There are a few factors that helped rope us in.

Many of us who’d never even played chess before suddenly realised it was a tremendous game of dexterity and grit, and added “chessboard” to our Christmas lists. Fans also became quickly obsessed with the show’s attention to detail on the 60s costumes and interiors. And Anya Taylor-Joy, who played Beth, was of course brilliant.

But as Graham Norton put to Taylor-Joy on his talk show last night (8 January), a show based on chess just doesn’t sound like “an obvious hit”.

The Queen’s Gambit: Anya Taylor-Joy thinks this is why we’re all obsessed