BBC detects big audience for Sherlock

THE third series of Sherlock has become the most-watched drama to be broadcast on the BBC in more than a decade.

The three-part crime drama – which included consulting detective Sherlock Holmes’s apparent return from the dead – pulled in an average of 11.82 million viewers when it was screened earlier this month.

The “consolidated” viewing figures released yesterday include not only those who watched it live but also people who recorded it or used catch-up services over the seven days following the first broadcast.

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Figures have already shown that the first episode of the series – starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as sidekick John Watson – had the biggest-ever catch-up audience, with 3.5 million watching since the first screening.

It had a consolidated audience of 12.72 million, while the other two episodes had 11.38 million.

BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore said: “This latest accolade is the icing on the cake and only further demonstrates the audience’s huge appetite and appreciation for original British drama on BBC1.”

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