[[foldercontrol]]

!Police Officers
[[folder:Alec Hardy]]
!!Det. Insp. Alec Hardy
[[quoteright:541:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/44cb9fffb6d37e2b831ee63af9e1c37a25bf642e_hq.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/DavidTennant

Hardy is an experienced detective from the city who has recently arrived in Broadchurch, wanting a quiet life after a scandal-tinged work history, after having been involved with a major murder trial — in which the suspect was released free of charge after crucial evidence was lost. Initially he and Ellie are hostile to each other as he was chosen over her to head the investigation and due to their differing personalities and views.
----
* TheAtoner: Hardy is still plagued by guilt over the botched murder trial he was blamed for. When asked why he's in Broadchurch if he hated it so much, he replies it's penance.
* BeardOfSorrow: Season 2 retroactively turns his ever-present facial scruff into one of these; he's shown to be clean-shaven during the Sandbrook investigation, but his failure to prove the murder in court takes a severe mental and physical toll. He still has the beard in Season 3 despite heart surgery and a closed case, so the look seems to have grown on him regardless.
* TheCynic: Hardy has little time for other people, showing no interest in the townspeople as actual townspeople.
* DarkSecret: The scandal that nearly destroyed his career [[spoiler: wasn't his fault, it was the fault of his unfaithful wife]].
* DeadpanSnarker: A fact that doesn't endear him to Ellie initially.
* DefectiveDetective: Hardy's a good detective, but he's heavily burdened by his past mistakes, the public's perception of him and his recurring heart problems.
* {{Determinator}}: Continues to work despite the fact that it's killing him.
* FireForgedFriends: He and Ellie initially do ''not'' get on, with her feeling that he stole her job and him feeling that she's too naive to be a good detective. They gradually grow closer as Ellie becomes disillusioned with her town, and during Series 2 he's her biggest supporter.
* FishOutOfWater: He feels out of place in the small town where everyone knew each other and he was just an outsider. He's also ''absurdly'' awkward at interacting with people in situations that aren't related to his detective work.
* GoodIsNotNice: Hardy has no patience for his coworkers and is barely civil to the townsfolk at the best of times. He outright admits he hates Broadchurch. But he's still quite gentle with the Latimer family, and very supportive of Ellie during Series 2.
* HandicappedBadass: Has heart arrhythmia, which nearly kills him on several occasions; it doesn’t stop him from working around the clock to find Danny’s murderer.
* HiddenDepths: He initially comes off as a sour, hard-bitten detective who cares about nothing more than his job, but he's a bit more human than that.
* {{Jerkass}}: Hardy has almost no concept of tact, especially at the start of Series 1, where he constantly berates Ellie for her naivety.
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Always has his grumpy face on, but actually a lot nicer than he looks.
* KnightInSourArmour: He may present a jerkass facade, but Hardy really does have a lot of empathy both for the victims and their family, and holds firm to his moral values no matter the cost to himself.
* LastNameBasis: prefers this form of address for himself, and also insists on referring to his coworkers by their last name.
* LeadPoliceDetective: He's given this job, though it was supposed to go to D.S. Miller.
* MeaningfulName: Hardy is made of stern stuff. "Alec" is the Scottish form of "Alexander" or "defender of mankind".
* MyGreatestFailure: He lost a key piece of evidence that allowed a murderer to go free. The resulting scandal nearly destroyed his career and has had a massive impact on his health. [[spoiler: It wasn't actually his fault, but he [[SilentScapegoat took the blame]].]]
* NoSocialSkills: On the rare occasion where he makes an effort to socialize, it quickly becomes awkward for everyone involved. He has a poor handle on social cues, and nearly everything he attempts for the sake of being cordial or friendly to others comes off like something he saw on tv or read in a book and is trying to poorly imitate.
* PapaWolf: When [[spoiler: dirty photos of his daughter are spread around her school]], he shows himself to be one of these.
* ThePatientHasLeftTheBuilding: Pulls this twice in Series 1.
* PermaStubble: Gives him the nice scruffy detective look.
* ShipTease:
** With Becca in season 1, where a couple scenes tease they might hook up. [[spoiler: They don't on account of Becca shooting him down point-blank]].
** With Ellie in season 2, with their deepening friendship causing several townspeople to actively start teasing them or making assumptions, and even them ending up in a situation where they ''share a bed in a hotel''. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, their closeness leads the defense team to accuse Alec and Ellie of having an affair in hopes of discrediting them]].
* SilentScapegoat: [[spoiler: His wife's mistake led to the Sandbrook murder case failure.]] He took the blame.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: And ''how''. He's an extremely hard-nosed detective with zero tolerance for bullshit and works obsessively, quickly, and efficiently. Outside of a work context however, he's absolute rubbish at talking to people. During the times he genuinely tries to be friendly, his attempts tend to come off sweet but pathetic: He stutters and stumbles his way through recording a message for his daughter, and when he goes over to the Miller household for dinner he comes armed with wine ''and'' flowers ''and'' chocolates all because he wasn't sure which gift would be the most appropriate. He then proceeds to spend the entire evening looking like he's constantly silently asking 'am I doing this right?'.
* {{Tsundere}}: Type A, with him basically constantly stalking around like he hates the world and snapping at all his peers at work. But when it comes to people he cares about, he really tries; genuinely trying to reach out to his daughter whom he doesn't mince words about how much he misses and offering Ellie a hug when she's having an extremely rough time.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Ellie, eventually. Their relationship is basically constantly a back and forth of yelling, nagging, and scathing commentary, but over time they grow to rely on each other. Doesn't lessen their bickering though.
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: The only time he voluntarily refers to Ellie by her first name in Series 1 is [[spoiler: when he tells her that her husband is the killer]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ellie Miller]]
!!Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller

