Broadchurch: The Final Farewell - A spoiler-free review of the Bridport screening and Q&As

Bridport's Art Deco theatre, the Electric Palace, arguably hadn't seen a queue like this on a Monday night for some time. Snaking far along the street outside, long before the doors opened, such was the determination of Broadchurch fans and locals to grab a seat in the best spot to watch the last ever episode of the show, which had been filmed primarily in and around the Dorset market town. Appropriately, this was a fundraiser for Dorset Rape Crisis and The Shores (Dorset SARC).

Bridport and its coastal community West Bay have been benefiting from 'The Broadchurch Effect' since the show became a ratings and critical hit for ITV in early 2013. The second series finale was screened at the Electric Palace following a concert by the show's Icelandic composer Olafur Arnalds in 2015 and it seemed only right that the show that had adopted the town (or has the town adopted the show?) would spend its final hour in the company of friends and family.

Chris Chibnall, creator, writer, show runner and absolute top guy (he has a 'no wankers' policy in the workplace - amen to that!) introduced the world premiere of a 20-minute documentary that will feature on the DVD boxset. And then the episode started... 20 minutes early! Displaying the universal hand signal of 'cut!', Chris and his producers jumped in to stop the episode being screened ahead of the real-time broadcast. Imagine if the audience found out who the mystery assailant was ahead of time!

Time for a final pint or chat with the crew and then it was the live feed at 9 PM. The commercial breaks are all part of the show, giving Chris and his team the opportunity to throw in cliffhangers, and it was great fun sitting in a crowd that audibly gasped as the plot twists were finally revealed - no spoilers here if you haven't seen it yet.

Photo (c) James Dawson

The panel then took to the stage, interviewed by ‘real life Maggie’ Maddie Grigg (she used to edit the local paper The Bridport and Lyme Regis News). She was joined by Chris Chibnall (creator and show-runner), Jane Featherstone (Executive Producer), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Trish Winterman), Andrew Buchan (Mark Latimer) and Arthur Darvill (Rev. Paul Coates)

Chris immediately thanked the audience for the support and welcoming arms that the community has shown the show over the three seasons. He related how the people in Waitrose were telling him that ‘Trish’ and ‘Mark’ had been in the shop earlier that day, such is the identification that people have with the characters rather than the actors. “It was on the front page [of the papers]! I can't process anything of what's happened - you feel like you're in the eye of the storm."

Julie had stayed the previous night in West Bay with her husband and was soaking up the ‘Broadchurch effect’. Chris then went on to praise the work of the real Rape Crisis Team, making then stand and take a bow. He relayed how they had worked closely throughout the production and had given him their blessing to tell such an important story, including the detailed procedures of the aftermath. “They are the people that deal with this every day and make a difference to people’s lives.” Julie fully understood the responsibility she was taking on with the role and has become the patron of Dorset Rape Crisis.

“We must keep the pressure up…these services are being massively cut… Change does not come from above, it comes from the ground, from people working at the coal face…what they’re doing is incredible,” she stated to a full round of applause.

Reference was made to the final shot of the series which zooms in past Hardy and Miller and across the sea towards the cliffs. Chris had this shot in mind from the outset and it’s the advent of drone technology that has made this possible. Of his most memorable moment in the show he was particularly impressed with the night-time vigil in Episode 7 where local women poured onto West Bay quayside at a cold 2 AM in support of Trish (possibly some were in the audience?)

As to the use of certain locations for this series, Chris reveals it wasn’t just about having a canny location manager – Trish’s house was located in West Bexington because that’s where Chris’ acupuncturist is, and the waterfall scene of the crime was first discovered by his wife at Little Bredy. Andrew confirmed that it was indeed him floating in the water at the end of Episode 7, but that it was carried out in a sheltered bay in Bristol where they had to create waves, but still requiring him to spend four hours in the water. A personal highlight? “Probably every single second with Jodie Whittaker,” his screen wife Beth.

Asked whether such serious matter makes for a depressing filming experience, Arthur Darvill clarifies: "It's actually quite the opposite! It's a real joy to turn up. We take it very seriously, but in-between everything, the most bleak moments, we become a real family.” Chris reveals that Jodie Whittaker ordered a life-size cardboard cut-out of Arthur from the internet as Rory from Doctor Who. Somehow it ended up in Olivia Colman’s hotel bathroom and it was last seen, in half, by the bins. Such is the fickle nature of showbiz!

I ask Andrew and Arthur whether at any point in series 1 or 3 they thought they might be the murderer or attacker. “No, we had no idea!” reveals Andrew. “In series one I was getting quite worried. There was a window during the night that was unaccounted for. David Tennant's character says 'Where was Mark between 1 and 4?' and I thought: ‘I hope that’s not going the way I think it’s going!' In this one [Series 3] Again I didn't know, but this time I felt pretty certain it couldn't be me - we couldn't put the Latimers through any more.”

