The second series of Killing Eve has been the biggest show of the year so far on BBC iPlayer.

The Golden Globe-nominated spy thriller, starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, notched up 40.4 million requests on the streaming platform.

The cat-and-mouse tale, based on the Codename Villanelle novellas by Luke Jennings and developed for TV by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was way ahead of the competition.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge NTAs
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Matt Crossick/PA)

It was about 13 million requests ahead of Jed Mercurio’s Line Of Duty, whose fifth series saw 27.4 million requests.

Peaky Blinders’ fifth series was the third biggest show of the year with 26.6 million requests.

Strictly Come Dancing’s 17th series, which was won on Saturday by soap star Kelvin Fletcher and professional partner Oti Mabuse, came fourth with 23.9 million requests.

Waller-Bridge found further success with series one of Killing Eve, which secured fifth place with 22.3 million requests this year.

And series two of Fleabag was sixth with 20.3 million – iPlayer’s biggest comedy of the year.

BFI and Radio Times Television Festival
Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio (Ian West/PA)

The second series of Killing Eve also dominated the list of the top 10 episodes of the year so far, with seven episodes featuring in total.

November also marked the biggest month for iPlayer, with a total of 439 million requests.

The BBC’s adaptation of Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and Sir David Attenborough’s latest work, Seven Worlds, One Planet, were the month’s biggest programmes.

BBC director of content Charlotte Moore said: “It’s been a huge year for BBC iPlayer – as well as record-breaking figures, it’s become an entertainment destination in its own right; and, with approval for new programmes to be available for a minimum of 12 months, this will deliver real value for licence fee-payers.

“In 2020 we will go even further to make it the best watch ever from binge-worthy series to the biggest live TV moments.”

New BBC documentary Seven Worlds, One Planet
Sir David Attenborough filming Seven Worlds, One Planet in Iceland (Alex Board/PA)

Controller of iPlayer for the BBC Dan McGolpin said: “This year we’ve seen some of television’s most exciting shows return to BBC iPlayer, from Killing Eve to Line Of Duty and from Peaky Blinders to Fleabag, the number of programme requests we’ve received has been incredible.

“What’s also really satisfying is that brand new series such as The Capture, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, His Dark Materials, and Seven Worlds, One Planet have also generated large audiences.

“Together with our live event coverage, this year including Glastonbury, the Women’s World Cup and the General Election 2019, BBC iPlayer is a unique service that is going to get even bigger and better in 2020.”