<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section's plot summaries may be too long or excessively detailed . Please help improve them by removing unnecessary details and making them more concise . (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section's plot summaries may be too long or excessively detailed . Please help improve them by removing unnecessary details and making them more concise . (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <Table> <Tr> <Th> No . overall </Th> <Th> Episode </Th> <Th> Directed by </Th> <Th> Written by </Th> <Th> Original air date </Th> <Th> UK viewers (millions) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Episode 1 </Td> <Td> James Strong </Td> <Td> Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 4 March 2013 (2013 - 03 - 04) </Td> <Td> 9.07 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> DS Ellie Miller is upset when Superintendent Jenkinson hires Alec Hardy to the DI position Miller wanted . Eleven - year - old Danny Latimer is found dead at the base of cliffs overlooking the local beach . SOCO tells Hardy that the crime scene was altered to look like an accident; and the pathologist reports that Danny was strangled . Karen White, reporter for national newspaper The Daily Herald, arrives in town without her supervisor's permission to try to get an exclusive on the death . Ellie and Joe tell their son, Tom, about Danny's death, and Tom secretly wipes his mobile phone and computer to remove evidence . Olly unwittingly provides Karen with a link to Chloe Latimer, and CCTV footage shows Danny skateboarding down the High Street on the night of his murder . Ellie notes that Danny's smartphone and skateboard were not recovered at the crime scene and are missing . At a press conference at the local school, Hardy asks the public for its help in solving the crime and pledges to find Danny's killer . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Episode 2 </Td> <Td> James Strong </Td> <Td> Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 11 March 2013 (2013 - 03 - 11) </Td> <Td> 9.01 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> The investigation into Danny's death takes an unlikely turn when Mark becomes a suspect after providing an unbelievable alibi . It is not clear what Mark is trying to hide . Meanwhile, Beth breaks down in the supermarket, and she confides in the Reverend Paul Coates that she is pregnant . Coates sees it as his duty to try to comfort the community . Ellie and Hardy are at odds over Ellie's refusal to distrust everyone in town . Telephone worker Steve Connelly surprises Hardy and Ellie by saying he has information about Danny's death . Police discover cocaine in Chloe's bedroom and £ 500 under Danny's bed . Attempting to remove suspicion from her boyfriend, Dean Thomas, Chloe reveals that hotel owner Becca Fisher has been dealing drugs . In order to keep her hotelkeeper's licence, Becca accuses Dean of being a drug dealer . The audience learns that Susan Wright has the skateboard stashed in her caravan . Chloe conspires with Dean to keep his drug - dealing activities from becoming known . Newsagent Jack Marshall reveals that he saw Danny having an argument with a postman a few weeks back, but the postman denies any altercation . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Episode 3 </Td> <Td> Euros Lyn </Td> <Td> Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 18 March 2013 (2013 - 03 - 18) </Td> <Td> 9.65 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Mark is again questioned by police . Hardy and Ellie find blood on Mark's fishing boat, and Mark's fingerprint in a summer house near the crime scene . Mark claims he fixed a burst pipe there, but summer house caretaker Susan denies he did so . Nigel Carter attempts to support Mark's alibi, but his effort fails . Steve convinces Beth that he has a spirit - message from Danny . Steve says Danny was killed in a boat by someone close to the family . Tom is questioned by Hardy, and reveals that Mark struck Danny . The audience learns more about Hardy's illness, and Beth considers Rev. Coates' proposal for a memorial service . Chloe asks Becca for help in clearing her father, Mark . Becca tells the police that Mark was having sex with her the night Danny died . Mark is released . When Mark refuses to tell Beth where he was the night Danny died, she all but accuses him of killing their son . Mark storms out to meet Becca; Beth follows, and discovers his infidelity . Karen sheds some light on Hardy's past, and reveals she wants to discover Danny's killer because of Hardy's failure to do so in the Sandbrook case . A boat is found burning at sea . