David Tennant Talks Final Season of ‘Broadchurch’

Feb 18, 2017

Posted by: Dawn Johnson

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David Tennant, known to Harry Potter fans as the wily and erratic Barty Crouch Jr., returns for the third season of Broadchurch as DI Alec Hardy. The cast and crew are typically secretive when it comes to the hit show, but Tennant recently spoke about what fans can expect in the final series, the first episode of which airs on ITV, Monday, February 27th.

Tennant joins Olivia Coleman (DS Ellie Miller) for a new case devised by writer Chris Chibnall, which deals with a sexual assault that affects the Dorset community. New! Magazine reports that he told the Scotland Daily Record newspaper of the struggle to handle the storyline well. He said:

“We are presenting something that is very difficult, an awful event in someone’s life and you have to present it realistically, accurately and sensitively…Chris has almost forensically gone about looking at what the support systems are in this country, how they work and the amazing work that they do with victims of sexual assault.”

Tennant told BT.com that although the subject matter and required research was difficult, the script was done in a way that will still appeal to viewers and feel pleasantly familiar. He observed:

“It was clearly very beautifully researched and realized and it was touching and intriguing; a page turner and funny in places but gripping to read.  It was the same world but telling a different type of story and a sense that Chris Chibnall has been able to very fully realize this world again and that it was somewhere you were very happy to be back in.”

That’s good news for fans of the dark drama and Tennant’s character, Hardy. But Tennant is quick to present the reality of where Hardy is when we meet him again. A few years have passed since the end of the previous season, and Hardy’s gone through some things which will be revealed as the story develops. He’s never completely content or optimistic, but he’s grown. He realizes that he’s meant to be where he is, and that understanding gives him a different sense of purpose. Tennant explained:

“So there is a sort of acceptance to him, he is not railing against the world in quite the same way. What he ends up railing against is the perpetrator of this crime and that becomes, as it always has been, his focus, and his focus then becomes trying to understand the person who would commit this crime, trying to get inside their skin and that is something that he struggles with initially.”

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His partner, Miller, grounds him in that process. Tennant notes that Hardy finally acknowledges she’s probably his closest friend, which informs their work together. He’s not shy about pointing out that the success of that on-screen dynamic is largely due to Chibnall’s writing and Coleman’s portrayal. Tennant said:

“I think certainly Chris wrote two characters that made perfect sense and worked very well together and Olivia certainly brought Ellie to vivid life from the first moment she opened her mouth so I have been quite lucky to be on their coattails I suspect.”

It sounds like the new episodes will build on the success and popularity of the previous seasons, having all the essential components of must-see television, excellent writing and acting. And though fans are saddened Broadchurch is coming to an end, Leaky recently reported that Tennant promises a fitting resolution. He is quoted as saying:

“You don’t want to give anything away, but I think [the ending] strikes the perfect note. Certainly in the case of my character and Olivia’s character, it leaves them exactly where you would expect them to be left.”

So take heart, Broadchurch fans, the series will end well, and Tennant even shares your pain in seeing it come to a close. There’s comfort to be had in his commiseration! He confessed:

“It is sad to think we will never return to this world and to these characters because I feel so fondly towards them but I will always feel proud to be associated with this show.”

And if it must end, there’s no better way to go out. That Tennant feels such pride in his contribution and the quality of the series says a lot about it. Tune in to experience the final season of Broadchurch and bid Hardy and Miller an equally-fond farewell!

To read the full New! Magazine report, click here. For the BT.com coverage of series 3, including more comments from David Tennant and his co-star, Olivia Coleman, read here.

 





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