The Salisbury Poisonings is the biggest new BBC drama since Bodyguard

The three-part series tells the true story of the Novichok poisonings of a former spy and his daughter, which shook the small city to its core and later affected two ordinary members of the public.

The Salisbury Poisonings was acclaimed by critics for sensitively handling the terrifying and tragic story, which is particularly relevant at the moment due to similarities with the coronavirus pandemic.

The combined figure of those who tuned into the first episode live and those who watched in the next seven days via catch-up has reached a huge 10 million, putting it just shy of Bodyguard's 10.4 million in 2018.

The entire three-part series has reached an average consolidated viewership of 9.1 million, including one million in the 16-34 year old demographic, which can be difficult to capture.

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, said: "We are delighted The Salisbury Poisonings had such an impact and resonated with the nation. We are incredibly proud to have celebrated members of a city whose bravery and resilience kept safe an entire community, and can’t thank [writers] Adam, Declan and the production team enough for their meticulous efforts in bringing their story to screen."

RadioTimes.com described The Salisbury Poisonings review described it as "deeply affecting", awarded it four stars and praising the series for how it shines a light on stories that weren't conveyed in the contemporaneous media coverage.

The Salisbury Poisonings is available to catch-up with on BBC iPlayer. If you're looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide.