Explosive Line of Duty bows out with 4.1m on BBC Two

The third series of BBC Two’s thrilling Line of Duty (9pm) came to a typically dramatic close last night, with the critically acclaimed series proving to be the channel’s most successful drama in years.

Following on from two extremely well-received series, the current run of the police corruption drama kicked off six weeks ago with an audience of 3.2 million viewers, with the following four episodes averaging out at an impressive 3.4 million viewers for BBC Two.

Providing gritty thrills and actual killer twists, the year’s descent into police fraud and general skulduggery (fleetingly) starred Daniel Mays as corrupt copper Sergeant Waldron who quickly met a sticky end, fuelling the gripping drama for weeks to come.

With support from solid Line of Duty veterans, Vicky McClure (This is England), Adrian Dunbar (Ashes to Ashes) and Keeley Hawes (Spooks), the third series of professional betrayal and murderous secrets proved to be as popular as ever, with the series’ highest ever audience tuning in last night for some sweet closure.

Yesterday’s hour and a half finale saw the anti-corruption squad descend on perpetrators of child abuse, with the feature-length episode bagging a notable 4.1 million viewers and a 21% share, while generating over 25,000 tweets.

Elsewhere, things weren’t quite as exciting.

BBC One invited viewers to discover Secret Britain (9pm) one last time, with the fourth and final episode seeing the band of nauseatingly enthusiastic presenters hunting for a witches lair in Northern Ireland securing 2.5 million viewers and a 12% share in the process.

Over on ITV, presenter Emma Willis was attempting to bring a tear to the eye in manipulative but engaging What Would Be Your Miracle? (9pm).

[advert position=”left”]The bizarrely titled show introduced viewers to two patients, looking to change their lives through modern medicine, with the journey of a 10 year old boy dealing with cerebral palsy and a 55 year old woman who faced going deaf and blind securing 1.7 million viewers and an 8% share.

Channel 4 had another tale of bravery and medical marvels with touching documentary The Extraordinary Case of Alex Lewis (9pm), a story of a man reconstructing his life after an infection saw him lose all his limbs and some of his face.

1.2 million watched as Alex attempted to rebuild the relationship with his wife and three year old son, resulting in a 6% share.

Significantly less challenging was Channel 5’s The Secret Life of Puppies, a refreshingly empty hour of telly featuring cuddly balls of joy falling about the place. 1.2 million viewers and a 6% share chose the easier option at 9pm.

At 8pm, MasterChef secured BBC One 4.7 million viewers while, BBC Two’s Meet the Moose Family – Natural World bagged 1.3 million.

On Channel 4, Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It (8pm) continued to stretch the incessant brand to breaking point with 1.3 million viewers, while Channel 5’s On Benefits: Life on the Dole was watched by 808,000.

A double dosage of Emmerdale brought 5.5 million and 5 million viewers to ITV at 7pm and 8pm, respectively, while BBC One’s EastEnders netted Thursday’s top spot with 5.9 million viewers and a 31% share.

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.

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