Bodyguard and Killing Eve dominate BBC iPlayer's most popular shows of 2018

Every episode of the Jed Mercurio drama appeared in the top 10
Natasha Sporn31 January 2019

Bodyguard and Killing Eve dominated the top 10 requested shows on BBC iPlayer last year, with the entire series of Jed Mercurio’s drama making the list.

All six episodes of the series, which starred Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes, earned a spot in the top 10 list with a massive 10.8million requests for the first episode.

The explosive drama followed Madden as police security officer David Budd who was in charge of protecting the Home Secretary Julia Montague, played by Hawes.

But with a massive twist at the end of the third episode, the drama suddenly lurched from what everybody expected and left viewers obsessed with knowing what happens next.

BBC/World Productions/Sophie Mutevelian

The gripping drama proved a triumph for live TV as the ratings soared, although millions were still flocking to iPlayer to catch up (or watch again).

Top of the pile: Bodyguard had all six episodes in the top 10 shows of 2018
BBC

Elsewhere, Killing Eve occupied the other four positions in the table with over 9.2million users streaming the first episode of Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh’s epic game of cat-and-mouse.

The drama, originally produced and aired by BBC America, focused on Oh’s character Eve Polastri, a bored detective, who developed an obsession with the workings of serial killer Villanelle, played by Comer.

After its Saturday night debut, the series was dropped on BBC Three’s section of iPlayer in its entirety.

McMafia, The Cry, Keeping Faith, Our Girl and Dynasties were also among the top series’ of 2018 as well as Jodie Whittaker’s first episode of Doctor Who, which went out on a Sunday.

Match of the Day’s coverage of the World Cup quarter-final between Sweden and England was at number 10 in the top shows with 3.1million streams.

During 2018, the BBC experimented with some changes to the online service including making shows and boxsets available for longer than 30 days as well as introducing a live restart button and adding classic comedies and shows to the catalogue available.

TV shows to watch in 2019

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