My hearty congratulations and commiserations to anyone who has stuck with this latest series of Broadchurch.
It’s not been easy. I have struggled every week and keep hoping we are getting to the last episode so I can relax.
Apparently, that will not happen until mid-April, by which time I may have had to seek help.
At the time of writing, there is still a seemingly endless array of possible suspects in the central rape case and I can’t help thinking anyone who lives in a place where so many evil characters are wandering around should maybe think of relocating.
It has confirmed all my suspicions and prejudices about living in picturesque wee villages and towns.
We have had all the warnings from previous programmes like Midsomer Murders but it seems people never learn.
Without giving away any spoilers, just about every character we have met in Broadchurch has some sort of murky character trait and may have been capable of carrying out such a horrendous crime.
I spent a large part of my childhood in a small village and while there were not many crimes that I was aware of, there was certainly a revolving cast of eccentric characters who provided endless entertainment and fuel for gossip.
It made me have an irrational fear of small communities, which alongside my irrational mistrust of the countryside, has made it impossible for me ever to covet a quaint cottage in an away-from-it-all location.
This may have been why I headed for large, anonymous cities as soon as I left home and would react with suspicion if a neighbour ever attempted a pleasant greeting.
I know Broadchurch is at the seaside rather than a rural hamlet but the same rules apply – don’t trust anyone.