->'''Played By:''' Creator/OliviaColman

Ellie is Alec's colleague, and has a personal connection to Danny's murder, having been friendly with the Latimer family for a number of years. She has lived in Broadchurch all of her life, and her son Tom, who houses a dark secret of his own, had been best friends with Danny. Ellie is deeply affected by the murder, and resents Alec for taking the job she was promised by Superintendent Jenkinson. She acts as liaison with the Latimer family, relaying information which is given to her, and attempting to piece together the events leading up to Danny's death.
----
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Presented as the sweeter foil to Hardy, it doesn't stop her from beating the ''crap'' out of the killer.
* CharacterDevelopment: in her own words, the investigation makes her hardened; doubly so [[spoiler:when the killer is finally unmasked]].
* FireForgedFriends: With Hardy. Their time working together at first is basically nothing but them gritting their teeth and trying not be in a constant screaming match. They grow closer as the events of season 1 really take their toll on Ellie and Hardy ends up becoming her most reliable shoulder to lean on.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The responsible one to her sister Lucy.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Empathetic and gentle to the townsfolk. The killer, less so.
* HappilyMarried: Says this word-for-word about her marriage with Joe. [[spoiler: Until she finds out he killed Danny though, naturally]].
* TheHeart: Constantly reminds Hardy that he doesn't have to be a jerk ''all'' the time, and was part of the glue of the town before Danny's death.
* MamaBear: Threatens to 'piss in a cup and throw it at him', when Hardy suggests that Tom do the reconstruction of Danny's murder.
** At the end of Series 2, she threatens to kill [[spoiler:the killer]] if he comes anywhere near Tom or Fred.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Delivers this to the killer once the latter's caught. [[spoiler: This becomes a plot point in series 2, when his defense attorney uses it to make it look like his confession was beaten out of him, even though she attacked him after he had already confessed.]]
* TookALevelInCynic: As part of her CharacterDevelopment after [[spoiler:the killer's identity is revealed]]. By Series 2, Ellie is less trusting and questions everyone without exempting anyone from suspicion without proof.
* {{Tsundere}}: Type B, with her harshness mostly directed at Hardy, although this isn't romantic in nature. Ellie is friendly and kind to just about anyone in her everyday life, but because Hardy entered her life by ''stealing her promotion'' (and in general, starts out extremely unpleasant to work with) her attitude towards him runs very negatively. When this starts to change though, she's very reluctant to admit it, and at the end of season 2 when he preparing to leave town, she point blank tells him that she will ''not'' hug him even though it's clear she's very grateful for everything he's done.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Hardy, eventually. Initially she absolutely cannot stand him and he doesn't do anything to endear himself either, so a lot of their relationship gets filled with petty bickering. The bickering never really stops, and neither of them really know what to do for the other when they need comfort, but they end up being each others biggest supports overtime.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Elaine Jenkinson]]
!!Chief Superintendent Elaine Jenkinson
->'''Played By:''' Tracey Childs

