The channel will be available to watch on Freeview, Sky, Virgin and Freesat, broadcasting from 7pm every night. The channel can also be watched live on the BBC Three channel page on iPlayer (TV, mobile, and web) with live re-start available.

With a broad content mix of drama, comedy, entertainment, documentaries, news and sport, audiences can expect the returning channel to provide a rich multi-genre offering.

The first-ever series of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs The World will air on launch night, with other titles to be announced soon. The new series will see nine renowned Drag Race queens from different franchises and cultures battle it out in an international arena, with the UK as the host nation.

Also in the channel’s launch week, BBC Three will be hosting live football, with both semi-finals and the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) live on free-to-air Television. Coverage of the huge tournament in Cameroon will be fronted by Jermaine Jenas, with each match kicking off at 7pm as the channel begins broadcasting. Audiences can catch the full match coverage including the build up by watching live on the BBC Three page on BBC iPlayer at 6:30pm.

Fiona Campbell, Controller of BBC Three, said: “We know how popular sport is with younger audiences and it’s going to have a big part to play on BBC Three. AFCON is set to be an incredibly exciting tournament with some of the best players in the World on show and its brilliant news that we will be showing the climax of the competition on free to air television.”