Arthur adds: “When we did the first series almost no-one knew whodunit when we filmed it. There was a moment when people turned up to set to announce it and we said: ‘Please don't tell us - we want to read it.’” Andrew jumps in: “On the day you [Chris] came down to set to announce it, I happened to be away in Southampton doing voice-over and couldn't attend, so it wasn't announced; people thought: ‘It's Andy!'”

As to what control the producers have over the adverts shown in the commercial breaks, Chris clarified they have none – there was a concern from one audience member that one ad in a previous episode had objectivised women. One audience member asked Chris what he was up to next, oblivious that he’s about to be taking on the running of one of the biggest jobs in the world - Doctor Who.

One audience member was concerned that the scene where Beth meets Trish in the Watch House Café at West Bay was an unrealistic setting for a discussion about a serious assault, but Chris was adamant that this was realistic. “Because that's what happens. If you speak to our team over there they'll tell you the first meeting has to happen in a public place. It was absolutely based on research. Also, cinematically, you have the cliff, which is the shadow that is haunting Beth outside of the window as she's talking to Trish.”

Inevitably, Chris declined to answer whether Julie would make a great Doctor Who – this was probably his last chance to talk about Broadchurch before moving on to his new job. Of the question he said: "I'm not going anywhere near it. But thanks for trying!" he quipped.

And after nearly 40-minutes of questions, the cast and crew said goodbye to their adopted town, nearly five years after filming began. Happily posing for selfies and signing cast postcards, there was a real sense of pride from all involved, as well as the end of era. Pockets of change were also emptied into the collection buckets at the exit doors. We’d only paid £5 a ticket, and for such a great evening these worthy organisations deserved so much more.

I joked with Chris that his next challenge was to set a Doctor Who story along the Jurassic coast. “Wow!’ he laughed. “Now THAT would be a challenge. I’ll let you know how it goes!”

Find out more about the inspiring work being done by Dorset Rape Crisis and The Shores.

Ólafur Arnalds - The Bridport homecoming gig

On 23rd February, Icelandic composer, multi-instrumentalist and music composer Ólafur Arnalds descended on the small Dorset coastal resort of Bridport. The previous night he'd filled the main hall at London's Barbican and yet he specifically requested the 500-capacity 1920s cinema/arts venue be included on his latest tour, which also takes in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. The reason? This was his homecoming gig, and yet this wasn't his actual home. But if anyone can claim to have given a town a theme, a soundtrack for its scenery, it's Arnalds. 

By scoring two series of ITV's popular crime drama Broadchurch, the composer has indelibly etched his mix of weeping string quartet, dissonant trombone, wayward horns and keyboard/piano on this stretch of Jurassic coast. Walk along the quay or up the steep incline of the cliffs up from West Bay and it's Ólafur's beautiful compositions that you'll hear, and that's why hundreds of locals and fans dragged themselves out on a cold and wet Monday night. Of course, the added attraction was the way that the gig had transformed itself from being just a date on the tour to being a local première of Broadchurch's season finale. 

Coincidence or just serendipity? Whatever the reason, the opportunity was taken to show the last episode on the big screen, with the added glamour of series star Jodie Whittaker introducing it. 

Series creator and writer Chris Chibnall was also to hand, taking the opportunity to get a live audience reaction to the cheeky twists and turns he'd added to the episode - ITV News was also on hand to capture the audience's shock/awe/screeches.

But the screening, celebrity intro and media interest were just the icing on the cake. The main event was Ólafur's wonderful music and he didn't disappoint with a set of nearly 90-minutes, carefully leaving time for the stage to be struck in time for the 9 o'clock screening. 

Primarily drawn from his Broadchurch scores and album For Now I am Winter, the latter includes collaborations with vocalist Arnór Dan, who also appeared on stage to perform tracks from that album, as well as So Close and So Far, the end credits songs on Broadchurch. Both Olafur and Arnór made light of the fact that only a few seconds of the tracks are heard on screen before the continuity announcer cuts in. So here was the chance to indulge in both songs in full without the interruptions.

Arnalds also played a track from the finale we were about to watch, and while it was possible to pick it out during the episode, it was competing with the on-screen drama. What we got here wasn't quite Broadchurch unplugged but Broadchurch uninterrupted - pure music without all the acting, sound effects and scenery. 

The last regular piece before the encore was Beth's Theme (or Jodie's Theme, as Olafur renamed it for that night in honour of his guest). Its simple melody, underscored by the melancholy strings, is the very heart of the show's soundtrack. Grief, loss and the stirrings of hope all come through. It's the score's highlight and goosebumps mingled with sobs as the sheer power of it enveloped the enchanted audience.

Hopefully not a one-off - Olafur said he'd like to return - this was a unique event. The composer has conjured sonic alchemy - he has turned some rock into music gold. Few towns can boast their own soundtrack, Bridport and West Bay have never had it so good.