Bodyguard and Killing Eve dominate BBC iPlayer list of most-watched TV shows of 2018

'McMafia', 'Keeping Faith' and 'Doctor Who' were also in the top 10

The BBC has revealed the most watched shows of the year on iPlayer, and to no one’s surprise, Bodyguard has come out on top.

The Richard Madden-starring series that gripped the nation consisted of six episodes, all of which are in the top 10 most watched episodes of 2018.

Unexpected hit Killing Eve is the only other show that joins Jed Mercurio’s series, taking the second, seventh and eight spots.

With a total of 41.3 million requests, Bodyguard is BBC iPlayer’s biggest series ever, though Killing Eve isn’t far behind with 40.7 million. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s genre-defying thriller also landed Sandra Oh a best actress nomination at the Golden Globes.

In terms of programmes as a whole, McMafia, Keeping Faith and Doctor Who were also big hits for the BBC, while England’s World Cup quarter final match with Sweden also sneaks into the top 10.

“This year’s figures are the best yet and show that the BBC iPlayer is going from strength to strength,” commented BBC director of content Charlotte Moore. “With Les Misérables, The Greatest Dancer and a new series of Fleabag coming up in the New Year there will be more great programmes for audiences to enjoy in 2019.”

Top 10 BBC iPlayer episodes of 2018:

1 Bodyguard, Series 1 – Episode 1 (10,545,000)

2 Killing Eve, Series 1 – Nice Face (8,900,000)

3 Bodyguard, Series 1 – Episode 2 (7,094,000)

4 Bodyguard, Series 1 – Episode 3 (6,925,000)

5 Bodyguard, Series 1 – Episode 4 (6,371,000)

6 Bodyguard, Series 1 – Episode 5 (5,727,000)

7 Killing Eve, Series 1 – I’ll Deal With Him Later (4,720,000)

8 Bodyguard, Series 1 – Episode 6 (4,667,000)

9 Killing Eve, Series 1 – Don’t I Know You? (4,636,000)

10 Killing Eve, Series 1 – Sorry Baby (4,631,000)

Top 10 BBC iPlayer programmes

1 Bodyguard, Series 1 – Episode 1 (10,545,000)

2 Killing Eve, Series 1 – Nice Face (8,900,000)

3 McMafia, Series 1 – Episode 1 (4,481,000)

4 Keeping Faith, Series 1 – Episode 1 (3,927,000)

5 Doctor Who, Series 11 – The Woman Who Fell to Earth (3,587,000)

6 Our Girl, Nigeria, Belize and Bangladesh Tours – Episode 1 (3,401,000)

7 The Cry, Series 1 – Episode 1 (3,391,000)

8 Match of the Day Live MOTD 2018 World Cup

Quarter-Final: Sweden v England (3,153,000)

9 Hidden, Series 1 – Episode 1 (3,025,000)

10 Silent Witness, Series 21 – Moment of Surrender, Part One (2,958,000)