The Kenneth Williams drama Fantabulosa became the most-watched programme in the history of BBC Four last night.

According to unofficial overnight figures, the audience for the show peaked at 964,000 .

Its average audience of 846,000 was the same as the channel’s previous top-rated programme, The Alan Clark Diaries, in 2003.

But the peak audience was much higher last night.

The programme, which starred Michael Sheen as the Carry On comedian, will be repeated at 10pm on Friday night, and in the early hours of Sunday and Tuesday.

BBC Four controller Janice Hadlow told Media Guardian: ‘It shows that our original approach to single-subject dramas exploring figures from our recent past can really capture the imagination of our audience.’

Meanwhile s Ketch show Man Stroke Woman, which made its terrestrial TV debut on BBC Two at 9.30pm, attracted 1.9 million viewers - or a 4.9 per cent share of the audience.