BBC’s crime thriller The Serpent has become iPlayer’s most popular new BBC program since Normal People. The 8-part series has obtained 31 million streams so far. The first episode of the series is BBC iPlayer’s most streamed episode ever with more than 5.5 million streams on iPlayer.

When considering linear viewing, the first episode has received a 30-day consolidated figure of 9 million viewers across all screens which is the highest figure for a new BBC show since The Salisbury Poisonings. Episode two consolidated at 7.4 million viewers.

The Serpent is inspired by real events and tells the story of conman, murderer Charles Sobhraj. Executive producers for Mammoth Screen, Damien Timmer and Preethi Mavahalli said, “It’s been a privilege to tell the real life story of Herman and Angela Knippenberg’s dogged pursuit of justice, and to have a chance to reclaim the stories of the young travellers whose lives were so cruelly cut short.”

The Serpent was commissioned by BBC One and made by Mammoth Screen which is a part of ITV Studios. It is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix. The Serpent stars Tahar Rahim as Charles Sobhraj, Jenna Coleman as Marie-Andree Leclerc, Billy Howle as Herman Knippenberg, and Ellie Bamber as Angela Knippenberg.