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Episode 4 </Td> <Td> Euros Lyn </Td> <Td> Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 25 March 2013 (2013 - 03 - 25) </Td> <Td> 9.42 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Olly discovers that Jack was jailed for sex with a minor years before he moved to Broadchurch . The police hold a public meeting to discuss the case, after which Steve confronts Hardy about the accuracy of his psychic information . Karen tells the Latimers that national press attention will help their case, and they agree to help her write a story . Olly reveals his information about Jack to the police . Susan confronts Nigel about a connection they share, and he angrily tells her to stay away . Hardy and Ellie question a defensive Jack about his sex - offender past . Echo editor Maggie Radcliffe discovers that Susan may really be someone named Elaine Jones, and Susan threatens Maggie in return . Hardy and Ellie disclose that Steve is a convicted criminal, and the Latimers cut Steve out of their lives . Hardy and Ellie question Rev. Coates, who discloses Danny and Tom's interest in computers and that he has no alibi . Olly confronts Jack publicly about his sex crime . Nigel, who witnesses their argument, tells Mark . After a pleasant dinner with Ellie and Joe, Hardy heads home and passes out on his bathroom floor . Hotel owner Becca takes him to the hospital, but Hardy checks himself out and returns to work on the case . News media coverage of Danny's murder backfires, and a horde of national press descends on Broadchurch and invades the Latimer's privacy . The memorial service is held . Jack arrives at the Latimer household with Danny's cell phone, and tries to convince them that he is not the killer . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 5 </Th> <Td> Episode 5 </Td> <Td> Euros Lyn </Td> <Td> Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 1 April 2013 (2013 - 04 - 01) </Td> <Td> 8.81 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Beth confronts Mark and then Becca about their adultery . At Karen's suggestion, Olly writes a national news article about Jack's past . Mark confirms the cell phone is Danny's, but Ellie says Danny also owned a smartphone--which is still missing . Lucy Stevens, Ellie's sister, asks for money in return for information about Danny's murder, but Ellie refuses to give it to her . Olly and Karen have sex . Jack is harassed after his criminal record hits the newspapers, but his hatred of police leads him to decline to help Hardy and Ellie clear his name . Dean tells Chloe how Jack hugged and touched him and other boys in the Sea Brigade, and the Echo prints the allegations . The harassment against Jack worsens . Susan makes contact with Ellie's son, Tom, and Mark becomes aware of Chloe's relationship with Dean and confronts her about it . Nigel attempts to bribe Susan to leave town, but she declines the money . A mob attacks Jack at the Sea Brigade hall . Mark stops them and confronts Jack, who reveals he had an affair with a 15 - year - old girl, for which he was imprisoned . They married when he was released from jail, and had a son . The son died at the age of six in an automobile accident caused by Jack's wife, and the couple divorced . Mark advises Jack to leave Broadchurch for his own protection . Olly reports that his family's boat is missing, and Beth and Mark begin to reconcile . Jack's car is vandalised, and news of his past makes the national papers . Jack commits suicide by jumping off the same cliff where Danny's body was found . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 6 </Th> <Td> Episode 6 </Td> <Td> James Strong </Td> <Td> Louise Fox & Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 8 April 2013 (2013 - 04 - 08) </Td> <Td> 8.95 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> With leads growing cold and the budget tight, Jenkinson scales back the murder investigation . At Jack's funeral, Rev. Coates accuses the town of failing an innocent man . At Jack's wake at the Trader Inn, Hardy sees Coates suspiciously touching some boys . Beth asks Karen to arrange a meeting with one of the parents in the Sandbrook case, to help her overcome her grief . Tom angrily tells an astonished Chloe that he was not Danny's best friend . Hardy discovers that Coates is a recovering alcoholic, and Danny's hair and prints and paint chips from his skateboard are found on the burned boat . Olly provides a list of those who used the boat recently, and Hardy confronts Coates over his alcoholic past and a previous assault on a child . Beth meets with Cate, the mother of one of the murdered girls from the Sandbrook case, and Chloe has a rough time on the first day back at school . Beth learns of Chloe's relationship with Dean, and Rev. Coates provides a DNA sample to police while accusing Hardy of suspecting everyone and having no faith in mankind . At the Broadchurch Echo, Maggie learns the truth about Susan . Susan meets Tom, and gives him Danny's skateboard . Ellie's discovery of the skateboard leads to Susan's arrest . Nigel steals Susan's dog, the Latimers have a normal day out, and Rev. Coates catches Tom destroying his laptop . A break - in at the summer house leads Hardy and Ellie on a footchase with an unidentified suspect . Hardy collapses from the exertion and suffers a heart attack . