‘EPISODE two will see even more twists and turns than the first’ – that’s the promise from the Broadchurch team.

Producer Richard Stokes spoke to the Bridport and Lyme Regis News after the first emotionally-charged episode aired.

He said the team was ‘delighted’ with the response from viewers.

Twitter exploded, with Broadchurch as the highest trending topic in the UK by the end of the first show.

More than seven million people tuned in and the show pulled no punches in its opening scenes.

Mr Stokes said the reaction was amazing, adding: “It’s been fantastic and lovely to have such a positive response.”

He joked that the first thing a producer did after one episode was to worry about what would happen with the next episode and the anxiety was if people would come back and join them for the second instalment.

The plot of the series has been a well-guarded secret but Mr Stokes said: “What I can say is that episode two will be even more twisted and turning than the first episode. It’s got a hell of a cliff-hanger.”

Mr Stokes said that they couldn’t have started the series with a slow burner; it had to be straight into the story.

To keep the story under wraps the team even kept the name of Matthew Gravelle, who plays Joe Miller, out of the TV guides, so that people wouldn’t know he was a part in the story.

And the Wessex Crown Court filming at Exeter University was disguised by putting a sign up for Wessex Police Station. This was edited out in post-production.

Mr Stokes said the plan was for the audience to be able to ‘enjoy the story as it went along’, rather than knowing any of the twists beforehand.

The series, like any other, was shot out of sequence, and the first day of filming was an emotional rollercoaster.

Mr Stokes said they started by shooting the scene where you meet Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s character first, then did Olivia Colman’s emotional therapy session, before driving to Clevedon.

Of the scene where Olivia’s character Ellie Miller was in a therapy session, talking about Joe, he said: “Olivia’s first scene, she hadn’t played the character for two years.”

After a couple of rehearsals the team started filming and used take two or three, such was the power of her performance.

Mr Stokes said the cast were incredible, adding: “They are all extraordinary actors.”

He thanked all the Broadchurch fans for their support and added: “A huge thank you from everyone that works on the show.

“We had a great summer working in Dorset. It’s a great place to be filming.”