Yahoo News Bodyguard's nail-biting finale watched by staggering 11 million viewers
A massive 11 million people tuned in to watch the conclusion to hit BBC drama Bodyguard, making it one of the most watched shows of the decade.
Audiences for the thriller, penned by Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, climbed steadily since the first episode as the story of a controversial Home Secretary and her PTSD-suffering protection officer gripped the nation.
A BBC spokeswoman today revealed last night’s 75-minute final episode peaked with an audience of 11 million, giving it a huge 47.9 per cent share of viewers, with that number set to rise after extra viewings on the BBC iPlayer are taken into account.
That already makes it more popular than hit shows including Strictly Come Dancing which pulled in 8.5 million when it launched earlier this month.
An incredible 10.4m people (11m peak, 47.9% share) tuned in for the thrilling #Bodyguard finale on @BBCOne last night. Thank you all for watching. 👏 pic.twitter.com/vbTVbE6iFJ
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) September 24, 2018
Bodyguard centred on police protection officer and Afghanistan war veteran David Budd, played by Richard Madden, who is assigned to Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes).
Her decision to hand the investigation of a planned terror attack to the Security Service ruffles feathers and sparks a spiralling plot involving organised crime, radical Islamist terrorists and her own government.
The show’s slow-burn appeal saw its audience rise from 6.9 million for the first episode, as the twists and turns of its plot sparked frenzied online speculation with many fans expecting Hawes’s seemingly killed-off character to make an improbable return.
Mercurio hinted at a possible second series and has said he is “certainly interested” in doing another and wants to bring Madden back in the role of the veteran officer.
The final episode ended with a post-credits trailer for the next series of Line Of Duty — the police corruption drama that made Mercurio one of the BBC’s go-to talents for popular dramas.
The most watched show of the decade is still the BBC’s EastEnders which pulled in 16.4 million viewers for its 25th birthday live episode on February 19, 2010. In second place is ITV’s Coronation Street.
