BBC iPlayer has biggest month ever with record breaking 570m programme requests in May

The UK lockdown has seen viewers turn to BBC iPlayer in droves as the streaming service had its biggest month yet in May with 570 million programme requests.

The an increase of six million from April which was previously the best month on record and a 72% jump from May 2019.

Normal People dominated the top 10 for May, having received 54 million requests so far.

This was followed by Killing Eve, which received 35 million requests including four million for the Jodie Comer led-drama's fourth episode Still Got It.

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The instalment therefore clinched the top spot on the 10 most requested programmes per series, which also included new programmes like Charlie Brooker's one-off Antiviral Wipe and The A Word and BBC favourites such as EastEnders and Casualty.

Dan McGolpin, controller of BBC iPlayer, said: “BBC iPlayer continues to rise higher with yet another record-breaking month in May – 72% more programme requests than a year ago, it’s been the only place to binge on the wonderful new hit series Normal People and the place to see returning favourite Killing Eve first.

"Before the lockdown period began and all the way through it, iPlayer has been providing a unique mix of entertaining, informative and educational television whenever and wherever people want it.”

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The BBC's revival of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads has also recently been made available to watch on the service, with one episode featuring Killing Eve star Comer.

It has a connection to another BBC show too, as the series was filmed on the EastEnders set which was made vacant after filming had to stop due to the coronavirus.