Lily Allen New Face of BBC3 Multi-Platform Revamp

Lily Allen is set to become the new face of youth channel BBC3, as she hosts her first TV chat show called Lily Allen and Friends. The show will see her chatting with stars such as ex-Blur bass player, Alex James and Alan Davies and putting questions from her web 'friends' to her guests. The pilot for the series is being filmed this week.

Lily has received huge support and messages from fans on her MySpace page after recently suffering a miscarriage and is expected to go ahead with filming. The series will enable virtual 'friends' who subscribe to a website to put questions to Lily to ask her guests.

The channel shake-up coincides with the launch of a children and young adults programming review by the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body.

BBC3 is aimed at the 16-34 age group and was the initial home for Little Britain. However, critics have questioned its public service role. In response, BBC3 is set to become the Corporation's first multi-platform channel, which will see all programmes simultaneously broadcast on the web with interactivity and user-generated content playing a crucial role in many programmes.

Interactivity will be at the heart of programmes and there will be regular slots for user-generated content, making it "more than just a TV channel," according to controller Danny Cohen.

"BBC3 is aiming to become Britain's most ambitious multi-platform network - combining television and the web into a single, integrated offering," he said.

"At BBC3 we should be known for pioneering risk, and be obsessed with all things new - new talent, new programmes, and a new relationship between television and the internet. The thinking behind this re-brand is that we have, in effect, created a BBC3 world in which our content can move seamlessly between TV, online and mobile. We have a fantastic line-up of programmes and we are going to make them available wherever young people want them."