Elaine is Alec and Ellie's boss, and tries to settle Alec into life in Broadchurch. Although she is aware of his past, she does not use it against him, and offers him Ellie's promotion in her absence, having been on a family vacation for three weeks. Ellie is furious when she learns Elaine has given her job to Alec, despite being promised the promotion herself.

* DaChief: She's the boss.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She's patient with her detectives and let's them handle the case as they see fit though she does get irritated at all the press leaks. [[spoiler:The TurnInYourBadge moment is both for the sake of the case and out of concern for Alec's health]].
* TurnInYourBadge: Part of the job as DaChief. [[spoiler:She finds out about Hardy's heart problem, and has him looked at. The issue is so severe that he's unfit for duty and she has him leave the force at the end.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Katie Hartford]]
!!DC Katie Hartford
->'''Played By:''' Georgina Campbell

A new detective to Broadchurch in series 3, Katie is an opinionated cop who quickly butts heads with Hardy and Miller.

* BreakTheHaughty: She starts her first big case rather smugly convinced that she knows everything, and gets proven wrong over and over.
* DirtyCop: A downplayed and somewhat sympathetic example. In her desire to keep him safe, she reveals to her father that he's a suspect in what's supposed to be a closed investigation.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Frequently attempts to argue with Miller and acts passive aggressive when she's shut down. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment In her first appearance]], she insinuates Trish is lying about her assault, in spite of her lack of sexual assault training.
* NeverMyFault: She blames her father for losing her job, even though it was her own mistake not reporting the fact that she was related to a suspect to begin with.
[[/folder]]

!The Latimer Family
[[folder: Beth Latimer]]
!!Beth Latimer
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JodieWhittaker

Beth is Danny's and Chloe's mother, and Mark's wife. She works at the Broadchurch Tourist Bureau. She is completely overwhelmed by Danny's death, and struggles to cope, telling Ellie that she is further away from herself than she has ever been.
----

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Beth is incredibly young to have a fifteen- and eleven-year-old. Justified, since [[TeenPregnancy she had her first child when she was fifteen]].
* EnglishRose: Referred to as such by Carolyn.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: She seriously does consider aborting her pregnancy in Series 1, hating it for not being Danny and feeling it to be a parasite on her. Paul Coates and her husband talk her out of it, and she gives birth in Series 2.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: She outlives Danny.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mark Latimer]]
!!Mark Latimer
->'''Played By:''' Andrew Buchan

Mark is Danny's and Chloe's father, and Beth's husband. He is a plumber. After Danny's death, he began desperately grieving for his son, becoming determined to find the killer.
----
* AbusiveParents: Hinted at, and finally revealed in the Series 1 finale, is that [[spoiler: he used to hit Danny]].
* BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible: He is evasive during the police interrogation, because [[spoiler:of his shame about his infidelity]].
* HairTriggerTemper: While he never acts on it, his anger over Danny's death only increases with time. He still hasn't resolved it after the TimeSkip [[spoiler: leading to his separation with Beth.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: To an extent. He has a tendency to let his own emotions eclipse Beth's (something she eventually calls him out on), and often acts on impulse without considering how his choices will affect others.
* TheMentor: To Nige.
* ParentalHypocrisy: he chastises Chloe for her relationship with an older boy - despite having dated and impregnated Beth when she was underage (he 17, she 15).
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: When Paul Coates tries to comfort him.
-->''"Your God left my son for dead!"''
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: He outlives Danny.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chloe Latimer]]
!!Chloe Latimer
->'''Played By:''' Charlotte Beaumont

