Entertainment
Line of Duty is officially the most watched drama of the 21st century
Line of Duty is now the most watched drama of the 21st century, after accumulating 15.24 million viewers for the series 6 finale in a week.
The Jed Mercurio thriller has toppled the previous record held by an episode of Heartbeat in 2000, which saw 15.16 million viewers tune in.
In turn, Line of Duty is now the highest-rated TV drama series since A Touch of Frost, which saw a 1999 episode draw an audience of 15.83 million.
Over the past decade, few TV programmes have attracted more than 15 million viewers, with just The Great British Bake Off (15.9 million in October 2016), EastEnders (16.4 million in February 2010), Gavin & Stacey (17.1 million in December 2019) and The X Factor (17.7 million in December 2010) reaching the milestone figure.
The consolidated number from research organisation Barb includes people who recorded the Line of Duty finale, which aired on May 2 and those streaming on catch up.
Overnight figures released on Monday May 3 recorded an audience of 12.8 million, marking the show’s highest ever viewing figure for a single episode.
At the time, Charlotte Moore said: ‘Addictive event television, Line Of Duty has kept the nation guessing for the last seven weeks, so it’s no surprise that last night’s jaw-dropping finale set a ratings record.
‘Jed Mercurio is a master of his craft, and I would like to congratulate him and the entire cast and crew for delivering such an incredible drama series. I’m looking forward to having a conversation with the team about where we go next and what the future of the series might be.’
The divisive finale tore fans into two camps between those who thought the subtlety was genius, while others missed the high-adrenaline drama.
Regardless, there’s still no word on the prospect of a series seven.
Line of Duty is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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