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• Read the full list of winners on the Royal Television Society website

Friday 16 March sees the debut of my comic personality Miss Holland on BBC Three. The satire show is split into six short episodes released over a period of six weeks, each instalment depicts an element of British society that Miss Holland is familiarising herself with. The premise of the programme is to explore British culture through the eyes of a Dutch Beauty Queen and innocently challenge the norms that we accept in British culture.

Whether it’s the beautifying elements of body waxing, spray tanning or make-up application with Love Island’s Chloe Crowhurst or learning Royal Family etiquette with Kate and William’s ex-Butler, Miss Holland interacts with many real-life characters and situations throughout its six-part run and no topic is off the agenda.

I created the character five years ago to shine a light on the weird and wonderful ways of Los Angeles, USA and the expectation that all women should look perfect. LA is a bizarre place where you get asked if you’ve been ill if your nails are unkempt. Slowly but surely many women are forced to adapt to this endless upkeep of beauty regimes and must-have cleavage displays for castings or dates. As American culture creeps into the European way of life, more teenage girls occupy themselves with perfecting the art of contouring as opposed to investing in their ISA. Because unfortunately, beauty is still the highest traded commodity for ladies.

Putting the few savings I had into producing online videos led by an odd Dutch beauty queen was not your average 25-year-old’s idea of fun. Nowadays, though we live in such a wonderful new age where we can pick up a camera and create a series on our laptop. It’s a way to show your idea to the world, however strange it may be.

I would like to applaud BBC Three for creating opportunities for this new generation and allowing them to self-produce, write, direct and edit their own online content. Some ideas work, and some don’t but that’s the beauty of piloting ideas online. Content I have tried and tested online can obtain millions of views and the odd award here and there! But ultimately, it’s a creator’s dream to get picked up by the BBC. New markets might be opening up consisting of the global sales and distribution of short-form content. Furthermore, such content is increasingly valued as a format in its own right and is no longer solely viewed as a method of piloting shows for broadcast.

There are challenges that come with the transition from the Wild West of online video platforms to the tried and tested rules and regulations of a broadcaster. As an online content creator it is important to come to grips with these differences. The BBC is required to treat its contributors fairly, it was therefore key that Miss Holland kept her contributors on her side as they had to consent both before and after the interview. As such, it was imperative that they enjoyed the interview. This means the joke was on Miss Holland at all times and we do not embarrass anyone, but simply allude to the social construct that she is innocently challenging. We have a laugh about it afterwards with the contributors and remain on good terms with all of them including the Imam, the former Royal Butler and even the politician who very much enjoyed the interview but decided he didn’t want to be a part of the final show because of the comedic nature.

Comedy is at its best when challenging social norms but these encounters can cause unintended offence. We have worked closely with members of the Muslim community, British male and female writers, the commissioner and editorial policy to stay within the lines of acceptability whilst also trying to push the envelope as a woman in comedy.

At a time when opinion is so divided about Brexit, I can think of no better way to shine a light on the greatness of British culture than by having Miss Holland explore its eclectic mix of nuances.

Miss Holland is available on BBC Three from today Friday 15 March 

Eline Van Der Velden, Creator BBC Three's Miss Holland

And there came our USP and our ball and chain all in one. In pursuit of a heady and intoxicating mix, we chased access in the way an addict does a high, not knowing when to stop. We might seek to obtain multi-pronged access but how on earth could we maintain it over the course of the filming period, which would go on for well over a year?

Spin forward six months and we are counting access agreements as the 'track changes’ added up and the weeks spent chasing signatures from the bosses began to take their toll. However we feel to make a compelling, rounded, non-judgmental series with the ability to follow compelling narratives we need to have the capacity to be everywhere in the city.

So now we’re good to go now surely? Well no, not by a long way. Now the whole process starts all over again with the professionals who work out in the community with street-level drugs everyday. Their concerns were sky high at first, and with good reason. How could it ever be in the best interest of the vulnerable people they worked with to take part? We had considered this at length and it helped that we shared some of those concerns - and still do today.

Crucially, we found some users who wanted to take part in order to help others, even if it were just one person, not to go down their path. Things then started easing up when they persuaded the professionals on our behalf, vigorously demonstrating that they were aware of the pitfalls, had thought them through and still wanted to go ahead.

We had more than our fair share of challenges along the way. ‘No – we never ever pay contributors’ … ‘It’s absolutely crucial we are clear – we can never encourage you to take drugs in any way, but we are here to witness what’s going on in an unmediated way as possible’ ….‘Can we go over one more time what would happen if you were to get into problems when taking this drug?... ‘Can we run over this consent process again now you are in a lucid state of mind?’ Hmmm – dangerous world this documentary business …

So one year into the production things were in full flow. Although it never felt we were in control, with too many highs and crashing lows to count, we were undoubtedly getting somewhere. We were in with – heroin users, GPs, MPs, drug workers, councillors, crack addicts, staff at detox centres, recreational party animals, homeless drug users, sex workers, children of ex users, scientists, researchers, alternative psychedelic performers and peer mentors - to name but a few.

We had access to the high level institutions and ground-level workers/users, but then we needed to head underground – to the murky world of the dealers. This took a different kind of access negotiation and had an even lower hit rate. We put the word out and would arrange dubious meetings in the most unlikely of places – one surreal rendezvous was set in a café inside a mega DIY store that felt like a scene from Breaking Bad. Sadly the man whose boasts about the finest home produced crack was a no show. Maybe it was a good thing all round.
But bit-by-bit with patience and persistence we found some who did want to share their story.

Today it strikes me that the same issues come up across the board in relation to access whether we were talking to a chief constable or a street dealer. They both ultimately want to know how they could trust us and whether anything negative would happen as a result of them taking part. Good valid questions.

All of the people who took part who wanted to have now seen the finished films and are happy with them. Their trust in us hopefully proves to have been worthwhile. The series will be broadcast for just one period– another means of protecting those who took part.

Sacha Mirzoeff, is BBC Executive Producer of Drugsland.

• Drugsland is co-produced by the Open University and starts on BBC Three from Tuesday 14 November, 2017. It will also be broadcast on BBC One from Tuesday 21 November.
• Find out more about organisations who can help with information and support regarding the issues raised in Drugsland.
• Follow @BBCThree on twitter.

The Break returns to BBC Three Sunday 12 February with five new original short film monologues by up-and-coming writers.The Break II is an exciting collaboration between BBC Writersroom and BBC Drama Production to make five original short monologues for BBC Three, written by up-and-coming BAME writing talent from across the UK.

Here one of the directors, Nour Wazzi talks about her experience marshalling two of the short films: Maya Sondhi’s The Package, Chino Odimba’s Scotch Bonnett.

I was thrilled when the BBC first contacted me to come in for a meeting. After spending years trying to get my voice heard, it felt rewarding to have a broadcaster like the BBC reach out to me. Rejections are a big part of this industry so it’s all the more gratifying when something good happens that recognises you in some way.

I’d made a couple of Film London backed shorts and recently completed a short thriller to showcase my versatility. This led to BBC Producer Rachelle Constant seeing my work and championing me. I’m immensely grateful to her for giving me this chance. This would be my first paid narrative job as a Director, and it felt good not to be working for free for once!

