Broadchurch: who are the suspects?

Broadchurch series three has returned with a gripping new case, with local resident Trish Winterman (Julie Hesmondhalgh) the victim of a horrific attack.

As we reach the final episode, we look at the suspects. SPOILERS follow.

Ian Winterman (played by Charlie Higson)

<img class="wp-image-365876 align size-landscape_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--full no-wrap js-lazyload" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2017/08/131950.d8691831-6bb7-4d7b-bef1-53ea0f30bb64.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C374" width="620" height="413" alt="" title=""> Ian started out as Broadchurch’s most obvious suspect – and so naturally we dismissed any chance of him actually committing the crime. But over the course of the series he’s gone from “easy to rule out” to someone altogether more sinister…

Let’s examine the evidence. Firstly, we know the story he fed the police was a pack of lies (and frankly we’re concerned it’s taking them so long to figure that out). He claims he had too much tequila and blanked out, unable to account for his whereabouts during the time Trish was attacked. He’s also refused that DNA sample and was clearly concerned enough about that heap of dirty clothes he was wearing to give them a timely wash.

And then it emerged that he’d installed spyware on Trish’s laptop so he could keep an eye on the ex-wife he’s still more than a little obsessed with. He’s clearly keen to reconcile but Trish appears to have moved on – could his desire have overpowered him on the night of Cath’s party?

There’s just one piece of the puzzle that doesn’t fit: Trish claims she could smell vodka on her attacker’s breath – could Ian’s penchant for tequila get him off the hook?

Next page: suspect number two

Jim Atwood (played by Mark Bazeley)

<img class="wp-image-365878 align size-landscape_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--full no-wrap js-lazyload" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2017/08/131951.d9c725e7-2bc3-4812-84e6-4b82e8b3bd74.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C374" width="620" height="413" alt="" title=""> Cheating Jim slept with Trish on the morning of the party, a story corroborated by the woman herself, which explained why his DNA was found on her body. (And if he thought his wife would be furious, he probably didn’t bank on the violent comeuppance meted out by Trish’s biggest fan Ed Burnett.)

But, crucially, Cath claims that he was nowhere to be seen during the last two hours of her party. Now, there’s no love lost between the pair (even before Cath found out about Trish) so there’s a possibility she is seeking revenge on her adulterous spouse. But Jim has since admitted to having it away with a waitress in the woods during the party – or at least he tried to before she stopped him from finishing the act. A horny Jim wandering around the woods – did he come across vulnerable Trish?

And could he have been behind the other two attacks? Cath has confirmed he was home alone over both dates and it was a breakdown service that Nira called before she was assaulted in a field after abandoning her car.

Jim was also spotted (albeit by Lucas) having a heated discussion with Trish, he has a supply of fisherman’s twin, a stash of condoms in his car’s glovebox – a make that matched the wrapper retrieved at the scene of the crime – and is one of many possible owners of the football sock which is going to crack the case.

All the maths adds up – but is that a reason to assume his innocence? After all, when has a whodunit ever been spelled out so clearly before the big reveal?

Next page: suspect number three

Aaron Mayford (played by Jim Howick)

<img class="wp-image-365880 align size-landscape_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--full no-wrap js-lazyload" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2017/08/132966.fe405478-4bfb-4089-bb41-8af7c1e52e8b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C374" width="620" height="413" alt="" title=""> Episode four saw the Broadchurch cops discover a convicted sex offender had moved back into the local area and, by all appearances, Aaron Mayford is a nasty piece of work.

He revealed the extent of his creepiness when he climbed into PC Katie Harford’s car – and we know he was lying through his teeth when he claimed to be fishing on the night of the party. That story wasn’t even close to checking out.

Still, it seems that Broadchurch has all but forgotten about mackerel man – he was absent from last week’s episode as Hardy and Miller zoned in on more familiar suspects. Surely Aaron won’t be shoehorned back into the story at the eleventh hour?