Chloe is Beth's and Mark's 15-year old daughter. She is a student currently studying for her UsefulNotes/GCSEs. Chloe is overwhelmed by her brother's sudden death, but her relationship with an older boy, Dean, is another source of stress.
----
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: She seems to be this (although the death of her brother is at least a partial cause).
* TookALevelInKindness: By Season 3, Chloe has evolved into one of the nicest and most stable members of the main cast, even taking it upon herself to counsel [[spoiler: Hardy's daughter]] about her troubles at school.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Danny Latimer]]
!!Danny Latimer
->'''Played By:''' Oskar [=McNamara=]

Danny is Beth's and Mark's 11-year old only son, and the victim of the murder.

* DiesWideOpen: As the series finale shows.
* PosthumousCharacter: Seen only in flashbacks (except for the short scene at the cliffs at the very beginning of the series).
* TroubledChild: His relationship with his family - and especially with his dad Mark - was very complicated.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Flashbacks show him getting into physical altercations with adults (i.e. the postman) and [[spoiler:having a...relationship of an unclear nature with an older man]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Liz Roper]]
!!Liz Roper
->'''Played By:''' Susan Brown

Liz is Danny's and Chloe's grandmother, Beth's mother, and Mark's mother-in-law. She is a bursar at the local school that Danny attended. She is completely at a loss following her grandson's death, but manages to be the one who holds her family together.

* [[spoiler: BusCrash: She died between the end of Series 1 and the beginning of Series 2.]]
* [[spoiler: DeathByDespair: How Beth said she died.]]
* TheReliableOne: The only member of the Latimer family to keep her head on at all times.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Latimer]]
!!Lizzie Latimer
->'''Played By:''' Ava Priddis, Millie Priddis (infant), Emily Allison (toddler)

Lizzie is Beth and Mark's youngest child, born after her brother Danny's murder.

* DaddysGirl: She immediately bonded with her father, Mark.
* PosthumousSibling: Lizzie was born six-seven months after Danny's murder.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Mark is the most onboard with Beth's pregnancy, possibly seeing Lizzie as a replacement for Danny. It's initially [[DefiedTrope defied]] by Beth, who thought she couldn't love another baby when one of her children had just been murdered. She eventually comes around though.
* TimeShiftedActor: Lizzie is played by a pair of twins as an infant, and by a different actress as a toddler.
[[/folder]]

!The Miller Family
[[folder: Joe Miller]]
!!Joe Miller
->'''Played By:''' Matthew Gravelle

Joe is Ellie's husband, and Tom's and Fred's father. Joe is a house-husband, but before the birth of his children, was a paramedic. He does his best to support his wife throughout the murder investigation, but appears not to notice his son Tom's strange behavior.
----
* HappilyMarried: To Ellie.
* NiceGuy: Joe is a perpetually calm, supportive and good-natured fellow.
* TotallyRadical: Pulls this with his son. They both laugh it off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tom Miller]]
!!Tom Miller
->'''Played By:''' Adam Wilson

Tom is Ellie's and Joe's elder son, and said to be Danny's best friend, though Tom denies this. He is a pupil in the final year of primary school.