Going to my first meeting at the Beeb, everyone made me feel at home. They called me back to pitch on 10 shorts. This was an amazing opportunity as I was given the space and time to give my take on each project. The hilarious, honest and heart-breaking Scotch Bonnett by the talented Chino Odimba and the touching, suspense-filled The Package by the incredible Maya Sondhi were eventually selected for me.

Being a thriller The Package was closer to my sensibilities than the comedy of Scotch Bonnett’. However as an Arab living in the UK, I connected with Scotch Bonnett’s central theme of identity and found a way to make it personal. Chino was clear with what she wanted to convey, and I wanted to best interpret her vision. Script development mainly dealt with progression of character and my desire to break from the monologue to visualise key moments. In the end Chino was onboard with this more eye-catching direction and we all felt it helped add dynamicm to the film as a whole. 

At the start, The Package was a very different film and like the other chosen four in the series was a monologue to camera. As with Scotch Bonnett, I’d suggested a more cinematic take on the story, but it would require a complete rewrite of the script and no monologue. I was ecstatic when Maya and the BBC went with my direction. Even though TV is a writer’s medium, Maya was very open-minded and nailed it on the first redraft. I just love the central message of this film, which comes at a very pertinent time.

We were fortunate to have the unyielding support of the hardworking team behind Doctors, allowing us to use their sets, props and crew. We were also lucky to have BAFTA nominee Tony Miller BSC as Cinematographer on board. Plus I had Rachelle and Executive Producer Anne Edyvean in my corner. They were with me all the way - on set, in the edit, grade and sound mix. 

In terms of process, after I’d done my in-depth scene prep, I broke down my shots and moved to the floor plans. I use a brilliant app called ‘Shot Designer’ that I’d recommend to all directors – it keeps my shots, floorplans, location refs and storyboards (by Dan Schaefer) in one unified place to easily convey my vision to all departments.  

One of my favourite parts of the process was the casting and rehearsals. The casting sessions helped figure out which lines and intentions worked and which ones needed to be tweaked. I had a great time bringing the characters to life with Leonie Elliott and James Floyd. They each brought something unique to the table and were a pleasure to work with. We got on so well I convinced them both to rehearse at my home - which I’ve never done before. I’d recommend it as it further personalised the rehearsal process and meant we had an instant rapport on set.

With unit moves, night-time lighting set-ups and a low loader, there would not be a lot of time to get the coverage I wanted. We had one day per film and only nine hours on set (continuous day) – we’d lose at least three hours on moves and set-ups so I’d be lucky to have six actual shooting hours. I needed my bases covered before I stepped on set, so I prioritised key shots and scheduled their shooting order. I’ve been first AD (Assistant Director) on a number of shorts and a couple of features over the last few years so I like being in control of my own schedule. I also had a brilliant Line Producer Trudy Coleman who bent over backwards to help me achieve my vision.  

I had a terrific post-production team with Molinare, graphics by Mr Kaplin and offline editor Abo Talooni. The edit was the most challenging process and we made bold choices. There was a lot of experimentation in Scotch Bonnett and with a steer from the execs we ended up disruptive, punchy and fun with the edit. Working on the music (with composer David Saunders) was quite a process of exploration to find a place everyone was happy with.

The Package was about cutting back – assembly was 10mins long and we ended up losing half of it! I would’ve liked to draw out a few moments but you always need to make hard choices. We were really pleased we could include great music from Adele, Jungle, Skepta and AWOLNATION.

Even though you never have enough time, I love the feeling of being on set and the need to think on your feet - it’s the one place I feel truly liberated. I finally let go, place trust in my cast and crew and allow my instinct to kick in. You pick your battles and there are always hitches along the way but often the best things come from the unexpected and this was no exception.

Overall, the opportunity to direct for The Break II has been terrific, and I hope it will open a few doors. Everyone’s intentions were always in the right place and they went above and beyond to make them happen. This kind of dedication can be the difference between a good or bad production.

I wish there were more platforms like The Break to help emerging BAME writers and directors to showcase their work. The BBC have done an excellent job and provided a much-needed opportunity for all of us to be seen and heard. It’s a tough business that’s not for the faint-hearted, and we can use all the help we can get!  

Nour Wazzi is a director for The Break II

• The Break will be available to watch from 12 February (one film per week) from 12 February at 6pm on BBC Three and Youtube. 
• Find out more and watch interviews with the creative teams on the Writersroom website.

If you're in the know, then you will have already been watching Fleabag, waiting patiently for the last five Thursdays as BBC Three released each episode online. If you're not in the know, we'd like to put you in the know, so, y'know...know, and give you the opportunity to start watching the series from the beginning as it airs on BBC Two on Sunday 21 August at 10pm.

The creation of Phoebe Waller-Bridge (who also co-wrote the excellent Crashing shown earlier this year on Channel 4), Fleabag started life as a one-woman play which debuted at The Edinburgh Festival in 2013. Waller-Bridge wrote and stars in the dark comedy, her response to Damian Kavanagh, Digital Controller of BBC Three commissioning the six-part series being "I can't believe they've let me do this.”

Fleabag has been described as a lot of things from 'a really, really, really, really bleak version of Miranda' (Guardian), to 'a gloriously rude update of Bridget Jones's Diary' (Telegraph), to 'The British answer to ‘Girls’' (Grazia) and has seemed to have caught the imagination of viewers too, with a large amount of them taking to Twitter to praise the show, from popstars:

to journalists:

to fellow comedy writers:

So, as mentioned, the series starts its run on terrestrial TV on Sunday 21 August, but Fleabag is not the first comedy that has found its footing in the nurturing environment of BBC Three and then made the leap to BBC One or BBC Two. We had a quick scan through the archives and found these BBC Three original comedies that were repeated on or moved to the mainstream BBC channels and went on to great success.

Starting out on Radio 4, Little Britain had it's first airing on television as part of the new channel showcase on BBC Three on February 9th, 2003, listed as 'Comedy sketches satirising modern life', the show was repeated on BBC One from December of the same year and spawned a host of quotable catcphrases from schoolgirl Vicky Pollard's 'Yeah but no but' to the jobsworthian 'Computer says no'.

Written by and starring Julia Davis, this (very) dark sitcom centred around Jill, a 27 year old beauty salon owner, determined to make a fresh start after learning her husband Terry (Kevin Eldon) has terminal cancer. Airing on BBC Three in January 2004, it made it's way to BBC Two two months later. The show which also starred Angus Deayton and Rebecca Front (The Day Today, The Thick Of It) won critical acclaim, winning BAFTA awards for Best Comedy Performance and Situation Comedy, and Best New TV Comedy at the British Comedy Awards in 2005.

Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding's offbeat sitcom set in a magical zoo was a follow on to The Boosh radio series which was first broadcast on BBC London Live in 2001. The Mighty Boosh first appeared on TV in May 2004. The duo's surreal 'journey through time and space' became a cult classic and series one was repeated on BBC Two in November, 2004. The comedy ran for three series and the pair also toured a stage version of the show. Fielding went on to become (among other things) a team captain on BBC Two's Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

After appearing in the aforementioned Little Britain (as Myfanwy) and Nighty Night (as Linda), Ruth Jones went on to co-write Gavin and Stacey with James Corden (The Wrong Mans). The award-winning sitcom following the blossoming relationship between a girl from Barry and a boy from Billericay was first broadcast in July 2007 on BBC Three with a repeat of the following month on BBC Two. The second series was also premiered on the BBC's digital only channel, but the Christmas special in 2008 and the third (and final) series were first aired on BBC One, with the show's last episode on January 1st, 2010 attracting just over 10.2 million viewers.

Alright, so Him & Her, a comedy based around the lives of Becky and Steve, a young couple living together in a flat in Walthamstow, never actually left BBC Three, much in the same way the two main characters never seemed to leave their flat, but we thought it was worth a mention, not only because of it's popularity, but because the writer, Stefan Golaszewski's latest creation Mum was broadcast on BBC Two earlier this year. Starring Leslie Manville as Cathy, a recently widowed mum of a grown up son, this charming sitcom, too, struggled to leave the house.

Kicking off in September 2012, Cuckoo was BBC Three's most watched comedy launch. Starring Greg Davies, Helen Baxendale and originally starring Tamla Kari as Rachel and US Comic Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as the title character, the comedy about a suburban family dealing with their daughter's, new, New Age husband proved popular and continues to be a jewel in the BBC Three crown. Series three was one of the first programmes to become available when BBC Three became an online only channel in February 2016 with the series being repeated on BBC One.

Jen Macro is Digital Content Producer, About the BBC Blog and website.

• Read how BBC Three continue to commission and nurture new comedy talent: 'BBC Three feeds you brand new British comedy' on the BBC Media Centre website
• Watch all 6 episodes of Fleabag on BBC iPlayer
• Find out about the BBC Landmark Sitcom Season in 'Here comes the comedy Olympics'
• Follow @BBCThree on twitter

What made you want to investigate Damien’s case?

When we came to this story, over a thousand people had already been involved in the police investigation; they had taken hundreds of witness statements, reviewed thousands of documents. Yet the case remained unsolved. That’s extraordinary. But this story is about more than a missing boy. It was about the ripple effect that occurs after an event like this – and a family and a community coming to terms with this kind of grief - it's called "ambiguous loss".

Because no one actually knows what happened to Damien, his family have been left with a very complicated grief – there is no body, no grave, and no closure. That’s a very hard thing to get your head around. This series is as much about the complexities of a family trying to deal with that, as it is about what happened that night, failures in the early police investigation, and the rumour mill on the island.

Where do you start investigating a disappearance from nearly 20 years ago?

You start at the beginning and work back. For us, it was the night Damien went missing. Nailing down a timeline was crucial. After that, we had to get to know Damien; his habits, his friends, what he did in his spare time. There’s no such thing as too much information. In this case, nothing was straightforward, so it was important to speak to as many people as possible - and to keep an open mind. Talking to witnesses years later – in this case almost 20 years later - can yield surprising results. You never know where they might lead you.

What are the main challenges?

Taking on a story like this is a huge responsibility. You’re constantly mindful of the existence of a grieving family desperate for answers. But then there was the test of wading through almost twenty years of rumour, speculation and lies. Some stories have been retold so many times that they have become part of the mythology of the Isle of Wight. At times, it was difficult to decipher fact from fiction.

How important was it to work closely with Damien’s family and friends?

We couldn’t have made this series without Valerie, James and the rest of the Nettles family. They gave us so much of their time and energy, never tiring of answering questions or running over old ground. Their contribution to the films was invaluable, not only to helping us get to know Damien, but also assisting with the investigation itself.

What was the most satisfying or surprising part of the investigation?

For me, it was sitting down in front of some of the key players. Although the Nettles family had never met any of these people, they had become a constant presence in their lives, looming like a kind of spectre in the family story. They knew their names and for almost two decades, the family strongly believed these people were involved in Damien’s disappearance. So even for us, the moment when we finally sat down in front of them was significant.

What is it about these types of cases and programmes (MAM, Serial) that is so interesting for audiences?

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is one of my favourite books of all time - a gripping true crime story, well told, with complex characters and real jeopardy. That’s what makes this genre so popular - they are real stories, with real people and real consequences. The jeopardy is genuine. That’s the thing about real life – you don’t know what’s going to happen next.

When I watched the last episode of The Jinx, the first thing I did was lock my front door. Even though I was thousands of miles away from this man, he was real and I had witnessed an extraordinary confessional moment unfold in front of me. It wasn’t the work of script writers. It was real.

Look at the latest development in Adnan Syed’s case - it’s impossible to know if that would have happened without the popularity of Serial, but it seems unlikely.

Why would you recommend people watch Unsolved?

It's a completely new format for BBC Three; serious forensic journalism but filmed like a fly-on-the-wall documentary. The entire project was an experiment. That's really exciting. Plus, it provides a great insight into investigative journalism.

Bronagh Munro

What made you want to investigate Damien’s case?

When I was looking at the many unsolved cases in the UK, Damien’s story really drew me in. I just didn’t believe a 16-year-old boy could simply vanish into thin air, and definitely not from the main street in small town like Cowes, without someone knowing something.

I’m from a small island, with a strong sense of community and I know that a young boy disappearing is a life shattering event not just for the family but it also has a deep impact on local people. No one can just disappear without leaving a trace, but it appeared, that this is exactly what Damien did.
Rumours abounded that he had simply fallen into the sea. I trawled the news reports, his family refused to accept this theory. I repeatedly read that Damien was a happy, content boy who loved life. He appeared to have no reason to run away. Something just didn’t fit.

When I first called Valerie Nettles, Damien’s mother, her sadness and frustration made a big impact on me. Yet behind the intangible grief, there was a determination and resilience that I immediately admired and responded to. She was a fighter and I understood that she could not move on with her own life until she found the answers to what had happened to her son. She was caught in limbo.

Today, historical cases as they are known, struggle to capture the interest of people who everyday face media reports of new atrocities. I knew Valerie faced an uphill battle; Damien’s case was almost 20 years old, she was frustrated with the police, the loss of vital evidence and the failure to retain records had hampered the case, she was exhausted, and all the resources she had to hand to find her son had been used.From what she told me, I wanted to help her, I felt we could.

Where do you start investigating a disappearance from nearly20 years ago?

I was under no illusion of the task ahead, the police with all their resources had been working on this case for 20 years. Other journalists and private detectives had been involved with no success.

You have to keep an open mind, explore all the avenues in front of you and look for as much hard evidence as you can to prove or disprove a theory.
And in Damien’s case there was nearly as many theories as the number of years he had been missing.

Every investigation is different, but fundamentally there are similarities. In my head I place the person in the centre of the investigation and then I begin to make contact with anyone and everyone who might have known him. Those closest to person are always the first port of call. They provide invaluable information that that would give us an insight into who Damien was and what was happening in his life was like back then. It’s always step by step, bit by bit. You are building a jigsaw.

I had to look at the obvious answers first; Damien really could have just run away or fallen in the sea. But very quickly I found myself looking past these theories and past the people who wanted to believe this. The oral evidence I was discovering didn’t lend itself to that.

