New crime drama series In The Dark was July’s top programme on BBC iPlayer, new figures have revealed.
The first episode, which was made available from 11th July, received 1.6 million requests over the rest of the month. The series stars MyAnna Buring (Ripper Street, Downton Abbey) as DI Helen Weeks, a strong-willed detective drawn into the two most testing and personal cases of her career – just as she begins her journey towards motherhood.
The figures from the BBC also reveal that BBC iPlayer received 236 million requests for TV content in July, with viewing on mobiles, tablets and connected TVs up year-on-year.
EastEnders also had a very strong month in July, claiming 16 of the top 20 most popular programmes across the month.
Other top-performing dramas in July include the Doctor Who series finale, featuring Peter Capaldi’s penultimate performance as the Doctor, and the return of crime drama Top Of The Lake, starring Elizabeth Moss, Nicole Kidman and Gwendoline Christie.
It was also a good month for documentaries, with BBC Three’s Stacey Dooley Investigates Kids Selling Drugs Online and BBC One’s The Betrayed Girls, which examined the Rochdale abuse scandal, both performing well, according to the BBC.
Dan McGolpin, controller, programming and daytime, said: “Watching BBC iPlayer through the TV is now easy to do and for many people it’s become their preferred way to view BBC programmes, both on-demand and live. We release a wide selection of fresh content every month of the year and July saw strong performances from a mix of gripping drama series and challenging investigative documentaries.”
