David Tennant

The acclaimed crime drama starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman won three BAFTAs and has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with viewers comparing it to ‘Shakespeare writes a detective story’

One of Britain’s most beloved drama series of all time has just landed on Netflix. This gripping crime show scooped three Baftas and has been celebrated as one of the finest productions ever to grace our television screens. The iconic 2013 series Broadchurch has finally made its way to the streaming giant.

The show is a police drama which opens with the murder of 11 year old Danny Latimer, whose body is discovered at the foot of the cliffs.

The tragedy tears apart the tight-knit Dorset community, forcing DS Ellie Miller ( Olivia Colman ) to join forces with newcomer Alec Hardy ( David Tennant ) – despite him having stolen the DI role that was rightfully hers – as they attempt to crack the heartbreaking case.

What follows is a twisting tale of betrayal, suspicion and the dark underbelly of a small coastal town. Unlike conventional cop dramas, this isn’t about high-speed car chases and gun-wielding heroes sprinting through tower blocks.

Rather, it delves into the profound flaws we all harbour, the quiet moments of anguish that accompany unimaginable grief, and the perils of public opinion.

It features one of the most stunning plot twists I’ve ever encountered – and I watch an enormous amount of television. The series is truly an extraordinary experience, with performances that are nothing short of outstanding, reports the Express.

There isn’t a single weak link in the entire cast, and despite being over a decade old, it remains as compelling as ever.

And I’m far from alone in my admiration. Broadchurch boasts a remarkable 94% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating alongside an 8.3 out of 10 on IMDB.

One viewer posted on IMDB: “This is ‘Shakespeare writes a detective story’. It was beautifully done. In no way has he [writer Chris Chibnall] broken the cardinal rule of show, don’t tell.

“Nor has he made the horrible mistake of creating any perfect character. All of them, from youngest to oldest, are wonderfully imperfect human beings.”

A second remarked: “The locations are gorgeous and so atmospheric, and the series is beautifully photographed, fluid and brooding. The music is both haunting and tragic.”

A third added: “Standing out also is the writing. It’s rare to find on television recently to have a series so intelligently written and be so layered and meaty.

“While the pacing is deliberate in places, a lot happens to keep one gripped and ensure that the tension and mystery never slips.”

Doctor Who star Peter Purves is thrilled that fans will finally get to see two long lost Dalek-themed episodes from the 1960s on TV this Easter

Doctor Who star Peter Purves is thrilled that fans will finally get to see two long lost Dalek-themed episodes from the 1960s on TV this Easter.

The actor and presenter, who played Tardis companion Steven Taylor, reckons the classic black and white series is far better than the rebooted modernised version. He said: “It was the golden era. I don’t think the show is a patch on what it was.”

The BBC is broadcasting two episodes from the story The Daleks’ Master Plan with the late William Hartnell as The Time Lord over the Easter holidays. The 12-part story originally went out in 1965 with more than nine million viewers tuning in to watch the wheeled exterminators try to take over Earth.

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But the Beeb then wiped the tapes – believing viewers no longer wanted black and white programmes – and the story has not been broadcast since. Over the years a handful of recordings of the missing instalments have been found and restored. But recently two more episodes – number one and number three – were discovered in a cardboard box in a collection of vintage films. They will finally be aired on BBC iPlayer some 61 years after their original broadcast.

The cast included Purves, who was an actor before he became a household name a few years later thanks to his role as a presenter on Blue Peter. He now claims that the sci-fi show, which launched in 1963, was in its prime back then even though the technology was basic and prompted jokes about wobbly scenery and monsters made from egg boxes.

Purves, 87, maintains that those early stories were more “intelligent” than they have been since the 21 ^st century reboot, featuring the likes of David Tennant, Jodie Whitakker and Ncuti Gatwa.

He said: “I was in it at a time when I think the show, technically, wasn’t very clever. The limitations were in the technology of the time. We didn’t do great sweeping magnificent film sequences.They were very short – we recorded as if it was live. We didn’t stop the tape even if a mistake was made.”

He said that the Tardis “disappearing and reappearing” was as good as the special effects got, at the time. “It was a very different show, but it was led by extremely good scripts,” he explained on The Chatterbox Redux Podcast,. “There are intelligent scripts. They worked on all sorts of levels. And I mean for me, that was the golden age. When they regenerated to Patrick and went to Jon Pertwee, I mean all things then became possible.”

He is less impressed with the modern version. “I mean the whole thing has become so technical and I don’t think it’s a patch on what it was.”

Peter stayed on the BBC show for a year and appeared in ten stories in total. Despite leaving Doctor Who in 1966, Peter revived his character Steven in 2014 for a long running series of audio adventures by Big Finish.

The company started to produce Who-themed stories when the BBC show was cancelled on TV in 1989. Over the years it has attracted a huge fan base as it has brought back many old faces including Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford, Katy Manning, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann.

“I find the television stories less impressive than most of the stuff we’ve done on Big Finish,” he said. “I think there’s some great stories there. I think to my mind better than much of what’s gone on television. Television’s got consumed by the ability of technology to do wonderful things – but the substance is not there.”

Peter first appeared on Doctor Who playing a character called Morton Dill in a six part story in 1965 called The Chase, which also featured The Daleks. He impressed the show’s bosses, because three weeks later he re-appeared in the same story as an astronaut from the future called Steven Taylor, who ended up becoming The Time Lord’s new companion. He laughed: “I think I am the only person to have insulted The Daleks on screen and not been exterminated.”

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The popular crime drama first aired back in 2021 and has featured the likes of Stephen Graham, Jodie Whittaker and Bella Ramsey.

The wait is almost over as the BBC has confirmed a third series of Jimmy McGovern’s BAFTA-winning hit drama, Time, is coming back.

With filming set to begin in Belfast, the broadcaster has announced viewers can expect to see David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran in the upcoming instalment.

This week, the broadcaster shared further casting as Vinette Robinson, Jo Joyner, Daniel Ryan, Warren Brown, Louis McCartney, Ollie McNulty and Chukwubuikem Molokwu will star in the third series.

BBC viewers will also welcome the likes of Ethaniel Davy, Victor Zhao, Paul Smith Junior, Finn Kearns and Jack Barnes.

Set in a Young Offenders Institution, the third series of Time will explore the impact of locking up teenagers and the impact on those who look after them.

A synopsis reads: “Prison Chaplain Marie-Louise comes to the YOI having lost her faith. When tragedy strikes within the prison, Marie-Louise clashes with veteran officer Bailey, a man in the midst of his own crisis.

“Bailey knows more about the circumstances that led to this major incident – but will he come clean before the guilt gets too much?

“Meanwhile, two teenage young offenders, Peter and James, struggle through the terrifying first weeks and months of their incarceration.

“Can James ever face his broken parents after an unforgivable act of violence and will Peter tell the truth about the death of an innocent man, or does family loyalty mean more? An unlikely friendship between them looks to shift the trajectory of their futures, but in an increasingly unstable environment, is change ever possible?”

Sharing an image of the new cast members joining the show in Instagram, it wasn’t long before people commented on the post, sharing their excitement.

One person said: “Fantastic news.” Another wrote: “Can’t wait! Congrats on the casting, amazing announcements.”

Someone else shared: “ANOTHER SEASON OF TIME?!? I’m ready to get my heart absolutely broken yet again.” As one fan added: “A good line-up of actors and actresses.”

Another commented: “Can’t wait for this also great casting!” While someone else added: “Can’t wait for this, Siobhan smashed the first 2 series.”

Time series one and two are available to stream on BBC iPlayer

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