China's love for UK TV series has brought millions of profit to its top three favorites, according to Chancellor George Osborne. China fans have grown fond with the London-based "consulting detective" Sherlock Holmes, British period drama Downton Abbey and British anthology series Black Mirror.

Like Us on Facebook

The statistics officially released by Osborne's Treasury Department revealed that the top three British TV series imported to China were Sherlock Holmes, Downton Abbey and Black Mirror. These TV series with big budget at hand have turned out to be big export winners as it contributes to the boosting of the British Treasury through the enhanced tax relief. 

To see to it that British TV programs remain internationally competitive, tax relief was introduced by the Osborne two years ago. Since then, the government has already provided more than USD 136 million to 90 TV programs such as Downton Abbey.

"Through our tax relief the government has been able to support the television industry meaning record investment and a booming creative sector jobs market across the country," Osborne said.

Osborne further claimed that the British government's support had attracted the interests of more investors like television program creators and the creative sector, which can be worth more than USD 1.2 billion. Even the fictional Yorkshire country house Downton Abbey, which reportedly has a big budget, qualified for the tax relief.

The Treasury distinguished the current strategy to have contributed to the success of these television series in the People's Republic. 

"In the UK, a top-rated TV may just get into double-digit millions [in audience size], but China has 1.4 billion people and gets easily double, triple or quadruple that," vice president of great China Pierre Cheung said. "The market is a massive opportunity."

Tagsgeorge osborne, UK, Western TV series, TV series, Sherlock Holmes