Broadchurch Season 3: Chris Chibnall reveals fake script names and alternate scenes to stop leaks

The new series was written under the title 'Tea & Sympathy'
Coming soon: Broadchurch is back on ITV for a third and final series in February
ITV
Ben Travis16 February 2017

It’s fair to say that the final series of Broadchurch is hugely anticipated by the show’s numerous fans – and that meant there was plenty of secrecy in the making of Series 3.

Showrunner Chris Chibnall revealed the extreme lengths the creators went to in order to keep the plot twists a secret.

For one thing, the scripts were given the fake working title Tea & Sympathy.

“We write very little down, we have codenames, the names of the script aren't even Broadchurch,” Chibnall said.

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“The names of the writer on the front of the script is not even me.”

Instead the scripts bore Chibnall’s ‘Downton name’ – found by taking the name of your grandmother and your primary school.

“Series 2 was written by ‘Phyllis Widney’,” he said.

David Tennant joked that there were “so many passwords to forget”, with all scripts being password protected and watermarked.

Chibnall also hinted that ‘alternate’ scenes were filmed to stop leaks.

“We don’t issue parts of certain scripts, we film alternate versions, and we do all the things you would expect we do,” he teased.

The final series, once again starring Tennant and Olivia Colman, is due to arrive on ITV on February 27.

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