Broadchurch season 3: David Tennant STILL doesn't know the identity of sexual attacker

The 45-year-old former Doctor Who star returns for the third and final series of Broadchurch as DI Alec Hardy opposite Olivia Coleman, 43, who reprises her role as DS Ellie Miller as they investigate a serious case of sexual assault in the fictional Dorset town.

The victim, Trish, played by former Coronation Street favourite Julie Hesmondhalgh, is attacked at a birthday party and the detectives find themselves up against the clock as they attempt to identify the culprit from the dozens of men present before he commits another violent crime.

Julie, 47, revealed that even the stars of the ITV favourite don’t know the identity of the attacker, saying: “All the cast were beside themselves to find out who the attacker is – as I’m sure viewers will be.

“Some of the theories were pretty outlandish but David made a great guess early on that I think might be right.”

David recently revealed the the lengths that show bosses went to to keep the plot secret during filming.

“Everyone found it rather exhausting,” he told the Radio Times. “We were all issued with different passwords for different things.

“So new bits of script would come through and you’d forget what your password was and have to phone somebody up and prove it was you.

“That drove me mad, if I’m honest. I’d phone up the office and go, ‘I need it on paper, I can’t cope!”

None of the cast were given a final script and every twist and turn – including the identity of the culprit – have been kept top secret.

Here’s everything we know so far about Broadchurch season three.

In the first season, the close-knit community of Broadchurch was rocked by the murder of schoolboy Danny Latimer and the cast of characters all came under scrutiny as Hardy and Miller set about solving the mystery.

Season three begins three years after the trial of the killer, who turned out to be Miller’s husband Joe (played by Matthew Gravelle), which was the focus of the second series.

It will introduce a host of new faces to the star-studded cast, including Sarah Parish, The Fast Show’s Charlie Higson and Lenny Henry.

Broadchurch returns Monday at 9pm on ITV.