Broadchurch to return for a second series after nine million watch season finale

David Tennant and Olivia Colman as Broadchurch detectives Credit: PA/PA Wire

ITV has confirmed that its whodunit murder mystery drama Broadchurch will return for a second series, after nine million viewers tuned in to watch the season finale.

The eight-part drama which concluded on ITV last night starred David Tennant and Olivia Colman as detectives on the hunt for the killer of 11-year-old Danny Latimer.

Set in the picturesque Dorset town of Broadchurch, the murderer was eventually revealed to be Joe Miller - the husband of Colman's character, Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller.

The new series will go into production next year, ITV's director of television Peter Fincham said:

The first episode of Broadchurch achieved 9.1 million viewers, gaining 31% of the audience share - the highest weekday launch of a new drama since ITV's Whitechapel in January 2009.

Bookmakers even ran odds on who they thought the killer was, Torchwood writer Chris Chibnall who created the series said: