Broadchurch to be adapted into novel

Creator Chris Chibnall will co-write the novel alongside author Erin Kelly

Popular TV crime drama Broadchurch is to be adapted into a novel.

The book will be co-written by the drama’s creator Chris Chibnall and psychological thriller author Erin Kelly.

The novel will elaborate on the existing plot and delve deeper into the lives and backstories of the characters. It will also include “previously unseen material”, according to publishers Little, Brown.

Broadchurch, starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman, became a ratings hit for ITV this spring, attracting 9 million viewers.

The acclaimed drama, written by Law & Order and Doctor Who writer Chibnall, followed a grief-stricken family coming to terms with the mysterious death of their son Tom Latimer.

Chibnall said: “The day after Broadchurch finished, a woman stopped me on West Bay beach and asked me ‘When’s the book coming out?’. Now I have an answer! Even better, we have one of Britain’s best psychological thriller authors at the helm.”

Kelly, whose novels include The Burning Air and The Poison Tree, said she was “thrilled” to be writing the novel alongside Chibnall.

“Like everyone else I know, I was gripped and moved by Broadchurch. I’m utterly thrilled to be writing the novel, not least because it gave me an excuse to watch the whole series again, multiple times,” she said.

“It’s testament to the writing, the performances and the photography that I was spellbound even when I knew the outcome. I can’t wait to delve even deeper into the hearts and thoughts of the characters and to bring the town to life on the page.”

A second series of Broadchurch has been commissioned by ITV following the success of the drama, but Chibnall has refused to give away details about the cast or location.

A US version is also underway, which is due to star David Tennant as an American detective who will lead an investigation on a case of shocking murder that puts a town under scrutiny.