You look at and conduct the investigation like a criminal case if you believe there was wrongdoing. It is important to get as much written evidence relating to the case as possible, often with fresh eyes and a different perspective there is significant information that could have been overlooked previously. There was little of that in this case.

I began to look for where there was opportunity for something to have happened to Damien. The social circles he was in, his jobs, his friends. I wanted to understand what possible motive anyone could have had for harming Damien and that led me to those who were rumoured to be involved.

Historical cases are notoriously difficult. This one proved to be no different.

What are the main challenges?

The case was 20 years old, vital evidence and records had been lost, memories had faded, people had moved on. There was no crime scene, no body and only circumstantial evidence to follow. I couldn’t have picked a tougher case if I had tried.

Tracking down witnesses and contributors and getting them to talk was the easy part, untangling and proving their stories were a different matter. Rumour and speculation were rife surrounding Damien’s disappearance and his story had been told time and time again; it was part of island mythology.

The family had very little if any documentation in relation to the case, so had to rely on oral evidence. I could never be sure if what people told us was actually their own true recollection of the facts or if there memories were tinged by what other people had said. Every detail had to be tested and checked before we could rely on it.

Do I feel that there was a wall of silence at times, yes.

Do I believe people deliberately misled us, yes.

The tougher it got, the more determined I became that there was information out there; people did know what happened to Damien. It was not just a missing person’s case.

Quite apart from that – moving to the island for nearly four months was tough. Setting up without all the usual resources was a culture shock. The case became all consuming. I felt, I lived and breathed it 24hrs a day.

How important was it to work closely with Damien’s family and friends?

I feel it is a privilege when families share their stories with us and give us permission to work on their cases. We are never approaching them for good news, often they are sharing the most painful and intimate details. It is huge responsibility to set yourself up as someone who could help them. From the beginning I needed Valerie to understand that we might never give her any more answers than she had already, but we would certainly try. I don’t believe any investigation can be successful without the ‘buy in’ and commitment from the family and their friends.

I know the family often hold vital evidence unbeknown to themselves. From the outset I always make them aware that I will talk to them and ask them more questions than they have ever been asked in their life. I will spend hours going through their memories, the history of the case, and any documents I can get my hands on.

Written documents are gold dust in an investigation like this. Memories fade and history can become distorted but the written word doesn’t change. Often the intensity of our work is difficult for the families, it bring up painful memories and makes them question what they previously believed.

What was the most satisfying or surprising part of the investigation?

On a personal level the investigation becomes all-consuming, I know if I get results I could help the Nettles family, and that is rewarding. Results aside, knowing that we have provided a platform for Valerie and the Nettles family to tell their story is satisfying. Knowing how difficult it has been for them, it is good to be able to provide them with an opportunity to reach a wider audience and perhaps this may help them get closer to finding Damien. In terms of surprises though, there were many and not all of them good. The most significant one for me was discovering how careless people were with the truth.

We discovered that the Nettles family had been approached many times over the last 20 years by people only seeking to further their own interests at the expense of the Nettles family. These people provided information that not only did not help the police find Damien, but actively wasted police time and diverted resources in investigating lines of enquiry that went nowhere.

I was shocked and disappointed to learn people had approached Valerie in person and recounted tales of what happened to Damien with absolutely no basis in truth or facts.

What is it about these types of cases and programmes (MAM, Serial) that is so interesting for audiences?

To work on an investigation like this is truly gripping for those involved. The stakes are higher, you are dealing with real families and often the most serious of crimes. There is real jeopardy and complex characters that isn’t the work of script writers. I feel the audience enjoys the integrity of the story being told as it really happened. Making a Murderer is a great example of this. I feel that audiences respond to this, because the stories are real and the contributors compelling. There is a real rise in the popularity of this genre, with some truly great cases being covered.

The Jinx was an utterly fascinating watch, because of their main character, and the additional online content allowed audiences to delve deeper in to his case. It allows the audience to become arm chair detectives and get stuck into the investigation themselves.

Hopefully the audience will respond in a similar way to the online content that will be released in tandem with our films. The films are short so it’s been great to be able to give certain characters space to develop.

For me the greatest aspect about this type of programme is that they can have real impact and affect peoples’ real lives. Serial, the American radio podcast, has done just that –the latest development in the Syed case.

You are left in doubt as to whether this could have happened so quickly if at all, if not for the popularity and work by the journalists involved. Another great example of the effect these investigations can have is the 50 year old Elise Frost murder. Where a BBC Radio Four investigation allegedly prompted the re-opening of the case.

Why would you recommend people watch Unsolved?

It’s a different style of film making for current affairs, the cameras rolled from day one, there was no research period. The audience gets to follow us (the reporters) through all the highs and lows of trying to investigate Damien’s case. They see our success and failures, and the everyday life of investigative reporters, warts and all.

The true story of the heartache, bravery and frustration of the Nettles family will not be lost on the audience, as they follow the family in their search for the truth.

The characters we meet are real and compelling and you cannot predict what they are going to say or do. Often we found ourselves talking to people who we never thought for a second would open the door to us and the audience gets to see this first hand as it happens. As the story unfolds the audience will get to hear real testimony from characters as we hear it, and they will have to make up their own minds as to who is telling the truth and who is not.

Apart from that, you get the bonus of being able to ‘binge’ watch of all the episodes, as all eight of them are going up together. Or, because each of the episodes are only approximately 15 minutes long, they are accessible and easily watched on any device, even on your tea break.

All eight episodes of Unsolved: The boy who disappeared are available to watch on iPlayer now

• Read more about Damien Nettles: The boy who disappeared on BBC News
• Find out more on the Media Centre

These are early days for BBC Three but I'm overjoyed with what we've achieved so far. It’s a marathon not a sprint but so far we’ve exceeded expectations.  We're iterating what we do with people, products and content and in many ways chose the harder path. We know transforming the BBC's offer for young people won't happen overnight, but with what we've achieved so far, and what's coming the future‘s bright. We're building a fantastic team and working in new ways that are paying off, and earlier than we expected.

We're taking risks which can be scary for people who are familiar with traditional TV but my advice is simple. Great content is great content and it will find its audience whatever the means of distribution. We're platform neutral at BBC Three which is clear from who we're looking to partner with. We want to work with people that share our spirit of adventure and want to innovate.

We have a huge amount of support behind us with the reach of BBC TV, Radio and Online. We're also putting a huge amount of effort into reaching new audiences in new ways and being less reliant on traditional media. Like I say, these are early days but we are ahead of the game.

I'll leave it there for now. I’m going to write a post with all the stuff we have coming soon including new formats, new comedy, new talent and some big projects with some of the biggest names around that will raise a few eyebrows, the deals aren't done yet. More to follow.

And if you haven't watched Thirteen I urge you to do so. You won’t be disappointed.  

Damian Kavanagh is Digital Controller, BBC Three 

Imagine that you fell in love with a girl. Imagine she fell in love with you too, but her parents didn't approve of you.

Imagine they killed her because of your relationship with her.

