The launch of acclaimed teen drama Normal People has propelled BBC Three to its best ever week since the channel switched to online-only.
The 12-part series premiered on iPlayer last Sunday and since then has received 16.2 million requests, with a quarter of people having already watched the entire series - including a significant proportion doing so inside 24 hours.
The success of the show took BBC Three requests for the week to a total of 21.8 million, more than double the previous record of 10.8 million in the week that season one of Killing Eve was released in 2018.
Asked whether Normal People's popularity was down to the coronavirus lockdown, BBC Three controller Fiona Campbell told the Edinburgh TV Festival: "I think it probably would have happened irrespective. The book had such a big fanbase, and on top of that it very much fits the BBC Three DNA.
"We are creatively focussed on the under 25-year-old demographic - and it's firmly set in that experience of being 25 and under. I think that really got that in a bang-on, authentic way.
"Also whenever any show, especially drama, gets mega, you reach out beyond. People are quite modern in their outlook, so they'll want to watch the show even if they're in their 40s."
Other shows available on BBC Three include This Country, RuPaul's Drag Race UK and The Young Offenders.
Neil Wilkes
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