Despite being a bit anti-climactic, it seems that a lot of people tuned in to ITV to watch Broadchurch's final ever episode last week.

In fact, it's officially the most-watched TV show of the year so far, with a huge 11.6 million of you seeing Trish's attacker finally revealed.

Alec Hardy (David Tennant), Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman)pinterest
ITV

That meant it overtook the previous leader Sherlock, which managed a still impressive but not quite as good 11.3 million.

Overall, the third and final series pulled in an average of 10.7 million viewers, which was a 1.5 million increase on series two and 1.3 million on the first series.

So what did those 11.6 million viewers get for their time? (Spoilers for the Broadchurch finale follow.)

Olivia Colman and David Tennant in 'Broadchurch' s03e06pinterest
ITV

Well, our favourite detectives Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) found out that it was actually Michael Lucas (Deon Lee-Williams) who raped Trish (Julie Hesmondhalgh).

Though, in a twist, the culprit had been groomed and was forced into the attack by Leo Humphries (Chris Mason), who had previously assaulted multiple women.

We have to say, we can't quite believe there isn't going to be a fourth outing, but creator Chris Chibnall has ruled it out.

He previously said: "That is it and there will be no more after this one, absolutely," he said.

"It's been an extraordinary journey with the show and [its success] has taken us all by surprise."

Although, let's face it, in this climate of sequels, prequels and remakes, you really never know.

Broadchurch aired on ITV.


Charities that worked closely with Broadchurch series 3 were Rape Crisis England & Wales, and The Survivors Trust.

Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.

Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.


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Lettermark
Tasha Hegarty

Tasha is a freelance writer for with a particular interest in the representation of women in film and TV. After graduating with a Literature degree then journalism qualifications with News Associates a few years further back than she’d like to admit, Tasha began her freelance career.  She’s worked as a writer, editor and commissioning editor for a number of publications including Digital Spy. She is also a theatre critic. LinkedIn