12.6 million tune in to 'Bodyguard' finale making it one of the biggest TV dramas of the decade

UPDATE: Sunday night’s Bodyguard finale was one of the most-watched TV dramas of the last decade.

New consolidated viewing numbers have been released showing that the total number of people who watched the last episode of the hit drama has risen to 12.59m.

This is an increase on the viewing figure of 11m, released by the BBC earlier today, as it now takes into account the population who watched the show on catch up services like iPlayer.

The numbers were shared by Ian Jones, a data journalist for Press Association. The new figures put the sixth episode of Jed Mercurio’s high stakes thriller into the top five most watched TV dramas, behind Sherlock – 12.72m in 2014, Doctor Who – 12.8m in 2013, Coronation Street – 14.75m in 2010, and EastEnders – 16.41m in 2010.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 11 million people tuned in to the final reveal in last night’s finale of BBC drama Bodyguard.

An average of 10.4 million watched the show throughout, with the number rising to 11 million in the last five minutes of the show.

The thriller series, penned by Line of Duty’s Jed Mercurio, has been the biggest ratings hit for BBC1 in over a decade.

10.4 million also watched the show’s first episode last month.

Spoilers ahead…

The finale outfoxed second guessing viewers and critics, placing the boss of Richard Madden’s character David Budd at the centre of the plot to assassinate Home Secretary Julia Montague, played by Keeley Hawes.

Mercurio has said that the success of the show could mean that another two or even three series of the show could be in the offing.

“It’s probably fair to say we would probably approach any thoughts of a second series with the idea that it would create an opportunity for a third or fourth,” he told The Sun.

“If the ratings hadn’t been quite so high, then possibly everybody involved including the BBC would have said, ‘Well that was a nice little series but we’re just going to leave it at that and there won’t be any more’.

“So you are a hostage to fortune in that sense. And we do feel very privileged and fortunate that there’s been such a response that it gives us that opportunity to at least think about doing more.”

It’s since been picked up for international release by Netflix.

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