However creepy he is, we’re not convinced he’s the man.

Next page: suspect number four

Ed Burnett (played by Lenny Henry)

<img class="wp-image-365882 align size-landscape_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--full no-wrap js-lazyload" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2017/08/131956.af4732a6-3de0-45ce-86d1-13a02b16c006.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C374" width="620" height="413" alt="" title=""> Episode six painted Ed Burnett as a safe bet. His obsession with Trish, the grass stains on his suit, the twine in his pocket – it all added up.

But Ed’s feelings for Trish seem more like a misguided but harmless attachment rather than a sinister fixation. And his dirty suit could feasibly be the result of a tumble down the hill after his showdown with Jim Atwood who he’s since beaten the stuffing out of after finding out about his tryst with Trish.

Until his arrest, Ed appeared to be teetotal which would rule him out as Trish could smell alcohol on her attacker’s breath. But the end of episode seven saw him hitting the bottle again – is it out of the question that he could have done the same on the night of Cath’s party?

And then there’s the twine he found and showed to his copper daughter, Katie, sitting in the farm shop bag we saw swiped from the crime scene at the start of the series – was it planted to try and frame Ed? Was it there during the police search or has it been put there since? Or is he reporting it in an attempt to feign innocence?

There are still plenty of question marks next to Ed’s name but the treatment of his character seems to have shifted of late. He’s no longer at the heart of Hardy and Miller’s hypothesis…

Next page: suspect number five

Clive Lucas (Sebastian Armesto)

<img class="wp-image-365886 align size-landscape_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--full no-wrap js-lazyload" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2017/08/131958.a65eed98-272a-4918-bee9-17805c55042d.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C374" width="620" height="413" alt="" title=""> We knew the taxi driver was a wrong-un from the moment we saw him, eyeing Miller and Hardy up with a sneer from his cab in episode one. But episode two brought us news that he and Trish once went on an “accidental” date – although it sounds like the young chap was the keener of the two. “I had to turn him down,” Trish told the cops, looking a tad embarrassed.

So far, so shifty… and then came the revelation that suspicious Lucas was operating off-radar for much of the evening of Cath’s 50th. According to the cabbie, his radio was on the blink, but it was functioning “clear as a bell” when he was interviewed by Miller and Hardy a few days later.

Episode three saw him caught lying to the police, before claiming he’d fabricated his story because he’d picked up a fare he shouldn’t have and wanted to cover his tracks. But we’d bet good money he’s still telling fibs.

And then there’s that drawer of trophies. Are they reminders of his victims? And why does he have Trish’s keys and the sets of two others? Now his wife has clapped eyes on them, will Lucas’s collection come under scrutiny from the cops? Or will he find a means of silencing her?

Next page: suspect number six

Leo Humphries (Chris Mason)

<img class="wp-image-365890 align size-landscape_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--full no-wrap js-lazyload" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2017/08/131961.738570ec-d561-4955-a3a5-d954dd1a033e.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C374" width="620" height="413" alt="" title=""> It took the police a worryingly long time to check out the alibi of the ‘manager’ of rope and twine suppliers Humphries – and when they did, it checked out. But the audience already knew that Leo’s girlfriend was fibbing and, from the look on Ellie’s face, the cops had twigged, too. And don’t forget Leo is a friend of creepy cabbie Lucas…

He managed to remain above suspicion for a good long while but he was living on borrowed time. The coppers were bound to catch up with him at some point and, despite his best efforts, Ian eventually had to dob him in.

Faced with a police interview, Leo transformed from cocky to contrite as he admitted to installing the spyware on Trish’s computer and added that he had attended Cath’s party after all.

He’s certainly the owner of a football sock – we’ve seen him play on the local team – but does the incriminating item of clothing belong to him? It’s certainly feasible…

Got a Broadchurch theory? Share it in the comments box below…

Broadchurch: who are the suspects?

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