Three weeks on from its premiere, Fifty Fathoms and Keshet UK’s The A Word has enjoyed an increase in viewing figures of a dramatic 25% to consolidate at 5.9 million viewers. Similarly, the consolidated audience for episode two jumped by 45% to 5.7 million. (The figures are for time-shifted viewing but do not include the BBC’s dedicated VOD service iPlayer.) Its most recent third episode was the slot leader attracting 4.2m live viewers, earning BBC One an audience share of 20%.

The A Word has now begun its worldwide journey as SVT Sweden became the first of many international partners to acquire the series.

The A Word is written by the multiple BAFTA winner and Golden Globe nominee Peter Bowker (Marvellous, Blackpool ) and directed by Oscar® nominee and BAFTA winner Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty, Rev ). It is based on the original Israeli drama Yellow Peppers by Keren Margalit who is also executive producer on the UK series.