Revealed: The 20 most popular British detective shows from Line of Duty to Silent Witness

Line of Duty tops the list with 502,000 searches per month in the UK

The British public has always loved detectives. From Line of Duty’s DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) to Idris Elba’s DCI John Luther, everyone has their own favourite.

Since 1955, almost 25% of British television has been crime dramas, police procedurals or detective dramas. Casino and iGaming experts at online.casino have analysed search volume for ninety series dating from 1962 to 2023 and have compiled a list of the top 20.

Line of Duty tops the list with 502,000 searches per month. Airing on the BBC and lasting for six seasons, Line of Duty follows AC-12, a unit tasked with uncovering police corruption.

Line of Duty has been named as Britain's most popular detective show.

Unforgotten comes in second with a search volume of 151,000 per month. Starring Nicola Walker as DCI Cassie Stuart and Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunil Khan, Unforgotten focuses on past crimes and buried secrets. Series five airs on ITV in February 2023

Death in Paradise holds third place with 133,000 searches. Set in the Carribean, the show is unique for having four different actors play the lead detective throughout its eleven series. The most recent and longest serving actor is Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker and the series is currently airing on the BBC.

The longest running show in the top 20, Silent Witness is in fourth place with 110,000 monthly searches. Currently airing on the BBC, series 26 follows Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and her team of forensic pathologists.

Endeavour lands in fifth place with 77,000 searches per month. Endeavour follows Inspector Morse through his early career as a police constable. Series nine will air on ITV in February 2023.

The 20 most popular British detective shows

1 - Line of Duty

2 - Unforgotten

3 - Death in Paradise

4 - Silent Witness

5 - Endeavour

6 - Vera

7 - Midsomer Murders

8 - The Fall

9 - The Missing

10 - Shetland

11 - Grantchester

12 - Whitechapel

13 - River

14 - Happy Valley

15 – Sherlock

16 - Zen

17 - Luther

18 - Father Brown

19 - Agatha Raisin

20 - Broadchurch