Whopping 10.4 million people watched the first episode of the political thriller - contains spoilers if you've not watched episode three!
BBC1’s political thriller Bodyguard is the biggest new drama on British television in over a decade.
The BBC today revealed that the first episode of the drama starring Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden scored an incredible consolidated audience figure of 10.4 million - the highest figure for any new drama across all UK channels since 2006.
Bodyguard also broke records on BBC iPlayer with episode one getting three million requests to date.
Creator Jed Mercurio said: “The success of Bodyguard is a tribute to the magnetism of our two leads, Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes. I'm exceedingly grateful to World Productions and to the BBC who have supported the project throughout production, and to the viewers who’ve responded with such enthusiasm.”
The question now is could the audience grow? Viewers are desperate to find out who was behind the bomb which left Home Secretary Julia fighting for her life.
Richard Madden, who plays bodyguard David Budd, tweeted a snap of himself with Keeley filming the aftermath of the explosion. He tweeted: "Behind the scenes with the outstandingly talented @Misskeeleyhawes who kept me smiling even through the toughest days!"
Speaking about the figures, Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, said: “I’m thrilled with the response to BBC1’s new Sunday night drama Bodyguard, the figures are extraordinary and all credit to the mastermind creator and writer Jed Mercurio who is surprising the audience at every turn.”
The thriller continues this Sunday on BBC1 at 9pm.
