BBC iPLAYER SETS NEW FESTIVE RECORDS + BBC TOP 20 OF FESTIVE PERIOD

BBC iPlayer recorded its best festive day ever, with 22m streams on Sunday 2 January, boosted by the arrival of the box set of The Tourist, the new must-watch series starring Jamie Dornan.

The series is currently the third most successful drama launch of all time on iPlayer - having been streamed over 18m million times to date.

The top 20 episodes across linear BBC TV and BBC iPlayer during the first 7 of availability between 20 December and 4 January are:

Rank - Episode - Average Audience

1. Happy New Year Live! - 10.5m

2. The Tourist - Episode 1 - 8.9m

3. The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast - 2021 - 8.3m

4. Death In Paradise - Christmas Special - 8m

5. Call The Midwife - Christmas Special 2021 - 7.9m

6. Strictly Come Dancing - Christmas Special - 7.4m

7. A Very British Scandal - Episode 1 - 7.1m

8. Around The World In 80 Days (2021) - Episode 1 - 6m

9. Six o'clock News - 20/12/2021 - 5.7m

10. Michael Mcintyre's Christmas Wheel - Series 2 - Christmas Special - 5.5m

11 . Superworm - 5.1m

12. Blankety Blank - Series 1 - Christmas Special - 5m

13. Four Lives - 5m

14. The Repair Shop At Christmas 2021 - 4.9m

15. BBC News - 29/12/2021 - 4.9m

16. EastEnders - 25/12/2021 - 4.7m

17. The Weakest Link - Episode 4 - 4.5m

18. Shaun The Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas - 4.5m

19 - Ghosts - He Came!- 4.5m

20. Doctor Who - Eve Of The Daleks - 4.4m

Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer says: “2022 on the BBC has started with a bang with record viewing across Christmas and New Year on BBC iPlayer. Millions of people chose to watch our unrivalled range of box-sets and Christmas specials live on our channels, or binge on-demand across the festive season - paving the way for the BBC’s centenary, a landmark year that will look forward and celebrate British creativity across the whole of the UK.”