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 7 </Th> <Td> Episode 7 </Td> <Td> James Strong </Td> <Td> Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 15 April 2013 (2013 - 04 - 15) </Td> <Td> 9.56 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Hardy refuses to be hospitalised and continues with the investigation, despite warnings it could cause his death . Jenkinson advises Hardy he will be invalided off the force in 24 hours . Ellie links Susan to Danny's murder through cigarette butts at the crime scene . Susan claims she saw Danny's body on the beach during a late - night walk, and tells Ellie her life story . Maggie learns of Hardy's collapse, and Hardy contacts Steve in a desperate attempt to solve the case . Maggie and Olly blackmail Hardy into giving them an exclusive or they will publicly reveal Hardy's health problems . Beth and Mark seek counseling from Rev. Coates, and debate whether to keep their baby . Ellie confronts Susan, who claims she saw Nigel arrive in a boat and leave the body and skateboard on the beach . Nigel is arrested and the dog is found . Susan reveals that Nigel is her son, and she believes he's a child murderer like his father . Nigel says he went hunting the night Danny died, and admits to cutting a fence and stealing fuel while out (as seen in episode one). Susan and Nigel are released . Hardy learns Danny's smartphone was used to report the summer house break - in . Reverend Coates tells Hardy that Tom and Danny were not getting along and gives Hardy the smashed laptop he recovered from Tom . Hardy meets for an interview with Maggie and Olly, and confesses that his ex-wife was responsible for the loss of evidence that led to the collapse of the Sandbrook murder case . Hardy says he took the blame to protect their teenage daughter . Nigel escapes police surveillance and threatens Susan, who leaves Broadchurch later that night . At dinner, Dean tells the shocked Latimers that he accompanied Danny and Nigel onto the estate late at night to hunt animals . Nigel, he says, told him that Mark knew of and condoned these trips . Size ten footprints are found at the summer house, Hardy asks Ellie about a fight between Tom and Danny, and Ellie gives Hardy access to Tom's computer . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 8 </Th> <Td> Episode 8 </Td> <Td> James Strong </Td> <Td> Chris Chibnall </Td> <Td> 22 April 2013 (2013 - 04 - 22) </Td> <Td> 10.47 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> It's Hardy's last day on the job, and the Millers cannot find Tom's laptop . Ellie pays Lucy £ 1,000 to learn that Lucy saw a man place a bag of clothes into a skip the night Danny died . Nigel is found and re-arrested . With Joe present, Hardy interviews Tom about the laptop and about emails Danny exchanged with Tom and another person . Danny's smartphone is reactivated, which leads Hardy to the killer: Joe . Joe confesses to killing after the boy threatened to expose the inappropriate attachment Joe had with him, and he accidentally strangled him to death in a blind rage . In a flashback, the audience sees the events of 59 days earlier, when Joe killed Danny . Joe says he called from the summer house to confess to Hardy, but Hardy brought Ellie as well . Not wanting to confess in front of his wife, Joe ran . Hardy informs Ellie, who confronts and attacks Joe in a rage before being restrained . The aftermath of Joe's confession is shown: Ellie moves into a hotel with her children; Hardy works with the investigative team and Karen on the press conference announcing the killer's capture; and Hardy tells the Latimers about Joe . Mark confronts Joe through a cell door, and Beth accuses Ellie of covering up her husband's complicity . Ellie and Hardy then discuss Joe's psychological problems . The Latimer family holds Danny's funeral . That night, beacons are set alight all along the beaches and cliffs of Dorset near Broadchurch in memory of the slain boy . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> No . overall </Th> <Th> Episode </Th> <Th> Directed by </Th> <Th> Written by </Th> <Th> Original air date </Th> <Th> UK viewers (millions) </Th> </Tr>

Who was the murderer in the first broadchurch