David Tennant revealed the reason that, while filming Broadchurch, he had no idea who the murderer was on the show until right at the end of filming.
The now-iconic ITV detective series is being added to Netflix today, potentially leading a whole new generation of viewers to find the David Tennant drama.
The show follows Tennant as out of town detective Alec Hardy brought into a small Dorset town to try and solve the murder of an 11-year-old boy.
Tennant starred against a number of celebrity names, including Olivia Colman and some huge actors who starred in the show before they were household names, like Jonathan Bailey, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jacob Anderson, and featuring a pre-Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker.
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Broadchurch, now available to stream on the world’s most popular streaming platform, was a huge success among TV critics and fans alike.
As well as developing a cult online following that made it one of ITV’s most successful ever shows, it was met with overwhelming critical praise.
The show sits at an 8.3 on IMDb alongside a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the third season receiving a near-perfect 98 percent.
Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter called the show a ‘thing of beauty’, while Hank Stuever of the Washington Post said in their review: “It's among the best detective shows - and perhaps even among the best dramas - in several years.
“It will break your heart and keep you guessing all the way through.”
One part of what kept fans guessing is how few of the cast had any idea who the murderer would end up being.
Speaking about this on the Inside of You podcast, David Tennant said: “We got a script at the time and we didn’t know where it was going.
“Every time I was in an interrogation scene with a suspect I didn’t know if they’d done it or not so it was genuine, I was genuine.”
Tennant explained that ‘all anyone talked about’ whilst making season one was theories about what they’d thus far filmed.
He added: “The way that it took fire amongst the cast and the crew I suppose was a hint that it might do the same for the audience.”
Speaking to The Daily Record about why this detail was obscured from him, Tennant said: “If you’re playing someone who is investigating a crime and the crime is actually unfolding as you go, from an acting point, that’s very helpful as you can’t second guess.
“When you’re playing those initial interviews with characters and you don’t know what the truth is, you can’t load those scenes with actorly tricks – you have to play it for what it is, which can only make it more real.
“You can be as exasperated about the mystery as the audience is.”
Whilst filming season one, however, Olivia Colman was the only actor to know as she had been told by producers at her audition, leading her to need to hide this from the rest of the cast.
Broadchurch is available to stream on Netflix now in the UK and United States.
Topics: David Tennant, ITV, Netflix, TV, TV and Film
Michael Slavin