BBC iPlayer surpasses 4 billion requests making 2019 its best ever year

December also became the highest performance month of all time – aided in no small part by the Christmas special of Gavin and Stacey, which broke records for scripted television on the BBC.

The most requested show on the service over the course of the year was Killing Eve, which returned for a second series last summer with Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh playing the dual leads once again.

Established BBC dramas Peaky Blinders – of which the series premiere was the most streamed episode of the year – and Line of Duty also made the top ten, as did long-running crime show Silent Witness.

With regards to new shows, the best performer was surveillance thriller The Capture, the first series of which saw 20 million iPlayer requests.

Meanwhile, the only comedy to crack the top ten was Fleabag, the second series of which was broadcast last year to huge critical acclaim.

There was also place on the list for entertainment shows Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice and MasterChef.

The controller of BBC iPlayer, Dan McGolpin, said, “2019 was the best year ever for BBC iPlayer with audiences enjoying a fantastic range of programmes from hotly-anticipated returners such as Killing Eve and Gavin and Stacey to brand new series such as The Capture and His Dark Materials.

“More and more viewers are finding that BBC iPlayer offers them a Total TV experience, bringing the nation together for big live events such as the Strictly final and providing everyone with brilliant boxsets like Fleabag that they can binge on whenever they want to.”