'Nude' Sherlock most-watched show on iPlayer

'Nude' Sherlock most-watched show on iPlayer
'Nude' Sherlock most-watched show on iPlayer

Lara Pulver's nude scenes in Sherlock have helped the episode become the most-watched show on the BBC iPlayer so far this year. The programme - the first edition of the series screened on New Year's Day - drew around 100 complaints from viewers who were offended by the nude scenes. But new figures released by the BBC show the programme was way ahead of all others in the period from January to April of this year. The episode, called A Scandal In Belgravia, featured Lara as Irene Adler, filming one notable scene entirely naked except for her high heels. New figures show it was seen 2.5 million times on the iPlayer - 600,000 more than the next most popular show, which was the third instalment of the drama series. Sherlock proved to be a massive draw in general, taking all of the top three places in the most-watched list. Another controversial show, the Top Gear India Special, came fourth. It led to the Indian High Commission sending a letter to the BBC expressing concern about the portrayal. The BBC responded to the complaints about Sherlock saying the nudity had been carefully discussed 'to ensure it was appropriate for a pre-watershed audience'.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.