Those who have followed Broadchurch tend to search for similar shows out there to find the same experience. What’s unique about this series, though, is that a lot of the supporting characters are very unlikable, making pretty much anyone a villain due to their actions.
While some were outright antagonists, there were others whose bad decisions caused a lot of pain. In addition, certain characters were simply disliked due to them being awful people in general. To this end, this list has included supporting characters who were innocent as well as those that were outed as villains. Let’s see who were among the most hated of the bunch.
Lee Ashworth
Everything about this guy was shady from the moment he was introduced. He did turn out to be one of the antagonists, although fans hate him more for his abusive and slimy nature. Lee had a destructive relationship with Claire, which resorted to complete violence.
More than anything, it was his killing of the 12-year-old Pippa that takes away any kind of humanity he might have had. From that heinous act to cheating on his wife with a teenager, Ashworth deserves all the hate he gets.
Claire Ripley
Claire was even worse than Lee, as she strung Alec around for years and made him believe she was the victim. She also manipulated Ellie in her depressed state and was the one responsible for the death of Pippa. What’s more, she then tried to deflect all this blame to Alec.
Fans generally despise her for being able to manipulate even the viewer to consider as the innocent party, playing the victim perfectly and descending further into her villainy. The only thing anyone might have liked about her was watching her get her just desserts.
Abby Thompson
There was no depth to this character, nor any hidden details from the series to make one like her. In fact, the show itself referenced how unlikable Abby was. Abby relished at the idea of winning, to the point where she would taunt the innocent party and be delighted by seeing their distress.
She was happy in hooking up with Olly and rubbing it in his mother’s face, also having no problem with Joe Miller getting acquitted despite him being the killer. In her last appearance, it was said right to her face how she was a very bad person.
Nigel Carter
Here’s another guy who generally tops lists of worst characters in Broadchurch. Nigel was such a chaotic personality that he would lead the charge for all the hive mentality the people of Broadchurch were notorious for. So much so, that his bullying of Jack caused the latter to kill himself even though he was innocent.
Nigel was such a slime ball that he was willing to kill Susan’s dog purely to hurt her. His insane rage issues meant he had no problems threatening his own biological mother in Susan. Basically, this guy represented the worst qualities in the people of Broadchurch.
Susan Wright
It’s easy to see why Nigel was such a weird personality, as his mother was around the same. Susan was a shifty person who seemed to be attracted to trouble no matter how much claimed she didn’t. She was also a terrible mother that she didn’t even do anything when her husband had abused their daughter and killed her.
Despite Nigel being a hated character, he didn’t deserve to go to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. However, Susan was happy to testify against her own son when she falsely believed him to be Danny’s killer. Overall, she was a bizarre person whose absence was much appreciated in Series 3.
Karen White
Karen represents the evil lengths reporters can go just to come out with a story. She had no real sympathy for the Latimers, yet acted as their friend in order to get the best scoop of their pain. Mostly, she’s the one responsible for the death of Jack.
Not knowing the full details, Karen happily printed the story inferring that Jack abused and killed Danny. It was the resultant backlash that made the poor guy kill himself. Instead of feeling bad, Karen had the audacity to act as if she did nothing wrong and only showed annoyance at being singled out for her actions.
Tom Miller
If there’s a good reason to feel bad for Ellie Miller, it’s that she got stuck with a son like Tom. Everything about this kid was creepy, with Tom even claiming he was happy that Danny was dead just because of their falling out. He was also willing to lie on oath to get his killer of a father acquitted.
Tom was inherently a bad seed, watching adult-based movies and continuing to hide his possession of these despite being reprimanded by his mother. It’s clear he took more from his dad than his mother.
The Bully Group
Alec Hardy’s outburst against the bullies was an awkward but memorable moment that at least let these jerks get what was coming to them. The boys violated Daisy’s privacy by distributing an intimate photo of her publicly and had the nerve to seek her out at her home just to harass her.
They had no respect for Alec either and were apathetic to his anger toward them. The bullies are cause for concern for the future of Broadchurch since these youths had no respect for women and thought everything was a joke. More than a few fans wish Alec did follow through with his threats against them.
Leo Humphries
The hunt for the missing details in Broadchurch that led to Leo’s capture was the story for the third season. It’s not just that he had sexually assaulted multiple villain, but the fact that Leo showed zero regrets for his actions that make fans absolutely despise him.
For this guy, women were nothing but playthings and his actions caused Ellie to wonder if all men were inherently like him. Of course, he was an aberration that didn’t represent all men, but who could forget or forgive his delight at destroying the lives of those women just for sport?
Joe Miller
The fact that the episode where Joe Miller received his verdict is considered the best in the series doesn’t hide the fact that the fanbase loathes this man. He was someone who genuinely believed himself to be a misunderstood nice guy, not counting that he’d killed a young boy and lied through his teeth to avoid paying for his crime.
What makes viewers hate Joe all the more is that he didn’t get his comeuppance, as he started over somewhere else and remained a free man when Danny’s family continued to be in perpetual mourning. When the idea of the most deplorable person comes up, Joe is a natural contender.