Licence to thrill

BBC Three, launched last night, has been a long time coming. The first set of plans for the digital channel were submitted to Tessa Jowell in 2001, and it's a channel that has already been through a lot of changes. Controller Stuart Murphy (pictured) believes that this has only made BBC Three better. It has certainly made it more balanced: from 7pm until close there's a hugely varied schedule (from fantasy pensions to the Appleton sisters via Swiss Toni), all aimed squarely at that elusive beast: the young adult.

Murphy (at 31, himself one of the BBC's youngest executives) and his team want you: a 25 to 34-year-old, employed and in the first throes of responsibility. The approach is not to dismiss the audience as a mass of tasteless yoof. 'They are a savvy, sharp, intelligent audience. Our average viewer has responsibilities but still wants to have a laugh and go out,' says Murphy. In return for a few hours of your time, he's promising a channel that's 'radical, imaginative, funny and very different'.

Other digital and satellite channels are after the same viewers, but BBC Three comes with a public service remit and guidelines that will keep a lid on the worst excesses of repeats and shoddy buy-ins. Rules are rules, and BBC Three's state that 90 per cent of its output will be made in the UK; independent production companies must get a fair crack of the whip and repeats can make up only 20 per cent of the output. That should mean lots of lovely new stuff, including fresh animation and specially made drama that chimes in with British sensibilities and humour and feels like a treat.

BBC Three's opening schedule displays enthusiasm on a grand scale. Every effort has been made to tick all the necessary boxes, resulting in a solid spread of programmes covering drama, entertainment, celebs, science, news and current affairs, music, arts and animation. Murphy is keen to emphasise the channel's responsibility to 'bring on the next generation of talent'. 'Other broadcasters will benefit; it helps everyone,' he adds. That means new on-screen faces backed by experienced producers and directors, and taking risks with programmes (especially animation) that will not be to everyone's taste.

Viewers of BBC Choice, BBC Three's predecessor, will recognise familiar young adult-pleasing faces, including Dermot O'Leary and Johnny Vaughan, but much is new and has been saved for the longawaited launch. Matt Greenhalgh's late-coming-of-age drama Burn It; a six-episode outing for Charlie Higson's lady-loving Swiss Toni; Underground 2003, BBC Three's awards for young talent, and Body Hits, a look at the science of excess.

A real curiosity is Appleton On Appleton, a one-off 'at home with Nat'n'Nic' affair. The domestic behaviour of the Appleton beaus - Liam Howlett and Liam Gallagher - will be of most interest, with highlights including Gallagher's admission that he 'prepares' his hair.