* IWishedYouWereDead: [[spoiler:Said this to Danny after the two had a falling-out and spent most of the series trying to cover up the evidence of the fight]].
* TroubledChild: Death of a friend will do that to you.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fred Miller]]
!!Fred Miller
->'''Played By:''' Benji Yapp

Fred is Ellie's and Joe's younger son. Joe has been looking after Fred since he gave up his paramedic job.
[[/folder]]

!Journalists
[[folder: Maggie Radcliffe]]
!!Maggie Radcliffe
->'''Played By:''' Carolyn Pickles

Maggie is the editor of the Broadchurch Echo. She is furious when her junior reporter, Olly, makes the decision to tweet the identity of the murder victim and make it common knowledge. She is determined to work with the police, and wants Olly to act with integrity as a journalist.

* IntrepidReporter: Hunts down information on both Jack and Susan, in spite of the latter's threats.
%%* TheMentor: To Olly.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She's smart and tries her best to keep the Echo honest and not devolve into intrusive gossip.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Olly Stevens]]
!!Olly Stevens
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JonathanBailey

Olly is Ellie's nephew and a budding reporter for the Broadchurch Echo. An early mistake, in which he tweets the identity of the murder victim, leads the national press to Broadchurch, a decision which alienates him from his aunt, Ellie Miller, and his boss, Maggie.
----
* AmbitionIsEvil: He isn't a bad person per se, but his desperation to make it big in journalism brings a lot of heartache to the town. Thankfully, he has enough moral fiber to start making the right decisions by the end of the series.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: While Maggie has a prominent subplot in Season 3, Olly is nowhere to be seen. Maggie has throw-away line about her only journalist being hired by a national newspaper, but she doesn't mention Olly by name.
* IntrepidReporter: He is determined to get to the bottom of the Latimer case, no matter the consequences.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: It's his article, under Karen's byline, that sets off the lynch mob against [[spoiler: Jack Marshall, leading to his suicide]]. Although he didn't mean to do it, and his article was sensationalized somewhat, it's hard to believe he had no idea what might happen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Karen White]]
!!Karen White
->'''Played By:''' Vicky [=McClure=]

Karen is a high-flying reporter for the Daily Herald, who is determined to get to the bottom of the murder, and to uncover the whole story.
----
* AmbitionIsEvil: She's sick of re-writing press releases and wants to get back into the field, and sees the Latimer case as a perfect opportunity to further her prestige.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Initially she comes across as a rather nice woman who genuinely wants to help the Latimer family, bringing back Danny's teddy bear before it can be stolen by creeps. Later on it becomes abundantly clear that she is mostly in this for herself, manipulating both Olly and the Latimers so she can get ahead of the story(despite knowing the hell the press will bring down onto the town) and sending out an article that drives [[spoiler: Jack Marshall to suicide]]. She also may have been responsible for at least some of the hell Hardy went through, doing her best to smear his name in the Sandbrook case.
* {{Determinator}}: Nothing will stop her from getting a story she likes.
* IntrepidReporter: Like Olly, she's a bold reporter who isn't afraid of consequences.
* PetTheDog: She advises [[spoiler: Ellie]] not to talk to anyone after the fallout of discovering the identity of the true killer.
* TheMentor: to Olly. Crosses over to EvilMentor when she encourages him to write a smear article on [[spoiler: Jack Marshall]] despite knowing full well how the town would react.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Len Danvers]]
!!Len Danvers
->'''Played By:''' Simon Rouse

Len is Karen's boss at the Daily Herald, and is desperate to get an exclusive on the murder before any of the other national papers.
----
* BadBoss: He has no trouble exploiting his employees for his own gains.
* {{Jerkass}}: Rude and callous.
* {{Paparazzi}}: He's a Paul Dacre type, highly immoral and utterly callous in his desperate attempts to beat other newspapers.
* PetTheDog: Despite his prideful jerky nature, he does allow Karen to pursue her story. In a deleted scene he gives Olly some cynical but honest advice about how he should consider employment outside of the dying news agency, and even tells him to stick with Maggie whom he feels is far more competent.
[[/folder]]

!Townsfolk
[[folder: Paul Coates]]
!!Rev. Paul Coates
->'''Played By:''' Creator/ArthurDarvill

