Normal People approaches 55 million views on iPlayer

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: August 6 2020 | 19:19

Last updated: December 15 2020 | 16:29

Cultural phenomenon Normal People has received almost 55 million requests via iPlayer to date, the BBC reveals.

Latest figures released by the BBC show that breakout drama Normal People has now been requested almost 55 million times on iPlayer.

The 12-part series for BBC Three tells the story of two Irish youngsters, played by Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, as they embark upon an on-off romance through high school and university.

New data released today reveals a total of 54.8 million requests for the series since it launched at the end of April, with the premiere episode leading the way on 5.54 million requests.

The season three premiere of Killing Eve was the most-watched episode on iPlayer in the first half of 2020, receiving 6.95 million requests.

Overall iPlayer viewing up to the end of June stood at a record-breaking 3.1 billion requests, up 47% year-on-year, with 1.6 billion of those coming during the April to June period as the UK was in coronavirus lockdown.

Dan McGolpin, controller of iPlayer, said: "It's fantastic to see record viewing levels on BBC iPlayer across the first half of 2020, with huge numbers for the brand new and simply unmissable Normal People and for hotly anticipated returners like Killing Eve, This Country and Race Across the World.

"In a year full of challenges, BBC iPlayer has entertained us, connected us to events like the virtual Glastonbury and the restarted football season, broadened our horizons through Culture in Quarantine, educated our younger family members through BBC Bitesize and all the while kept us informed of the latest news from around the globe."

iPlayer has also added multiple boxsets to its service over the last few months, with recent additions including Heroes, The Real McCoy and Cutting It.