Ordeal By Innocence proves criminally popular on iPlayer
David Farnor | On 29, May 2018
Ordeal By Innocence proved criminally popular on BBC iPlayer, with the Agatha Christie drama the most-viewed BBC programme in April.
The first episode of the three-part thriller, which starred Bill Nighy and was adapted by Sarah Phelps, was April’s most popular title, with almost 2 million online requests. It was closely followed by the second episode, with 1.2 million requests.
Drama continues its strong year on BBC iPlayer, again dominating viewing in April. As well as Ordeal by Innocence, Come Home had a great month, with episodes one and two each getting more than 1 million requests. The Split and The Woman In White also did very well, alongside a typically strong performance from EastEnders, which accounted for 12 of the top 20 episodes of the month.
The only non-drama to break the top 20 episodes of the month was mockumentary series Cunk on Britain, which follows Philomena Cunk as she takes viewers on a journey through British history. Another strong performer for the month was three-part Stephen Lawrence documentary Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation.
Dan McGolpin, controller of programming for the BBC, says: “It’s our unique range of high quality British new programmes that keep people coming back to BBC iPlayer and April was no exception with top-requested drama series Ordeal By Innocence and Come Home, top-requested comedy series Cunk On Britain and top-requested documentary series Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation.”
April saw BBC iPlayer continue to build on last year’s performance, following a record start to 2018. The catch-up service racked up 277 million requests across the month, and 9.2 million daily requests, up on the same month last year.