The issue of honour, and its transgressions, is a difficult thing for most people to understand. But it’s very easy to imagine that if your girlfriend were killed because she wanted to be with you, you'd feel grief-stricken, and traumatised, and maybe even guilty too. And you might feel scared as well - because the kind of people prepared to kill their own daughter to preserve their sense of honour might well want to do the same to you.

So when the BBC Documentaries department embarked on making a drama about honour killing, we had some very real issues to consider. The sensitivities of some very damaged survivors, for one, and their safety too. We knew for all these reasons we couldn't make a drama based solely on one true story. But we also knew that we wanted our drama to be very powerfully anchored in truth. So what to do?

We turned to the experts - the psychologists who deal with the consequences of honour-based violence; the police who pursue the culprits, and the charities that help the victims. In IKWRO, the Iranian Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation, and Karma Nirvana, we found patient, supportive and attentive guides into the world of honour-based violence. They provided us with case studies, and put us in contact with women who had themselves been victims of violence, or friends of girls who died at the hands of their own family. 

Their own family. The very people they trusted most to protect them. And maybe in some terrible way - some way we could half-glimpse through our research, even as we recoiled from it - these families really did think that they were protecting their daughters. Because in their minds the reputation of their girls - and of the families they supposedly represent - is so crucial, and the disapproval of their communities so crippling, that it really would be better to kill them than to sacrifice their 'honour'. 

It's difficult to conceive of, let alone sympathise with, but we were convinced that to make a film about the horror of honour killing, we had to try to get into the mind of the perpetrators in some way – to have any hope of understanding honour killing, we would have to try to understand those who committed these awful crimes.

Parents are controlling the world over, and love is a sometimes scary, rebellious force. But this was control taken beyond any reasonable boundary, into places of horror and tragedy.

As we built up our research, we opened a two-way communication with our writer, the brilliant Vinay Patel, so that what he wrote was informed by what we had learned, and what we asked was prompted by his questions. Was what he wrote inspired by real events? Yes. But it was not a drama based on a real story, it was a drama about honour killing as it happens, and continues to happen, in the real world. The girls who are killed for honour - and the victims are far more likely to be women than men – come from a range of communities, ethnicities and religions. They are our friends, our colleagues, our schoolmates – their deaths concern all of us, and we have to understand why they happen.

And it happens a lot – more than any of us imagined when we embarked on the project. As IKWRO and Karma Nirvana informed us, nearly 12,000 cases of 'honour-based' violence have been reported in the UK since 2010, including abductions, beatings and an estimated 60 murders – only estimated, because many of the victims of honour-based crime simply disappear on ‘holidays’ to distant homelands that they may never even have seen before. We all of us felt a heavy weight of responsibility to those women as we made this film. They were British girls desperate to resolve the contradictions between the morality of their home – the home they grew up in, Britain – and the morality of a place their parents left behind. It’s awful even to try to imagine the anguish and the terror they must have felt in their last moments, as the people they loved most took their lives from them.

The film we've made is for them, and we only hope that it does them some justice.

Marco Crivellari is Development Producer for Murdered By My Father.

• Murdered By My Father is due for release on BBC Three online in late March 2016.
• Read more about the programme in Damian Kavanagh's announcement of Factual commissions for BBC Three on the BBC Media Centre website.
• See a clip from 'Murdered By My Father' in a press release about the programme on the BBC Media Centre website.

New BBC Three gets underway on Tuesday 16 February 2016. See the showreel above for a selection of highlights of what the new BBC Three will offer. Digital Controller Damian Kavanagh explains more.

I want BBC Three to be what people told us they wanted and what we do better than anyone else; original British comedy, provocative documentaries, edgy current affairs and contemporary British drama that makes people think and laugh.

This is an incredibly exciting time for BBC Three as we transform the BBC’s offer for young people by making new types of content, delivered on the platforms they choose, at a time they want. We will make available innovative, distinctive TV shows, featuring the best new talent, when it suits the audience not the schedule. We will innovate with new types of content young people want and deliver it in a way that fits their lives, wherever they are, through The Daily Drop.

The Daily Drop is for when you have a few moments and want to know what’s going on, want to be entertained and to discover more. We want people to get into the habit of coming back every day.”

The Best Of is for when you have more time and brings our programmes and new content together for a richer experience. It’s where alongside out 60 minute documentaries we will make available our fourth Life and Death Row film Love Triangle, which isn’t a traditional film, will be made available. It’s an 8x8 minute series of films that each end on a point that encourages you to discover more before we publish the next one alongside real life police recordings and crime scene photographs and the standalone documentary The Man Who Witnessed 219 Executions. Unsolved: The Boy Who Disappeared about a real life disappearance in the UK will use a similar approach. It’s liberating for the filmmakers we’re working with to be given the creative freedom to use different formats to tell the story best. We aren’t constrained by duration or form anymore so the shackles are off when it comes to creativity.

The Daily Drop will feature content made by the BBC but also suppliers including people who haven’t made TV before. It’s exciting to open up the BBC to new suppliers who don’t make traditional TV and help foster this relatively new market. Some will relate to our long form, some will be standalone and reactive to events like Stacey Dooley’s quick turnaround film about the sex attacks in Cologne, and some will be very different.

Last year we covered League of Legends and learnt a lot and are looking to have similar partnerships in the future. We are covering Eddie Izzard’s 27 marathons in 27 days challenge with Sport Relief in new ways on our platforms. BBC Three is an amazing brand which cuts through with a diverse young audience so I am being approached all the time with interesting ideas about partnerships which we will embrace if they have appeal and relevance to our audience.

We will make most of our Daily Drop content embeddable so it can be viewed anywhere. If the Mail Online, Buzzfeed, Kotaku or Digital Spy want to embed The Dark Side of Gaming they can. It should really be from BBC Three now rather than on BBC Three because you will see some of our content in lots of places. Our much loved logo will be a badge of quality and a signifier of content that will stimulate emotions and provoke reactions wherever you see it.

I want BBC Three to be British-focused and grow the creative and digital industries in the UK, working in partnership with our existing suppliers and new suppliers.

We have the freedom to make our content available when we want and create moments and build suspense.

We can be both Serial and Making a Murderer depending on what works best. We’re blazing a trail for the BBC and the world is watching. Last week we had Scandinavian and Japanese broadcasters in the building because they are considering doing something similar.

BBC Three is the first channel in the world to switch online and being a pioneer means we know we won’t get everything right immediately, but being online means we can now adapt and iterate quickly. We will be open about what we do and share what we learn.

Over the next few days we’ll publish blog posts from our planning, audience research, digital, social and content teams explaining what we've done, what we are doing, why, and show how we will measure success.

BBC Three’s success will not be defined by simple bums on seats video views because if that was the point we could post cat gifs and Miley Cyrus videos all day and go home. It's about relevancy and impact with our audience. I'd rather have a short film about being transgender that helps save someone's life or make a show the British Army want to include in their training than a karaoke video as well as funny, provocative entertaining videos.

All the way through reinventing BBC Three we were singularly focused on what young people told us they wanted from a modern BBC Three. Content they could dip into during the day that kept them informed and entertained, and comedy, drama and documentaries they watch at their convenience. That's the idea behind The Daily Drop and The Best Of.

