Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Isobel Lewis

Normal People doubles BBC Three opening week record

Normal Peoplehas given BBC Three its best ever week for programme requests after the show more than doubled the previous record held by Killing Eve.

The hotly anticipated adaptation of Sally Rooney’s award-winning novel was requested more than 21.8 million times on BBC iPlayer in the week since it first dropped on 26 April.

The opening week record was previously held by the first series of Killing Eve, which received 10.8 million total requests in its first week.

BBC Three controller Fiona Campbell said: “We’re delighted that Normal People has been such a success and so many people have come to iPlayer to watch it.

“It’s a modern masterpiece which has helped in catapulting the careers of two brilliant young actors, and we’re looking forward to bringing more drama to BBC Three in the future.”

Normal Peoplefollows Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal), two Irish teenagers navigating an on-off relationship while struggling with the class and social barriers that keep them apart.

The show debuted to critical acclaim, with The Independentrating the 12-part series five stars, writing; “Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal inhabit lovers Marianne and Connell so utterly that it is instantly impossible to imagine them being played by anyone else.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.