A RECORD 2.8 million viewers requested to stream Peter Kay's brand-new comedy series Car Share, which premiered in full on BBC iPlayer.

The show was available for fans of the Farnworth comic to stream the show from April 24 to 28, making it most successful series to premiere as a box-set to date, with episode one racking up over one million requests alone.

Peter said: "I've been blown away by the response so far. How could I not be? Here's hoping the success continues and people enjoy the series on BBC One."

Viewers took the opportunity to enjoy the full series as all six episodes made it to BBC iPlayer's Most Popular section over the weekend.

This is the first Peter Kay sitcom for BBC One, and following its iPlayer premiere, episode one will broadcast on the channel tonight at 9.30pm.

Shane Allen, controller of comedy commissioning, says: "This is a phenomenal reaction which shows how excited audiences are to see Peter in his first scripted comedy for the BBC.

"We're so proud of the show and it's heartening that comedy does so well in the new on-demand world.

"All credit to Peter for his innovative approach with this series launch which hopefully gives it a following wind for the primetime launch on BBC One tonight."