Paul is the resident vicar in Broadchurch. He is the first person in whom Beth confides following Danny's death. He also tutored the local computer club, which both Danny and Ellie's son Tom attended.
----
* TheAlcoholic: He attends [[spoiler: AA meetings out of town]].
* BewareTheNiceOnes: One of the kindest and morally upstanding characters on the show. [[spoiler: He's the one who supervises Joe Miller's exile from Broadchurch after his acquittal, even literally walking him to the car. Everyone warns Joe not to return on penalty of mob violence, and Paul seems to have no problem with this threat.]]
-->"After that? You're on your own."
* GoodShepherd: Coates is a priest and the moral center of the town, showing special concern for members of his parish.
* TheInsomniac: Coates has struggled with insomnia for many years and takes long walks at night to help combat it, which initially makes him suspicious in the eyes of the police, as his church is just across the field from the Latimers. This proves to be [[spoiler: ChekhovsSkill when he comes across Tom Miller in the process of destroying his laptop]]
* MirrorCharacter: To [[spoiler: Jack Marshall]], which is likely why he's so sympathetic towards him--they're both hiding from a history of [[spoiler: behaving inappropriately towards a child (Paul hit a child, Jack had an affair with one)]] that could ruin their current careers if it's found out.
* NiceGuy: Probably one of the friendliest, most morally upright characters in the show, [[spoiler:which makes his ShamingTheMob all the more effective]].
* SexyPriest: Young, attractive and trendy.
* ShamingTheMob: In one of his more awesome moments, Coates furiously tears into the busybody citizens of Broadchurch [[spoiler:at Jack's funeral, angry that they have the nerve to attend the funeral of a man who they bullied to suicide]].
* ShipTease: With Becca. [[spoiler:They start an affair in season 2.]]
* TheVicar: Of Broadchurch.
* WhatTheHellHero: He delivers several of these throughout the course of the show, including to Hardy and Broadchurch as a whole, especially with regards to [[spoiler: Jack Marshall's suicide]]. All are well deserved.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Susan Wright]]
!!Susan Wright
->'''Played By:''' Creator/PaulineQuirke

Susan is a local busybody and misanthrope, a former assistant for the Sea Brigade, cleaner and a physical marketing assistant for the local tourist industry. She prefers to observe Broadchurch's day to day business from afar, but takes particular interest in Danny's death, which happened not far from her home.
----
* BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible: Her general attitude: when questioned, she's hostile and irritated. She also doesn't share possible evidence.
* CynicismCatalyst: The [[spoiler:sexual abuse of her daughter and the subsequent investigation in which she was blamed]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Susan used to [[spoiler:be Elaine Jones, who was oblivious to her husband's sexual abuse of her daughter. The resulting investigation was very damaging]].
* HiddenDepths: She has a tragic past.
* {{Jerkass}}: Susan is a rude, irritable loner who stays away from almost everyone.
* PetTheDog: She loves her dog, and refuses to share crucial evidence until the police find it.
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:There's a great deal of time invested in making the audience think she's the killer]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Steve Connolly]]
!!Steve Connolly
->'''Played By:''' Will Mellor

Steve is a telephone engineer, who initially stumbles upon the investigation when he is called to add extra telephone lines in the police station.
----
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never quite clear if Steve is delusional or really does have a 'spirit guide'.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Jack Marshall]]
!!Jack Marshall
->'''Played By:''' Creator/DavidBradley

Jack is the owner of a local newsagent's shop where Danny used to have a paper round.
----
* AcquittedTooLate: When the true facts of his [[spoiler: sex offense come to light, the media and townspeople have already decided to smear him]].
* AgeGapRomance: [[spoiler:When he was 39, he had an affair with a 15-year-old girl just shy of being legal. When he got out of prison, he married her.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: It's heavily alluded to, [[spoiler:but turns out not to be overly dark. He did spend time in prison, but that's as dark as it got.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:By the media who paint him as a monster, drag his name through the muck and finally go after his deceased family. Humiliated and distraught, he kills himself.]]
* HotForStudent: [[spoiler:He had an affair with his student when he was a music teacher.]]
* TraumaCongaLine: [[spoiler:Starting with the police's suspicion of him, Jack is bullied, tormented and humiliated. He even has the memory of his dead family insulted on a national level by the tabloids, and he subsequently commits suicide.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nigel Carter]]
!!Nigel Carter
->'''Played By:''' Joe Sims

