Reverend Paul Coates
The bookies third favourite to be the killer, nervous vicar Paul has been a bit of an enigma throughout the seven episodes of Broadchurch. He admitted he had struggled to integrate himself into the local community, trying everything to get them to come to church. After Danny's murder, Rev Paul was quick to get himself on TV and become Beth's confidant. He later revealed he suffered from insomnia - so he was probably awake when Danny died, and that he taught IT classes at the local school - so had a direct connection to Danny. On top of that he is a recovering alcoholic, and was seen with his hand on the knee of Tom Miller, Danny's classmate. And on top of that, he also admitted to DI Hardy that Tom had threatened to accuse him of abusing Danny if he handed other a potentially incriminating laptop. The vicar is an intriguing puzzle for sure. The vicar, played by Arthur Darvill, has made regular appearances in every episode of Broadchurch, however is yet to be a key focus of one episode. So in the same way that the focus on Nige last week perhaps rules him out, could it be that Paul's big moment is to come in the final episode? Perhaps in his desperation to reaffirm his own faith and to get people to come to church - which they did after the murder - Paul felt he could justify taking the life of young Danny Lattimer. Or maybe Paul's determination to defend Jack from accusations of child abuse were actually a sign of his own dark character. One thing is for sure, the vicar is not in the clear yet.
Did he kill Danny? There have been plenty of pointers throughout the series to cast suspicion on Reverend Paul Coates, from his troubled past, to his night wanders, to his too-close-for-comfort chat with Tom. Could all these be more red herrings, something apparently so enjoyed by the Broadchurch writers? Or could it be that the local vicar has committed the ultimate sin?
Suspect rating: 9/10