SIR Lenny Henry has revealed that the finale of the third series of Broadchurch is being kept completely under wraps – with even some of the cast having no idea what will happen.
In the ITV drama Lenny plays farm shop owner Ed Burnett, who is the boss of Trish (played by Julie Hesmondhalgh).
In previous series, bosses have made sure the script stayed completely secret and it appears they are being just as strict this time around.
During an interview on Lorraine, Lenny explained: “At the moment I’m just in it and no one knows what the hell is happening.
“With the script, you’re given your bit and just enough information to go on and then you do it
“It could all switch! I could be the bad guy!”
In the opening moments of the third series, farm-shop worker Trish turns up on the steps of Broadchurch police station to report that she’s been raped.
She is immediately taken under the wing of DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), who are tasked with tracking down her attacker.
Julie, 47, said: “All the early scenes I shot were with David and Olivia, and I had to work very hard at not feeling like a competition winner.
“I’m a woman in my late 40s and I have got to stop acting like: ‘Thank you very much for having me!’
“The first day I was a bit overwhelmed and when we shot the cast photo, I felt like I was in Madame Tussauds.”
Adding to Julie’s nerves was the fact that the Lancashire-born actress has to do a Dorset accent for the role and was offered the job by the show’s writer/creator Chris Chibnall without having to audition.
She said: “That was really flattering but also scary.
“When you nail an audition, you know you’re who they want. But when you haven’t auditioned, you imagine turning up on your first day and them saying: ‘Sorry, it’s not worked out.’
“I was such a big fan of the first two series, so it was an amazing phone call to get. I would love to say it was the character that made me sign up, but when you get the call asking you to be in Broadchurch, you don’t really say: ‘Well, what’s the part?’”
Despite relishing the chance to move on from Coronation Street, learning she would be playing a rape survivor did mean Julie felt some trepidation.
She explained: “I had a long conversation with Chris before filming started, which was lovely.
“I wanted to ask questions about how the rape was going to be handled. I trust Chris, but I did want to be assured about where he was going with the story. It is daunting trying to represent something that people have gone through in real life, because you want to get it right.”
It has been confirmed that this series is Broadchurch’s last, with fans eager to see how the dark tale will end.
There are a series of loose ends that need tying up on the show – and the gripping crime drama is sure to not disappoint as it reaches its dramatic conclusion.
In series one, the focus was on the search for the boys murderer – and pulled in an average of 9.3million viewers by the end of its eight episode run in 2013.
Series two was released in 2015 and focused on the fallout of the discovery of who killed Danny and why.
At its peak, it pulled in 9.7million viewers, and was greenlit for a third and final series at the show’s end.
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