BBC Three to be axed by spring 2027
The BBC has announced plans to close BBC Three, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Extra.
BBC Three is set to be axed in spring 2027.
The broadcaster has announced plans to close BBC Three, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Extra linear broadcast services next year, as the organisation seeks to make £500 million savings by 2028.
In a note to staff setting out the changes, BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said: "We need to make every pound work harder for audiences as we respond to the immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC for a changing world. We all know that means tough choices."
Brittin acknowledged that the news will be "hard for audiences and colleagues" to digest.
He said: "Much of the great content they currently carry will still be found where audiences already enjoy it on iPlayer and Sounds.
"While this follows media speculation, I recognise the confirmation of this news will be hard for audiences and colleagues."
The announcement comes shortly after DIY SOS was axed by the BBC after 27 years.
The BBC insisted that the TV show is only on a hiatus amid "savings challenges", yet DIY SOS staff are convinced that it's a permanent move.
An insider told The Sun newspaper: "It feels like they’re too spineless to say what we all know: DIY SOS has been axed.
"We were told it was being paused, but when we asked whether it would come back in 2028 or 2029 they couldn’t give us an answer."
BBC bosses deem the TV show to be "too expensive" - but that explanation has angered people associated with the programme, who observed that it "genuinely represents working-class people".
The source reflected: "It’s a disgusting outrage that a BBC show, which genuinely helps some of the neediest people in our country, is being shut down because it’s basically seen as ‘too expensive’.
"DIY SOS is one of the few shows on television that genuinely represents working-class people.
"Thousands of tradesmen and women offer their time, and often the materials, for free to people in need, even when they’re struggling to make ends meet themselves.
"These decent people give the most they can to people who have the least and DIY SOS shines a light on them."
