The second season of ITV‘s hit drama Broadchurch is gearing up to shoot in Dorset, England. With that, the network and the series producers have now confirmed the returning cast. David Tennant will reprise his role as Detective Alec Hardy and Olivia Colman will be back as Detective Ellie Miller. Jodie Whittaker and Andrew Buchan, who play the parents of murdered schoolboy Danny Latimer, are also returning as is Arthur Darvill as local vicar Paul Coates. As with the first season, secrecy shrouds the plot of S2. Creator Chris Chibnall is exec producing for Imaginary Friends and Jane Featherstone is exec producer on behalf of Kudos. Richard Stokes is back as producer, and James Strong, who directed five episodes of the first season, will helm episodes 1 and 2 of the new series. ITV Director of Drama Steve November said today, “We’re delighted Broadchurch is back in production, but we’re remaining tight-lipped about how the story develops. Suffice to say Chris has delivered as always and the scripts are just as exciting as the first series.” Last year Broadchurch kept UK viewers riveted averaging over 9M viewers. The series became the most watched weekday drama since 2004 and the finale was met with anticipation worthy of “Who shot J.R.?” comparisons. Tennant is starring in Fox’s event series Gracepoint, the U.S. remake of Broadchurch.