Olivia Colman is best known for her comic turns in Peep Show and Olympic satire Twenty Twelve but her current role in ITV drama Broadchurch couldn’t be more different: as a soft-hearted Devonshire detective investigating the murder of a child.
 
“In the script I wasn’t meant to cry as much as I did,” Colman told RadioTimes.com at The South Bank Awards, where Twenty Twelve scooped Best Comedy.
 
“It was so upsetting. Watching Jodie Whittaker and Andrew Buchan [who play the victim’s parents] in particular – they were so amazing. I couldn’t cope.”
 
Colman also revealed that she’d had to step in to defend her co-star David Tennant’s dignity.

“David gets crowds of people wherever he goes and is eternally patient and charming and lovely. I got a little bit defensive on his behalf. He was trying to put a microphone down through his shirt into his trousers, so he was rummaging around and this woman just took a photo right in front of his face.
 
“He was trying to be charming but he had his hands down his pants. I stood in front of him, put my arm out and went, ‘No!’ She was a bit surprised.”
 
The actress assured us she hasn’t abandoned comedy for good, and would especially love to make a sequel to Twenty Twelve. “I’m sure we’re all thinking about doing it but how do we do it? I don’t know...”