The Game Of Thrones season six finale set records in the US with a viewership of 8.9 million.

The massive audience tuned in to see the HBO drama – which is based on George RR Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire series of novels – in the US.

It eclipsed the previous record of 8.1 million viewers for the finale of the fifth season.

Game of Thrones: Melisandre.
Game Of Thrones (Sky Atlantic)

The episode, titled The Winds Of Winter, also bowed out with a hefty audience in the UK – close to two million people watched the finale on Sky Atlantic on Monday.

The fantasy series had a total audience of of 1.82 million, which includes both the 2am and 9pm broadcasts.

And that figure is expected to grow as people watch on demand and catch up services.

The sixth series of the show has now cemented its status as the most-watched Sky entertainment programme ever, with more than five million views per episode to date – a 41% increase on season five.

That figure includes those who have watched the show live, those who watched on demand, through their Sky+ recordings, via the Sky Go app or through the online streaming service NOW TV.