The BBC has announced that they have nabbed E4 Controller Julian Bellamy to head up youth channel BBC3. He replaces the digital channel's launch controller, Stuart Murphy, who, as previously reported, jumped ship to independent TV production house RDF earlier this year. Bellamy will join the corporation in the New Year, though it is unclear how he'll manage to fill the BBC 3 schedules without being able to fall back on that good old E4 contingency of "if in doubt, screen a Friends repeat".
Confirming the new appointment, BBC Director Of Television Jana Bennett told reporters: "I'm delighted Julian will be joining us in BBC Television. He has fantastic experience of building channels and brands in a multi-platform digital environment, a very strong creative background and terrific relations with talent and the production community."
Bellamy added: "The BBC is new territory for me and I admire what BBC Three has achieved with new talent and comedy. I'm really looking forward to working with Jana to take BBC Three to a new level for audiences and exploring new ideas that will ensure the channel continues to innovate, develop and create real excitement."