BBC One’s Saturday night hit show Atlantis has been picked up for a second season as filming draws to a close on the first.

Announcing the news, with nine episodes of the debut year yet to air, Charlotte Moore, Controller BBC One said: “Atlantis delivers original British drama with the kind of scale and ambition that we’ve come to expect from the cinema. It feels very much at home on Saturday nights on BBC1, it’s been wonderful to watch Howard [Overman] and the team create a whole new world, brilliantly inspired by Greek mythology which is proving a hit with all the family and a second series is richly deserved.”

Ben Stephenson, Controller BBC Commissioning added: “Atlantis has quickly made its mark and established itself as the new weekly fantasy drama fix for all the family on BBC1. The show is packed with creative ambition which is a credit to the team involved and a second series will ensure the show builds and grows with the audience.”

Atlantis is the biggest new Saturday night drama series launch across all BBC channels since 2006, even up on the launch of hit show Merlin.  Across the first three episodes, the show averaged a consolidated audience of 6.7million.