Christmas specials on the BBC and an opening up of the archives have helped the BBC to its best ever Christmas fortnight (December 20 to January 2).
New data released by the BBC shows there were 203 million requests to stream or download over the period.
The BBC’s heavily promoted return of comedy Gavin and Stacey was the top episode. The Christmas Day show received 4.6 million requests with another 6.8 million requests for the original series that were made available on iPlayer over Christmas.
But it was New Year’s Day that gave the BBC iPlayer its best ever day, up one-third on the previous year, through highlights including new series Dracula and the return of Doctor Who.
EastEnders dominated the iPlayer top 20 over the holidays – making up 9 of the top 20 episodes on iPlayer. There were 15.6 million requests for EastEnders over the fortnight, with the Christmas Day episode topping the pile with 2.2 million requests.
Other strong performers include the Call the Midwife Christmas special with 1.8 million requests, and the new drama A Christmas Carol with 1.6 million requests.