BROADCHURCH has gripped the nation and the hotlyanticipated third and final series starts on Monday on ITV at 9pm. ALEX PEACE sat down with cast member JULIE HESMONDHALGH and producer DAN WINCH.

ALONG with David Tennant and Olivia Colman, one of the biggest stars of Broadchurch is the stunning Dorset scenery.

Former Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh is the latest name to join the illustrious cast as Trish Winterman, the victim of the serious sexual assault that will be investigated by DS Ellie Miller and DI Alec Hardy (played by Olivia Colman and David Tennant).

Coming to the county was just one of the new experiences she encountered when filming the show. She said: “I hadn’t been to Dorset before, it’s far away from where I live, so I was very excited to come. I know the scenery was beautiful, but I’ve loved it.

“The last time I was down here (for filming) I stayed at a caravan site and honestly I was so happy there. I had a little caravan right by the sea and I’d walk over the cliffs to work and to Burton Bradstock.

“I’m very acquainted with all the different beers and cafés of the West Bay area so I’m a real fan now.”

Filming for the final series took place during the summer and the West Dorset scenery will once again provide a spectacular backdrop, but using the famous cliffs does come with its risks.

During the summer, there was a large cliff fall at West Bay and it happened to be when Broadchurch was filming.

Producer Dan Winch said: “We came down in mid-July time and the beach was absolutely packed, it doesn’t bear thinking about what could have happened.

“We filmed a lot in the harbour and the pier, obviously there’s two piers, and we did a lot down there that allows us to see the background.

“Everything we’ve tried to do for this series we’ve tried to make sure that it’s been rooted in the environment and the beautiful countryside that everyone has recognised over the last few series. We very much try to go back to all those places people recognise and we try to do as much as we can in the harbour.”

For Hesmondhalgh, who is originally from Lancashire, one of the other striking things about Dorset, apart from the scenery, is the accent, something she hopes she got to grips with for Broadchurch.

She said: “Apparently I’m doing Dorset but I don’t know. I’ve worked very very hard. If I’ve failed I’m sorry but I’ve put in the hours.

“The accent isn’t what you think it is, the ‘r’ isn’t so pronounced in Dorset. The things that really stuck in my mind that were against what I assumed is that it isn’t general West Country, the lack of ‘r’, and the ‘ow’ sound which is more like an ‘i’. There’s just little sounds that are different to how you’d imagine.

“The dialect coach came down and went to a pub right in the heartland and spoke to so many locals. She just recorded so much stuff, she really did her research.”

This series will look at the dark issues of sexual assault and has worked with local sexual assault referral centre The Shores and Dorset Rape Crisis on the new series.

Mr Winch said: “What is unique about Broadchurch is it is a beautiful reflection of landscape, and it’s a dark thing happening in a beautiful place, and that flows through the humour we try and find, particularly between Ellie and Hardy’s characters.

“While we are dealing with a very sensitive and dark subject matter we also realise that our audience will want to tune in for the lighter aspects and those relationships, and they laughs they give us.”

As well as filming at West Bay, filming also headed out in to the surrounding area for the series.

The sexual assault storyline is new territory for Broadchurch and for Hesmondhalgh, especially playing the victim, it was something she was very considerate of.

She said: “It’s horrible but I’m always really careful when talking about anything like this.

“I’ve historically played parts of people going through stuff and I’m always very mindful that it’s a job that I can switch off and not live with it.

“So I’m always very mindful when I’m talking about it but it certainly makes you feel very empathetic to people who have gone through it.

“So it’s great that a programme like Broadchurch is highlighting the issues, I know it’s a bit of a trite expression but I hope it will actually and I think that in particular, what they wanted to do with it is show women that the police are actually a safe place to go to, that things have changed, because there’s still a feeling that you’ll be treated very badly or not believed if you go to the police and I think there has been a change in culture of that and they’re very keen to show that.”

Mr Winch added that it will follow the case through much like series one and two did with the murder of Danny Latimer.

Broadchurch begins at 9pm on Monday at 9pm on ITV.

The new series takes place three years after we last saw the characters. As well as Hesmondhalgh, new cast members include Charlie Higson and Sir Lenny Henry who play respectively the husband and boss of Hesmondhalgh at the farm shop where she works.

Fans have been promised a definite resolution to the show with creator Chris Chibnall promising a ‘satisfying’ ending.

It will take place over eight episodes. Episodes in both previous seasons managed to gain more than 10 million viewers.