More than a million visitors poured through the doors of Bradford's National Museum of Photography, Film and Television last year.

The stunning figure - way ahead of expectations - makes it Britain's most popular provincial museum by far. Its success even puts many London attractions in the shade.

And today the BBC handed it a further boost by announcing plans to set up a permanent TV and radio complex there.

The corporation will open a suite of digital broadcast facilities - including a new service for Asian listeners - this spring.

Museum head Amanda Nevill unveiled the visitor figures today. She had said previously she would have been happy to attract 750,000.

She said: "We are absolutely delighted. We still can't quite believe it.

"We certainly never expected it. Only idiots would have set a target like this."

2000 was the museum's first full year of operation following its £16m rebuilding programme. Before the refit, numbers had fallen to 650,000 a year, from a high of 800,000 in its early years.

Last year's big attractions included a Millennium exhibition by photographer David Bailey, and a major Star Wars exhibit which continues until this spring.

And the BBC chose the museum to launch its multimedia FutureWorld showcase. Its success is believed to have influenced the plan for new studios.

The corporation will move its ageing installation from Bradford's City Hall and add TV facilities and production offices.

A team producing Asian programmes on Radio Leeds' medium wave frequency will also move in, following the success of a similar experiment in the Midlands.

Colin Philpott, head of BBC North, said: "We're delighted to continue our successful partnership with the museum and increase our presence in one of the most important cities in the region."

Miss Nevill said: "The best thing about this is that it's great for Bradford. People from Leeds are now looking to us as a cultural centre."