Beyond Paradise fans are only just realising star had forgotten 'creepy' role

In Friday's (April 11) episode of Beyond Paradise, viewers saw Matthew Gravelle take on the role of Martin Gaffney. The actor is recognised for his appearances in series such as Holby City, Torchwood, and Belonging - yet there's a particular part that might have slipped the minds of many. Matthew featured prominently in the first three seasons of ITV's hit drama Broadchurch, portraying the sinister Joe Miller who was unmasked as the murderer of 11 year old Daniel Latimer.

Joe had been secretly meeting with Danny for "cuddling sessions," providing him with cash and a new mobile phone. But when Danny threatened to expose their secret and questioned why Joe didn't direct his attentions towards his own son, Tom, it triggered Joe into a deadly outburst of anger where he strangled Danny and subsequently attempted to conceal the crime from the village. The portrayal of Matthew's character Joe and his heinous deeds left audiences appalled.



At the time, one viewer expressed their disgust on X, previously known as Twitter, stating: "god I'm rewatching the first season of Broadchurch with my aunt and mum AND JOE MILLER IS SUCH A F*****G MANBABY god damn way to be a gross murderer and act like a victim stop it." Another viewer commented sharply: "Joe Miller did it, the creepy bald little freak #broadchurch". Discussing the backlash he received for his character portrayal, Matthew revealed to the Mirror: "It's alright.

It's only TV, isn't it? It's fine." Yet, the father of two confessed that playing the part of a murderer and suspected paedophile did have an impact on him. "It does when you're doing it," he explained with caution.

"You're aware that people are going to vilify you for the person that you're playing. You never want to get it wrong, you want to be as 'true' to someone who might potentially be like that as possible. "He's still ultimately not a good person.

But you've got to be as sympathetic towards him as possible to see it from his point of view." In the third episode of Beyond Paradise, which features Matthew in a guest role, DI Humphrey Goodman - enacted by Kris Marshall - and DS Esther Williams, portrayed by Zahra Ahmadi, dove into a case where three customers were poisoned after tasting sweets at a chocolate shop. Beyond Paradise airs Friday on BBC One at 8pm.