In total, BBC iPlayer received 145 million requests for TV and radio programmes during December 2010. TV programmes alone were at an all-time high at 89.7 million requests.
In addition, Virgin Media received a record-breaking 23.9m requests for BBC iPlayer downloads during December.
And requests from programmes via the iPlayer on Sony's PS3 reached seven million, a 31 per cent increase month-on-month.
The Top 10 most popular programmes requested were:
1) Top Gear USA road trip: 1,294,000
2) Top Gear Middle East special: 1,260,000
3) The Apprentice, Series 6, episode 12: 892,000
4) The Apprentice, Series 6, episode 9: 849,000
5) Come Fly With Me, Episode 1: 783,000
6) The Apprentice, Series 6, episode 10: 718,000
7) The Apprentice, Series 6, episode 11: 718,000
8) Doctor Who – A Christmas Carol: 716,000
9) The Apprentice, Series 6, episode 14: 624,000
10) EastEnders (Christmas Day): 610,000