WHEN the credits roll at the end of tonight’s Broadchurch finale, relief and despair will grip living rooms in equal measure.
Relief as fans finally learn the identity of the serial rapist who attacked shop worker Trish Winterman and terrorised the picturesque seaside town.
But despair too, as David Tennant’s DI Hardy and Olivia Colman’s DS Miller close their casebooks for the final time.
I will be one of those feeling it — and I will be far from alone.
With more than ten million viewers per episode, it has been one of the most popular dramas in decades.
My elderly relatives have enjoyed it as much as I have, and as a rare treat my wife and I have agreed on the same thing to watch.
For that reason alone, despite its makers saying this is the show’s last outing, it MUST make a comeback.
It has mastered the drama formula and struck TV gold, blending compelling and at times sinister subjects and plotlines with touching and sensitive moments.
And it has been helped by stellar casts — including, this series, Julie Hesmondhalgh as Trish, as well as Sarah Parish and Lenny Henry.
But the sensational pairing of Tennant, 45, and Colman, 43, still deserves the lion’s share of credit.
No wonder creator and writer Chris Chibnall admitted this weekend to having had “a bit of a weep” as he finished the final episode.
So much so, in fact, that he confessed to feeling “a bit of an idiot” for putting an end to the drama.
But he is walking away from his ITV baby for a new job at the BBC, taking the reins of Doctor Who — which needs all the help it can get as viewing figures continue to slide.
In the ruthless world of television, we are well used to seeing favourite shows wrung out for every last drop.
By the time they finally hit the scrapheap, their absence is barely noticed by the handful of remaining viewers. Rarely has a drama disappeared at the peak of its popularity.
Tonight’s episode, insiders promise, will tie up loose ends from all three series of the hit, which first aired in March 2013.
And producers insist there will be no cliff-hanger, no room for a sequel and no hope for fans pining for a fourth series. But TV bosses would be mad not to beg Chris Chibnall for more. They should offer him whatever it takes.
If baking cakes on The Great British Bake Off is worth £75million to C4, and mediocre singing on The Voice reportedly runs to £20million a year, Chris’s talent should see him offered a knighthood, a superyacht and a salary to rival Lionel Messi.
The writer, 46, added this weekend: “There is the resolution of the story of the attack on Trish, which goes to a lot of dark places, but there is also the small matter of saying goodbye to the show and all these characters.”
He added: “There is pressure with every script, but I am really proud of the final episode. Hopefully there are some surprises, but I also hope it is satisfying.
“I think there is a sense of completion and lots of nods to where we started in series one.”
Come on ITV, he needs a bit more encouragement . . . if only for the sake of my marriage.
Meanwhile, my prime suspect as the rapist is creepy cab driver Clive Lucas — and if he isn’t to blame for this one they should lock him up anyway, just in case.
THE BROADCHURCH EFFECT
THERE have been just 24 episodes in four years, but TV smash Broadchurch has had a huge impact on the nation, as KATE JACKSON reveals.
TOURISM
Showcasing the spectacular Jurassic Coast has prompted a 200 per cent surge in visitors to Dorset, particularly the filming locations of West Bay and Bridport. Clevedon in Somerset, whose High Street doubles as Broadchurch’s town centre, has also seen visitor numbers rocket.
HOUSE PRICES
Up by as much as five per cent in the area in which it was filmed. And there has been a surge of online searches for homes in West Bay . . . as well as for the fictional Broadchurch, according to Rightmove.
STARS
Olivia Colman – already a household name thanks to Rev and Peep Show – won a Bafta in 2014 for her role, as well as a Royal Television Society award. David Tennant has won two TV Quick Awards. And he reckons: “Broadchurch is one of the happiest sets I’ve ever been on.” Ex-Corrie actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, 47, has blown away viewers as rape victim Trish this series, prompting whispers of gongs – and proof that there is life after the soaps. And Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who came to our attention as a junior barrister in series two, went on to cause a stir with BBC3’s Fleabag. She is now reportedly in the running to replace Peter Capaldi on Doctor Who.
WRITER
On the back of the hit, Chris Chibnall, who previously worked on Life On Mars and Torchwood, will now be head writer for Doctor Who.
ITV
The start of the third series pulled in 7.5million viewers and a 34 per cent share of the audience – the biggest drama hit for ITV since the final episode of Downton Abbey in 2015. Before that, nine million tuned in to the final episode of the first series, to find out who had killed Danny Latimer. Broadchurch winning the Best Drama Bafta in 2014 was also a huge moment for the network, which had not won the coveted gong since Cold Feet took it in 2002
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