We will refine what we do as we grow and launch new features and products that will make the BBC Three experience even richer. We’re learning from the digital world and iterating over time rather than some old fashioned big bang TV launch with someone like the Spice Girls which would feel very 1990s. That’s not what we want.

By focussing on what young people told us they wanted we refined our editorial strategy. We're not making comedy panel shows, light entertainment or formatted shows like Snog Marry Avoid. We will have far fewer acquisitions. Family Guy and American Dad have been a big part of BBC Three but ITV bought the rights to them and E4’s Cleveland show from Fox and comedy panel shows and US shows.

The savings created from refocusing our content spend means we have more to invest in original British comedy, drama, documentaries and current affairs and more to invest in new British talent.

There have been critics but with more to show and more to say about what we are doing we are winning them round. The rapid change in technology and viewing habits is becoming clearer. No one wins if we have to constantly defend ourselves against people trying to undermine what we are doing. We will have enough critics about what we make because it will be challenging, provocative and edgy.

We will give young people a voice. Through our social accounts we can include our audience in decision making and ask questions and stimulate debate like we’ve never been able to do before. We can gain traction right there in the moment and create live moments around events. In time we will invite our fans to make content with us and for us. The barriers to create impactful quality content are diminishing daily.

But most importantly what BBC Three is, will be and should be isn’t new at all. It's what we've always done. BBC Three will be where the next Aidan Turner, James Corden, Stacey Dooley, Sharon Horgan, Reggie Yates, Russell Tovey, Georgina Campbell or Sheridan Smith come from. It will be where the next generation of directors and script writers and directors and filmmakers come from. And it’s where we we'll give the “digital” generation, who might not want to make traditional TV, opportunities to develop and reach wider and different audiences.

This is just the start for BBC Three and us reinventing the BBC's offer for young people. I'm incredibly lucky to have the best job around right now because I'm not limited by platform, schedule or content form and we're building an amazing team here all will amazing skills. These are exciting, pioneering times.

Damian Kavanagh is Digital Controller, BBC Three

• Read more about BBC Three's move online on the Media Centre website
• Discover new BBC Three at the Daily Drop, on YouTube and on BBC iPlayer
• Follow BBC Three on Twitter and on Facebook
• Read more posts by Damian Kavanagh

It was a very different type of film première.

A small cinema in central London - a family, their friends, teachers, youth workers, the national press. And at the heart of it all, a powerful and disturbing film - about a talented and much loved 14-year-old boy Breck Bednar who had been lured to his death by an online predator.

I was at a screening of BBC Three’s 'The Life and Death of Breck Bednar', part of an event organised by the BBC’s Outreach team to raise awareness of the dangers of online grooming, with an expert panel and teaching resources from BBC Learning. It was one of a number of events organised by BBC Outreach to maximise the impact and reach of the programmes we make.

The film, a docu-drama which includes interviews with Breck’s family and friends, as well as reconstructions of the events leading up to his death, starts with the chilling phone call made by Breck's murderer Lewis Daynes to the police shortly after Breck died. 

The film is difficult to watch at times - although there’s warmth and even humour - but it’s an important film and vital viewing for anyone who knows or cares about young people and the risks associated with the internet. It includes interviews with police investigating officers as they piece together how Lewis groomed Breck over a period of time, turning the social gaming he loved into a means to separate him from his family and friends.

The screening was followed by a stunned and respectful silence. There was a pause - and then Breck’s family and friends walked with quiet dignity out of the auditorium. The panel chair, Radio 1’s Tina Daheley explained that Breck’s family wanted a moment to gather their thoughts.

And then they returned - Breck’s mother Lorin LaFave taking the stage with two other speakers - Jonathan Baggaley from CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) and Kat English, the film’s Director.

After Breck’s death, his family, including his mother, father and three younger siblings agreed that they wanted something positive to come out of their great loss - so they are committed to spreading the word about the dangers of online grooming. Participating in the film and attending the screening was part of that commitment.  

During the panel session which followed the screening Lorin talked about the lengths she had gone to to protect her son - every parent listening could relate to what she had to say.

At one point during the discussion Breck’s mother was asked why she agreed to make the film with the BBC. Her response was that, although she had been asked many times if she would be involved with filming, she decided to go with the BBC because of the resources, like the learning materials and the Outreach event, that the BBC would bring.

BBC Outreach also organised a session after the screening where staff volunteers worked with teachers and youth workers on how the key messages from the film could be built into lesson plans.  During this session they viewed three films commissioned by BBC Learning which covered issues such as stages of grooming, online safety and challenging perceptions of paedophiles, and used BBC Learning workbooks.

There’s a lot of information about online grooming available for parents and teachers, but the teachers involved in the workshops said what was different about these resources was that they were current and new and featured the voices and opinions of young people themselves. In this way, the film helps young people watch out for each other, something which has more credibility and resonance than being told what to do by parents or teachers.

This event brought together different parts of the BBC - BBC Three and its YouTube Channel, BBC Learning and BBC Outreach - all of us working in the spirit of true public service broadcasting. We felt a great sense of responsibility to Breck and his family to make the lessons they so painfully learnt available and accessible to all. 

The main credit for the power of the film goes to Breck’s family and his friends for their bravery and determination to raise awareness. But I would hope that the work done by the production team and other parts of the BBC is a worthy support to their courage.

The film starts with Breck’s death, but goes on to talk about the life he lived, with a loving family and fantastic friends who shared his passion for gaming. 

At the screening, Breck's friends wanted to make the point that although online gaming was the means used to groom their friend, it was also the way they supported each other after his death. It’s also the way teachers, parents, youth workers and children can download resources and learn more about keeping themselves and their friends safe.

This is very much in the spirit of the Breck Foundation which was set up by his family. The message is to enjoying playing games online but still keep it real with family and friends. In their words, to ‘Play Virtual, Live Real’.

• Murder Games will be broadcast on BBC One at 10.45pm on Wednesday 3 February. It is also available to watch via BBC iPlayer or via the BBC Three website. 
• Read Siobhan Kilroy's post on how BBC Outreach helped make Murder Games. 
• Other sources of help, information and advice as well as the BBC Learning materials can be found on the BBC website. 
• Watch interviews with Breck’s mother Lorin and his friends Sully and Max.
• BBC Three goes online-only on Tuesday 16 February 2016; see the beta version of BBC Three's Daily Drop online now.   

Thanks to W1A we're cursed at the BBC when it comes to marketing and I don’t want to come across all Siobhan Sharpe but forgive me some lingo. The visual identity brings new BBC Three together - a new logo, new idents, new animations and new on screen presentation, all with a new colour palette. This visual identity will underpin what we do in the future.

What is most striking is the new logo and the fact it doesn’t actually say three. It’s easy to belittle the importance a logo has in supporting a brand, and I'm sure the usual critics will have their say - “It looks like Adidas”, “it looks like a “hamburger menu icon,” “it doesn’t even say three”, “are they Roman numerals” – but If I'm being honest I’m not worried. Some people are resistant to change and we wanted to be bold and create something that looks forward and will be around for years to come.

