BBC Three finally returns to TV screens tonight with a ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ special

At 7 PM, fans of BBC Three will be able to tune into the channel IRL once more — well, that is, not just solely from their laptops. The youth-orientated broadcaster, which was launched in 2003, was dropped from the airwaves five years ago in the midst of budget cuts.

However, in 2020, research conducted by the BBC found that there was a “strong case” for the channel to return to television — focusing exclusively on younger audiences.

It’s a niche that has been successful. Over the past few years, BBC Three has housed the adaption of Sally Rooney’s wildly successful novel, Normal People, as well as Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag. 

First up, there will be a special Radio 1 launch party for BBC Three kicking off at 7 PM. A statement detailed: “Greg James and Clara Amfo are throwing a party on Radio 1 because BBC Three is on TV. Join them and the stars of Drag Race UK and The Rap Game, [with] music from PinkPantheress.”

Then, at 9 PM, BBC Three will host the launch of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Versus The World, shortly followed by Eating With My Ex, a re-run of Fleabag, and the brand new comedy, Lazy Susan.

Upcoming shows on the channel will include another Sally Rooney hard hitter, Conversations With Friends, and Mood — the television adaption of Nicôle Lecky’s Royal Court play, Superhoe.

For the remainder of the week, the channel will broadcast live football coverage of the semi-finals and the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

In a statement, BBC Three controller, Fiona Campbell, described the channel as being “unfiltered, unapologetic and extraordinary”.

She also promised that this move would provide “regional creative opportunities and a pipeline of experience for the future.” This, she detailed, could potentially result in a new soap opera being developed in cities such as Belfast, Aberdeen or Newcastle.

“That’s where I’m trying to take this channel, because then you’re relevant to people and important to them and you mean something to them,” she explained. “I think people’s mobility, in terms of geographic mobility, has obviously gone down in recent years [due to the pandemic] so the relevance of where they come from has gone up.”

See the full schedule for BBC Three here.