Broadchurch series 2: Drama 'will not turn into Midsomer Murders', says writer Chris Chibnall

Chris Chibnall has given his biggest hint yet about the plotline of Broadchurch series two, promising it will not descend into “Midsomer in Broadchurch”.

The creator of the Bafta-winning drama said the new series will not be a murder mystery but will have a similar tone.

“I promise we do not start with the discovery of another body beneath the cliffs…The feel of the show is slightly different this time… Grief is not our driving emotion this year,” he told Radio Times.

“People have said. ‘Don’t turn it into Midsomer Murders in Broadchurch.’ We have nodded in that direction. It’s not Midsomer in Broadchurch,” he said.

Chibnall added he was keen to continue to weave the thread from the first series that something as hideous as the murder of a child could never have happened.

“I will not betray that. That’s always been my pact with the viewer – this [Danny’s murder] is an unusual event that has massive repercussions”, he said.

He added that there are “more stories to tell”, suggesting that Beth and Mark Latimer, Danny’s bereft parents, might take more of a central role in the second series.

But the writer, who has made all cast members sign a non-disclosure agreement, would not say which roles new cast members Charlotte Rampling, Eve Myles and Marianna Jean-Baptiste are playing.

“They are not grieving relatives, they aren’t the relatives of another body, it’s not another crime case,” he said.

Chibnall’s comments appear to contradict the first trailer for the second series released earlier this month, which hinted that the plotline would focus on the disappearance of young girls in the sleepy coastal town.