'Sherlock' claims top spot in 2014 iPlayer chart

'Sherlock's episode, which saw the return from the dead of actor Benedict Cumberbatch has claimed the top spot in iPlayer's 2014 list.

Broadcast in January 2014, the first episode of the 3 season was requested 4.2 million times, and all 3 episodes of the series were included in the top 10, the BBC reported.

The iPlayer top 10 list includes:

1. Sherlock - Series 3, The Empty Hearse (Episode 1)

2. Top Gear - Series 21, (Episode 1)

3. Top Gear - Series 21, (Episode 3)

4. Top Gear - Series 21, Burma Special - Part 1 (Episode 6)

5. Sherlock - Series 3, The Sign of Three (Episode 2)

6. Sherlock - Series 3, His Last Vow (Episode 3)

7. Top Gear - Series 21, Episode 2

8. Murdered by My Boyfriend

9. Outnumbered

10. Doctor Who - Series 8, Deep Breath (Episode 1)

Sherlock co-creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat said that it was thrilling to see the show at the top of the iPlayer ratings, and that they "always knew Cumberbatch would survive jumping off that building, but never thought he'd fly so high."

The episode was watched by an average 9.2 million people when it first aired on New Year's Day in 2014.

Meanwhile, among shows which aired only on the iPlayer, Frankie Boyle's 'Referendum Autopsy' was among the most popular online-only shows with 715,000 requests.

According to BBC figures, there was an increase of 25 percent in demand for its iPlayer catch-up service. On the whole, iPlayer had its biggest year so far with 3.5 billion requests for TV and radio programmes, up from 3.1 billion in 2013.