a little before. When you are doing a movie you are expected to keep quiet about the content for as long as it is filming, but then you can talk about it. But with this when my friends and family ask what I’ve been doing on Broadchurch I can’t really tell them anything. It’s crazy. All I’d say is you think you know what you know but you don’t know anything.

  • THE music of the smash hit TV drama is coming to Bridport. Composer Olafur Arnalds will be performing music from Broadchurch on Monday, February 23, from 7.30pm. The concert will take place in the Electric Palace and will be introduced by Bridport resident Chris Chibnall, writer of Broadchurch. For more information, visit olafurarnalds.com/tour-dates