Nigel (called Nige) is Mark Latimer's employee at his plumbing firm and is also his best friend. He is very close to the Latimer family, and often helps out with everyday activities such as cooking and cleaning.
----
* DemotedToExtra: Barely appears in Season 3.
* HotBlooded: He tends to act before he thinks. Then again, he doesn't ever get around to the thinking part.
* LaserGuidedKarma: His idiotic fear-mongering and relentless ill-thought [[spoiler: PedoHunt lead to the death of Jack Marshall. Later, he finds himself in the negative spotlight of a scoop-hungry press.]]
* PedoHunt: Instigates one against Jack Marshall, which ultimately [[spoiler:leads to Jack's death.]]
* RedHerring: Like Susan he's framed as suspicious, deflecting the investigation from him, him owning numerous weapons, some secret with Susan which culminates in her identifying him as the killer. [[spoiler: After they find the real killer the detectives note the many similarities he shared with Joe]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Becca Fisher]]
!!Becca Fisher
->'''Played By:''' Simone [=McAulley=]

Becca is the owner of the local hotel, where Alec is staying during his time in Broadchurch.
----
* DemotedToExtra / PutOnABus: After playing a fairly substantial supporting role in the first series, Becca's screen time and relevance to the plot is greatly reduced in series 2, and she is not seen or even mentioned in the third and final series.
* ShipTease: Slightly, with Hardy and the Rev. Paul. [[spoiler: She actually starts an affair with the latter.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dean Thomas]]
!!Dean Thomas
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JacobAnderson

Dean is a sixth form student studying for his A-levels and is also Chloe Latimer's boyfriend. He is two years older than Chloe.
----
* MirrorCharacter: Although he's too dim to realize it, Dean is in a similar situation to Jack Marshall's. Both are [[spoiler:have difficulty dating younger women who are on the cusp of being legal]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lucy Stevens]]
!!Lucy Stevens
->'''Played By:''' Tanya Franks

Lucy is reporter Olly's mother, and Ellie's sister.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: the foolish to Ellie's responsible.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Trish Winterman]]
!!Trish Winterman
->'''Played By:''' Julia Hesmondhalgh

A middle aged woman who finds herself the victim of sexual assault at her friend's birthday party.

* BrokenBird: Was apparently, by all accounts, a social butterfly with numerous friends. The assault breaks her spirit entirely.
* ReallyGetsAround: Which, unfortunately, leads various people to suggest she was TemptingFate.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Her friendship with Cath falls apart [[spoiler: after Trish confesses that she slept with Cath's husband.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Daisy Hardy]]
!!Daisy Hardy
->'''Played By:''' Hannah Rae

Alec Hardy's estranged daughter.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ed Burnett]]
!!Ed Burnett
->'''Played by:''' Creator/LennyHenry

* StalkerWithACrush: His obsessive crush on Trish makes him a prime suspect for her rape.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Clive Lucas]]
!!Clive Lucas
->'''Played by:''' Sebestian Armesto

A taxi cab driver who regularly drove Trish Winterman before her rape.
[[/folder]]

!The Killer
[[folder:The Killer (SPOILERS)]]
!!The Killer (Joe Miller)
->'''Played By:''' Matthew Gravelle

