Commuters and a flashmob combine to bring opera to BBC THREE

BBC THREE is on track to raise more than the odd British eyebrow when it takes over one of Britain's busiest railway stations to bring live opera directly to commuters and the BBC THREE audience.

Flashmob - The Opera has all the ingredients to cause a stir - football fans, a broken engagement and a potential love triangle - all taking place amongst commuters at a national railway station.

The opera is a new take on well known music from popular operas and will be performed by established opera singers with 65 musicians from the BBC Concert Orchestra and is the result of a creative partnership with The Royal Opera House.

Adding their voices to the excitement, selected members of the public will be sent a text message on the day of the live broadcast asking them to form a 'flashmob' (a spontaneous gathering, organised secretly by email or text message and subject to meticulous timing) and join in.

Says Stuart Murphy, Controller, BBC THREE: "Flashmob - The Opera is a real first which means it is a real risk, just what we love doing on BBC THREE.

"I have been thinking for a while about how we do opera for this audience, and hope we have cracked it with this exciting collaboration between BBC Classical Music and BBC Comedy Entertainment."

The opera is a new take on well known music from popular operas such as Madam Butterfly, Don Giovanni and La Traviata, set to a new story by Stephen Powell with newly written English lyrics by Tony Bicât.

The music will be arranged by Robert Ziegler who will conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra live at the event.

BBC Classical Music TV and BBC Comedy Entertainment will combine their expertise to produce the opera, a first for BBC Television.

Flashmob - The Opera is a contemporary take on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in which engaged couple Mike (sung by Nicholas Ransley, tenor) and Sally (Rachel Nicholls, soprano) come unstuck over Mike's obsession with football.

The train station forms the backdrop to the action as Sally decides whether or not to run away with the traditional handsome stranger (Rodney Clarke, bass) or stay with old flame Mike.

The three soloists are rising opera stars who between them have sung at Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, the Paris Chatelet, Sadler's Wells and the BBC Proms.

New British Comedy

With a Bafta award firmly tucked into its pink shell suit, and with a raft of new and even more peculiar characters, Little Britain is back for the much anticipated second series.

Creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams cook up a mixture of old friends and brand new characters with a painfully accurate and completely batty eye for the strangely real.

And to support the return of the series, there will be an enhanced TV video service available on digital for fans to binge on exclusive new content.

My Life In Film stars Kris Marshall (My Family) as Art, an aspiring low budget film-maker whose over active imagination turns everyday life into classic cinematic adventures.

Art and his friend Jones think they are the English Coen brothers, except that they're not brothers and they haven't made any films…

Against this backdrop of playful homage, My Life In Film explores the isosceles triangle of love, friendship and obsession between Art, Jones and Beth, with a knowing nod to such films as The Shining, Shallow Grave, Rear Window and Top Gun.

Contemporary British drama

Following up the success of medical drama Bodies earlier this year, BBC THREE launches two new contemporary dramas this Autumn.

Stuart Murphy says: "BBC THREE strives to commission very different drama for its audience of young British adults and I'm thrilled that Bodies had such great critical impact with our viewers.

"Look out for the new series next year. I hope our two new dramas for the Autumn will continue to demonstrate that on BBC THREE we aim to bring much more complex, sophisticated and involving British drama to digital audiences and our ambition is to explore characters and issues in an utterly distinctive way."

Starring William Ash and Nicholas Gleaves and made by Red Productions, Conviction explores the human side of the people who work for the police.

When a 12-year-old girl is murdered, her local community clamour for revenge and the distinction between right and wrong becomes blurred as those involved in the investigation take ever more dangerous steps in their efforts to bring it to a conclusion.

Conviction, written by Bill Gallagher (Clocking Off), is concerned with the psychological strain and harsh daily reality experienced by the two investigators, and the impact on their friends, families and colleagues.

Outlaws is a new 12-part drama series from World Productions and is the antithesis to traditional courtroom drama.

Writer and creator Steve Coombs researched and experienced the legal system first hand, making the series based on real life cases.

All the cases used in this drama were either witnessed directly by him or were told to him by a lawyer who was actually involved.

The result is a drama based in the fast turnaround world of the magistrates' court where offenders are processed through the system, released, fined, bailed, sentenced or referred to Crown Court.

But these clients are nothing like your usual TV professional criminal. We meet juvenile shop lifters, children's homes absconders, bungling burglars, drug users, drug dealers, OAPs making false insurance claims, drunk drivers and council tax avoiders.

The result is a darkly comic adult drama starring Phil Daniels as Duty Brief Bruce Dunbar.

You, Me and Cancer

This Autumn BBC THREE tackles cancer head on in You, Me and Cancer, a season of programming aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the disease amongst the BBC THREE audience.

Of all deaths in the 25-34 age group, one in four women will die from cancer and one in 10 men*, and the disease remains the second most common form of death in the UK for both men and women**.

Says Stuart Murphy: "I hope that the You, Me and Cancer season of programming will help the BBC THREE age demographic gain a deeper understanding and awareness of the reality of being diagnosed with, and treated for, cancer.

