Broadchurch star Matthew Gravelle has revealed that several alternate endings have been filmed for the hit ITV drama’s second series.

The actor, who plays murder accused Joe Miller, confirmed that everything will come to a head for his character, who is in the frame for the killing of youngster Danny Latimer in the small, close-knit Dorset town. He’s just not sure how.

The Welsh actor said: “It’s all wrapped up, but there are very different ways for all of those threads.

“We’ve filmed a few different endings and I don’t know which is real.”

Matthew Gravelle as Joe Miller in the docks
Matthew Gravelle plays Joe Miller who pleaded not guilty in the new series of Broadchurch (ITV)

Matthew, 38, spoke about his take on the shocking first episode of the second series, which saw his character Joe Miller take to the stand to plead not guilty. He described the action, which stirred the courtroom, as a “trapped rat thing” for Joe.

He said: “It’s like ‘Oh, not guilty, I’m going to try it. I’m going to jail anyway, might as well have a last punt.’

“We had it episode by episode, so in episode one that was my instinct. That’s what it is and nobody can point me in that direction, but again, it’s down to the individual to speculate over how and why I might have done whatever I did.”

On playing the alleged murderer and paedophile, Gravelle talked of the “responsibility” he felt over such an important role.

“You don’t want to get it wrong with whoever you’re playing. You try to be as true to somebody who might actually be like that as possible.

“Whatever happens, he’s still ultimately not a good person and you’ve got to try and be sympathetic towards him just to see it from his point of view.”

Matthew revealed he was both “terrified and thrilled” when it was revealed by producers that he was the murderer. Although when asked why he had been cast as the bad guy, he said: “I don’t know if I want to know.”

Voted by the public as the 24th sexiest man in Wales for the year, he admitted that he had to side-step friends and family who asked about his current job when filming the second series, as his appearance was kept top secret by bosses.

He said: “I was being vague. I was just saying I was doing a drama for ITV. A court thing, which wasn’t a million miles from the truth, but it wasn’t going to point the finger at what I was doing.”

Matthew has recently joined Twitter, and said he expects to “hear people starting to form their own theories”, although he remains wary of prospective Twitter trolls.