BBC Three's logo hasn't changed in 8 years so in an age of smartphones we needed a whole new system that fits the digital world, not something analogue just shoehorned into it. We needed to develop something that worked on a TV screen and as an app icon. Look at Snapchat. They're doing okay without having Snapchat in their logo.

“The new icon represents BBC Three's three pillars, make me think, make me laugh and give me a voice. That is what new BBC Three is all about.”

New BBC Three is founded on three principles that underpin everything we do. The first is ‘make me think’ - hard hitting documentaries like Suicide and Me and thought provoking drama like Murdered By My Boyfriend. The second is ‘Make me laugh’- distinctive comedy like People Just Do Nothing or new entertainment shows like Murder In Successville. The third, the exclamation mark, is ‘Give me a voice’, which is what we will do for young people.

We will make young people part of what we do through shows like Is This Rape? but also make them part of decision making and include them as content creators. In the next few weeks we will launch a collaboration with 50 young creatives who will be working with us to offer insight and make things with us.

This is part of the biggest change new BBC Three is undergoing. We are going to spend 20% of our budget on different types of content that is not traditional TV. This could be anything - short form, blogs, animation, picture led stories. And for the first time this will be daily, delivered to you via new products we will launch soon. In the future we will still have the same amount of long form TV but a raft of new digital content as well. Content produced by us, by partners in news and sport and by production companies.

The new icon works equally as well on a TV as it does on a smartphone or tablet. It works as an app icon and digital on screen graphic.

I'll be back with more in the next few weeks about our next phase of marketing and how we will make people familiar with our move online. We are working with some of the best, brightest and creative minds in the UK on our on and off-air campaigns. I've seen some of the early work and like BBC Three it's exciting, it's different and it's new - which is exactly what BBC Three is all about.

Niki Carr is Head of Marketing, BBC Three

The season also includes Is This Rape? Sex On Trial, and, broadcast last night, How Gay Is Pakistan? Powerful films that are exactly the kind of challenging, thought provoking films BBC Three should make, has made, and will always make.

Sexual assault is a delicate subject but that should not stop us from covering it. The show will challenge what young people know about sexual assault by inviting them to decide if what they see acted out on screen is rape. Some may argue this is an inappropriate way to cover sexual assault but the fact remains it is a very real issue for young people and we will present it in a way young people can engage with and relate to. We will treat the subject with sensitivity but not gloss over the issues it raises.

The same is true of How Gay Is Pakistan? The film may provoke debate because of its subject - it's certainly a powerful film about a young, gay, Pakistani born Brit, meeting people in Pakistan who are LGBT. He discovers a country where homosexuality is outlawed but practised in private, despite constant fears of persecution. It will show a side of the country that many young people in the UK are not familiar with.

Both films have challenging language and scenes that might offend some but if we are to reflect life we need to show real life - the good and the bad. I think it’s important we cover issues that affect young people in a distinctive way and present subjects  honestly.

With all our films, including recent titles Is Britain Racist? and KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy, we take great care before deciding to include footage some people may find offensive. Racist chanting, opinions about the holocaust or the abusive side of activists are vital to the stories we tell. Decisions are not taken lightly but it would be unfair to our audience if we excluded something because it might offend someone.

Young people witness extreme opinions in real life and online. To exclude such content would lose us the trust of our audience. Yes, we risk causing offence and challenging the beliefs of some but we make no apology for this because we believe our audience deserve to see the facts and make their own judgements.

BBC Three is more than making you think and challenging your perceptions. We want to entertain you and make you laugh as well. Last week, we announced  the new Doctor Who spin off Class. Arriving in 2016 it's Patrick Ness' first piece for TV and is targeted at a young adult audience.

Before Class arrives we have new drama Thirteen to look forward to.  It is written by talented young writer Marnie Dickens and it will be on BBC Three in early 2016. We also have Murdered By My Father, from the BAFTA winning team behind Murdered By My Boyfriend, and Murder Games, a drama documentary about the murder of Breck Bednar before Class arrives.

The Fear is our new show featuring homemade horror like 3am and The Butcher Man that will find the next big British horror filmmaker. The finalists will be judged by Blair Witch director Eduardo Sanchez and the winner then given backing to go on make their own horror film. It’s been described by The Times as “Imagine Bake Off with viscous blood & crushed bone".

Last week we signed KuruptFM’s - Grindah, Beats and Steves – for two new series of PJDN and this week we announced DI Sleet is coming back with a new series of Murder In Successville. 

And there’s more. We had another first for BBC Three last week - live coverage of League of Legends from Wembley. If you’re unfamiliar with LOL and eSports this should help and here’s presenter Julia Hardy going behind the scenes at the Arena.  It’s exactly the kind of innovation BBC Three will push. It’s a new direction for us and an example of how we are collaborating with other areas of the BBC. In this case BBC Sport who  produced our coverage and Dev from Radio 1 who was presenting.

I think all this, along with new British comedy Together, Top Coppers, Fried, Asian Provocateur demonstrate how new British comedy and new British talent will always be part of BBC Three and show how BBC Three will always offer new talent the very best opportunities.

I'm staggered how some people say we're running a channel down when all this is happening right now! And that’s before our new content team, led by Max Gogarty, ex head of Development at Vice, gets fully up and running. Watch this space. 

I was at the Edinburgh TV festival a few weeks back, it's where the TV industry gather to shop their wares and tell everyone how great we are. Lots of interesting sessions including one with our very own Stacey Dooley - alongside Ben Anderson from Vice, Nick Broomfield and Ross Kemp - talking about her experiences making Dangerous Docs and a keynote from Matt Brittin, Google's VP in EMEA. Matt said the industry should see BBC Three's move as a bold one considering how young audiences have changed. Matt, we'll definitely be "fishing where the fish are".

I was interviewed by Broadcast Magazine's Jake Kanter. During the session we talked about why we should reinvent online and announced the gender and race seasons. We also announced some of the new form content we have made. I know you guys want to know more about this but we have reasons to keep it under our hats for now. Again, watch this space.

I won’t go into the reasons again why we want to reinvent online - you can read my previous blog posts and this and this for that - but I hope I demonstrated what we’re doing through what we do best, the things we make. Content that no matter how it will be made available, will be available to all, and be both thought provoking and entertaining. I love your passion for BBC Three and the linear channel but the world has changed and we need to change.

These are not my stats. They are from Ofcom’s 2015 Communications market report and Thinkbox, the organisation that represents advertising on TV. 