Danny Latimer's murderer.
----
* AccidentalMurder: While trying to stop Danny from telling anybody about them, Joe strangles him to death by accident.
* AffablyEvil: For a child killer, he is a pretty friendly and amiable guy, never dropping the act even after his identity as Danny's killer is revealed and even having the decency to ensure Mark (who constantly blamed himself for Danny's death) that it wasn't his fault and that there was no way he could have prevented Danny's murder from happening. He also appears to care about his family and makes sure his son doesn't take the fall for the murder.
* AgeGapRomance: In his twisted, ill mind, Joe thinks romance and love is what he had with Danny as opposed to him taking advantage of a preteen boy. He later tells Hardy he was 'in love' with Danny.
* BaldOfEvil: Joe is the real killer. This is considered earlier when Nigel is suspected, as they are both bald and have similar builds and shoe sizes.
* BeneathSuspicion: As Ellie's husband, Joe remains off the radar while being very close to the case.
* ChekhovsGun: The £500 and the mobile he gave Danny.
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Joe is a detective's husband who's BeneathSuspicion due to his marriage, innocuous nature and lack of involvement in the case. Joe is basically a background character.
* TheExile: In the series 2 finale, he's acquitted of Danny's murder...but his former friends and family members banish him from the town on penalty of death.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Joe is rather fond of hugs, which makes it rather creepy in hindsight after the reveal that he's the killer, as he gave Ellie a hug in the first episode exactly like the one he gave Danny before he killed him just hours before.
* HiddenVillain: He stays shrouded in mystery until the first season finale.
* IdiotBall: Engaging in a wildly immoral illegal activity even before he kills Danny comes as particularly foolish, but not as foolish as perpetrating a murder when your wife is a cop, and worse, the detective in charge of the investigation.
* ImplausibleDeniability: Pleads "Not guilty" in the trial despite an earlier confession and all the evidence.
* NeverMyFault: Since he killed Danny by accident, he refuses to arcknowldge any responsibility.
* PyrrhicVictory: Joe manages to game the system and gets away with a "Not Guilty," but he is effectively banished from Broadchurch, or else he'll face some very well deserved mob justice; and Ellie tells him point blank that if he tries to see their sons again, she will kill him.
* TwistingTheWords: Danny came to Joe in search for solace and consolation as a close friend to the family; Joe turned it way too far into something creepy and according to Hardy, no one will know if he would had stopped at that before killing Danny.
* WouldHarmAChild: He killed Danny, an 11 year-old.
[[/folder]]

!The Rapist
[[folder: The Rapist (SPOILERS)]]
!!Leo Humphries
->'''Played by:''' Chris Mason

A salesman for his father's fishing business. The rapist of multiple women and Trish Winterman's attacker
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* TheCorrupter: Lures Michael in with booze and porn in order to groom him into a fellow rapist.
* HateSink: Leo is easily the most detestable character in the entire series. He is an [[SmugSnake arrogant bastard]] who raped three women in the past, forced his "best friend" to commit rape, and then tried to frame an innocent man for his crimes. He [[EvilGloating cruelly gloats]] about how empowered rape makes him feel without caring the slightest bit about all the lives he ruined to achieve this pleasure. Overall, he is horrible enough to make characters like [[WouldHurtAChild Joe Miller]] tolerable in comparison.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Is ultimately exposed as a result of a poorly conceived plan to frame Ed Burnett.
* ManipulativeBastard: Convinces Michael that he's a nice guy, has a disturbing degree of control over his girlfriend, and does a decent job of faking remorse when confessing that he helped Trish's ex put spyware on her computer.
* SmugSnake: His cocky attitude leads Ellie to suspect him almost instantly, even when she can't connect him directly to Trish. And in comparison to Joe or Michael, Leo has absolutely ''no'' regrets or qualms about his actions.

!!Michael Lucas
->'''Played by:''' Deon Lee-Williams

Son of Clive Lucas and friend of Tom Miller. The rapist of Trish Winterman.
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* AntiVillain: He was abused by his father and manipulated by Leo Humphries, and he was clearly horrified by what he'd done.
* ChekhovsGunman: Gets a suspiciously large amount of screen time before TheReveal, despite seeming to be a minor character.
[[/folder]]