It is probably fair to say that until January of this year the Canadian clinical psychologist and university lecturer Jordan Peterson was virtually unknown in Britain, and, beyond that, known only to a circle of academics and those who pay particular attention to the wars over political correctness on university campuses.

Then came Peterson’s appearance on Channel 4 News, where he was interviewed by Cathy Newman, talking about his new book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. Around 750,000 people – the channel’s usual news reach – watched the five-minute interview. But Channel 4, recognising they had something rather unusual on their hands, then posted the full 30-minute conversation online.

In what was the most compelling television interview in recent years, Newman and Peterson jousted over subjects including the gender pay-gap, relations between men and women, and the rise of identity politics. The interview quickly went viral and has now racked up more than eight million views on YouTube.

In Canada, Peterson was already a controversial figure for his intervention in the debate over a parliamentary bill known as C-16, which expands human-rights law by adding ‘gender identity and gender expression’ to the list of grounds upon which discrimination is prohibited.