• Over 50% of video viewing by 16-24s is not live TV
• Over 75% of 16-24s media time is not live TV
• The time 16-24s spend online has almost tripled since 2005 to over 28hrs a week
• 56% of homes have a TV connected to the internet
• 66% of homes have a DVR like Tivo or Sky+
• 80% of homes have fixed broadband. 83% can get superfast broadband
• 90% of homes have 4G reception
• 90% of 16-24s have a smartphone
• 59% said they'd miss their smartphone most, 17% chose TV
• 61% of 16-24s say they're hooked on their smartphone with half checking their phones within 5 minutes of waking and less than 5 minutes before going to sleep
• 54% of all adults own a tablet, up from 44% in 2014
• 93% of 16-24s have a social media account, with 41% ‘hooked on’. It’s 6% for over-55s
• 72% of all people watch short-form with 32% saying they watched daily or at least weekly
• 47% of all internet users use YouTube as a source when looking for information rising to 57% of 16 to 24 year-olds
• Among children, 16-24s and 35-44s daily viewing has fallen every year since 2010
• Decline in TV viewing is more pronounced among under-45s, with the greatest drop among children aged 4-15 (-12.4%), followed by the 25-34 group (-8.8%) and 35-44s (-8.0%). Viewing among the over-65s fell the least; by 0.3%
• Online TV revenue increased by 38% in 2014 to £793m, with income from online TV subscriptions increasing by 53%

I could go on and on with the stats but the fact remains, ten years ago BBC Three existed and the Nokia 1110 was the world’s bestselling phone. In 2015 we have Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer, the smartphone, 4G, broadband, Facebook, Snapchat and the PS4. Sky+ was just a baby 10 years ago. The world has changed and we could bury our heads in the sand and ignore these hugely disruptive changes or we can embrace them and give young people what they want, when they want it, how they want it.

We have lots planned over the coming weeks so please subscribe to @BBCThree on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Snapchat and like us on Facebook to be across the latest. We want you to get involved.

Damian Kavanagh is Digital Controller, BBC Three

I wanted to give you an update on what’s been happening with BBC Three, what’s coming up over the next few weeks plus an update on what we've been doing and where we are with our plans to move online. 

First, a quick reminder of some of the programmes we've broadcast over the past few weeks. The Defying The Label season on BBC Three has received universal acclaim from viewers, charities and most pleasingly, people with disabilities. You should watch Don’t Take My Baby. Throw up your K’s for Brentford’s finest: Beats, Grindah and Steves dropped their new video ‘A Dis One’. I’m told the UK garage scene is safe in their hands. It’s the final episode tonight but series 1 and 2 are up on iPlayer for you now.

Coming soon is new comedy Top Coppers, a cop-show with detectives John Mahogany and Mitch Rust attempting to rid Justice City of its deranged criminal underworld. It stars up-and-coming talent John Kearns (Winner, Best Comedy Show, Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2014) and Steen Raskopoulos (Nominee, Best Newcomer, Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2014).

In the next few days we will confirm details of two new seasons that cover issues that matter to young people today including one on gender that features a documentary from Professor Green about suicide and young men.

As you know, the BBC Trust have provisionally approved our plans to reinvent online but asked us to look at three areas before they begin their second consultation. They wanted a commitment to BBC Three shows being on TV, details on how we would get people to new BBC Three and a commitment to maintaining creative risk taking and talent opportunities on linear broadcast TV.

We’ve gone back to the Trust with our response, but here’s a summary.

BBC Three shows on TV  

All new original BBC Three shows will be on BBC One or BBC Two. This means BBC Three shows will be available to a wider mainstream audience than they are now, and to everyone. This will begin this autumn in slots that appeal to young audiences. We’re not proposing a fixed “BBC Three zone” but will schedule shows at times that are most appropriate. For example, new comedy after Graham Norton on BBC One or on BBC Two at 10pm weekdays or after Family Guy on Sunday nights. Factual shows could go out at 10.35pm on BBC One after the news - Reggie’s Far Right & Proud was well received in this slot – or after Newsnight on BBC Two. These will also direct people to watch the next episode or other films in a season on new BBC Three.

Getting people to new BBC Three

New BBC Three effectively consists of two parts: ending the 'traditional' linear broadcast; and, launching the new online service. It’s worth remembering new BBC Three is not just TV online. We will still make Life And Death Row and People Just Do Nothing but it’s also about creating new types of content we know young people want. This could be short form video, picture led stories, animations or graphics. To make people aware of this new content we’ll start doing more online from summer including ramping up activity on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram.

We will start making more new form content like the “things you’ve always wanted to ask a ask trans person” film we released a few weeks back.

We’ll also start showcasing content from other areas that appeal to young people, including working with partners in News and Sport.

We will also launch the first stage of new BBC Three online that will, for the first time, offer daily content from BBC Three. This will be in beta at first but we’ll build it up over the next few months until switch over in January when we will have a team in place and a full pipeline of new content and more functionality.

We’re recruiting for producers to make this content right now so if you know someone who has the best creative ideas and can bring these to life please tell them to apply here.

Another way we plan to make people aware of the move is to maintain the “channel” on TV for a few weeks showing clips and promos directing people online.  This, along with the ramped up activity online is will make people familiar with the new content we are making and where to find it.

We will also give it the full bells and whistles in terms of promotion. We’ll work with colleagues across the BBC including Radio 1 and BBC One to get out to the places where young people are, giving them content in the places they choose and bringing them back to new BBC Three. This activity will be paid for out of a central budget, not from BBC Three’s budget.

I want to remind you again that although we have less money we will be spending pretty much the same, or even more, on the stuff young people told us they wanted – scripted comedy, drama and documentaries. Because we won’t have repeats, anywhere near as many acquisitions, comedy panel shows or formatted factual shows like Snog Marry Avoid, we will spend as much on new British drama, as much on new British comedy and even more on documentaries and factual content than we do now. 

Creative risk-taking

Some people have expressed concern there will be fewer opportunities for talent and fewer innovative ideas on TV. I disagree. I believe there will be more.

Freed from the constraints of filling a 7pm to 4am schedule we will have space to experiment with new on- and off-screen talent. The areas we are focussing on are where the next generation of talent will come from are scripted comedy, drama and documentaries (the likes of Snog Marry Avoid or Don’t Tell The Bride didn’t really offer new talent opportunities). Our commitment to show all new BBC Three shows on BBC One and BBC Two means we will increase the exposure for new talent to a wider mainstream audience, as well as offering more risky creative programmes on linear TV. 

Putting in quotas for being edgy isn’t the best way to engender risk-taking, innovation and nurturing new talent - BBC Three does just that already. New BBC Three would be our biggest commitment to new content, creating opportunities for new talent with something to say to a young audience and giving even more young creative types a way to get their ideas to a wider audience.

And it’s worth remembering that younger audiences already watch BBC One and BBC Two in their millions and appealing to these younger audiences is a big focus for the teams running those channels. They are already taking risks with new talent and ideas. We hope that by having BBC Three shows on BBC One and BBC Two this will also make these channels younger and more relevant to younger audiences. New BBC Three talent could go on to be part of BBC One and BBC Two at some point, just like Gavin & Stacey did. 

Over 50% of video viewing by 16-24s is not live TV so being online is not exactly niche. That’s because young people choose what they want at a time of their choosing. This will only increase over time. BBC Three should be there for them, not only stuck on a TV after 7pm.

These are our responses to the questions the Trust has asked. Now their second consultation is open you can submit your views on their decision on the BBC Trust site. 

• Read Damian Kavanagh's posts on this blog including, Ten Things You Should Know About BBC Three
• Watch the latest batch of BBC Three comedy Feeds on iPlayer - the channel's long-standing commitment to new experimental comedy and new talent.  

 This post was updated at 1907 on Friday 14 August 2015.