"The programmes commissioned attempt to capture the experiences of real people coping with cancer on a day-to-day basis.

"But this season is not just aimed at those who may be dealing with cancer personally, it also aims to help and educate all people whose lives are touched by the disease - those whose relatives, friends or work colleagues may be living with cancer."

At the core of the season is Breast Cancer: The Operation.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in Britain. One woman in nine in the UK will get breast cancer, one of the highest rates in the world.

About 41,000 new cases are diagnosed every year*** and just over 2,300 of these are in women under the age of 40.

Many more women in their twenties and thirties will have mothers or other family members or friends affected by the disease.

This programme aims to demystify an operation that thousands of women in the UK go through every year.

The programme will give viewers a uniquely detailed view of what happens when a woman discovers she has breast cancer, from diagnosis to treatment.

The operation will be shown fully in context, with the surgeon thoroughly explaining what is happening throughout every stage of the procedure.

The aim of the programme throughout is to help prepare and inform cancer patients undergoing treatment, as well as their friends and family.

Other highlights of the season include Hurrah For Cancer, a positive and humour filled personal take on living with cancer.

It follows the story of comic, Andre Vincent, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2002 and decided to work it into his stand-up act.

In a Body Hits special Dr John Marsden will look at how lifestyle can affect your chances of developing cancer and BBC THREE will be hosting a specially staged cancer awareness concert at the Alexandra Palace in London.

In You, Me And Cancer (the programme) we follow the progress of three young cancer patients, all at different stages of treatment and diagnosis.

There will also be strong interactive support both during and after the season, directing people to BBC information as well as the support that already exists from a range of charities and organisations.

Arresting and accessible Music and Arts

Shot on DV and Super 8 Top Spot is Tracey Emin's debut as a film director, and draws on her teenage experiences in her childhood home of Margate.

Featuring six girls all with their own stories to tell, the film captures the beauty of Margate, its surrounding beaches and its funfair Dreamland.

Launched earlier this year End Of Story caught the imagination of the British public and with 17,000 entries became the most successful short story competition in the UK.

This Autumn Claudia Winkleman reveals how members of the public have pushed their imagination to the limit to finish stories that were started by eight top authors.

Thousands of entries have now been whittled down and assessed by a panel of judges including Muriel Gray, Giles Coren, Kwame Kwei-Armah and literary agent Carole Blake.

This Autumn the eight winners receive the ultimate accolade of seeing their work published and showcased on BBC Radio 4.

In 1, 2 F-U Jonathan Ross presents the 'Memoirs of a Middle-Aged Punk' in this authored documentary charting the rise and demise of the most nihilistic movement in the history of British music.

Showcasing the very best in underground talent, Slam Poets champions the artist of the spoken word.

Merging hip hop, poetry and stand up, the Slam tracks down the best eight wordsmiths in the UK and brings them together in a poetry showdown.

Recorded in front of a 600 strong crowd in the capital, the eight get just three minutes in which to make their impression on both audience and judges.

Hosted by top poet Lemn Sissay, the Slam offers one performer the chance to be crowned BBC THREE Slam Poet 2004.

Intimate relationships in domestic environments

55% of the BBC THREE target audience have children and are embracing the parenting programming the channel has begun to produce.

This Autumn Little Angels and Who Rules the Roost are back for second series, and Not Under My Roof returns for a full series after a successful pilot earlier this year.

Not Under My Roof is part of a growing number of BBC THREE programmes which mine the rich area of observational television about intimate relationships in domestic environments. They make for both an informative and entertaining watch.

Not Under My Roof finds out how a fully-fledged adult would cope if their parents re-entered their lives on a full-time basis.

That means living with them, going to work with them, socialising, relaxing and eating with them.

As well as examining the minutiae of domestic and social life, Not Under My Roof will also bring the generations together to explore each others beliefs and attitudes on wider themes such as religion, career, family and sexuality.

Viewers can find further information and advice on parenting at bbc.co.uk/bbcthree.

Other highlights of the BBC THREE Autumn season include:

Good Girls Don't - new American comedy series looking at five flawed friends who will go to any lengths to find love

The Body Of… - offering a fresh perspective on the lives of figures who towered over the last century through an examination of their physical bodies

Guerrilla Homes - examining the issue of affordable housing in the UK

Blood On The Turntable - charting the infighting and legal wrangles behind The Sex Pistols and Stone Roses, and the musical movement of Hip Hop

For Better For Worse - we look at nine very different couples' weddings, to see what it tells us about life in Britain today

Notes to Editors

The commitments set by the DCMS at launch have all been met or exceeded.

The BBC will report annually on how the channel has met these commitments going forward

The channel has won a total of 36 awards out of a total of 74 nominations since launch in February 2003

You can receive all the BBC's channels on cable, satellite and Freeview

There are now just under four million Freeview homes in the UK

Title confirmation

Parent Trap (in press pack) is now known as Not Under My Roof

Cancer Season (in press pack) is now known as You, Me and Cancer

Sources

* Source: Office of National Statistics

** Source: Social Trends 2004, Office of National Statistics *** Source: Cancer Research UK