I've been the Controller of BBC One now for ten months and have begun to put new plans in place to make the channel as vibrant and creative as it can possibly be.

One of the big things for me is to try and make sure that BBC One offers something for everyone and does a good job of reflecting the nation back to itself. BBC One is the Nation's Favourite Channel, and I think it's important that all licence-fee payers find plenty on BBC One that informs, educates and entertains.

With this in mind, I hope that the programmes you see on this preview video are enticing - and encompass the quality, scale, thoughtfulness and entertainment values that I want BBC One to deliver.

The programmes previewed include brand new drama Call The Midwife starring Miranda Hart and Jessica Raine, the epic new natural history series Frozen Planet, and new comedy starring Sir David Jason, The Royal Bodyguard. It is thrilling to have Sir David returning to the BBC for his first comedy since Only Fools and Horses, and this video gives you the very first exclusive snippet of a show that is currently still in production.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to announce a raft of exciting new commissions for BBC One.

In Drama, we've just given the green-light to The Village - a bold new series from Peter Moffatt. It's the story of one man's journey through the 20th Century, beginning with his humble childhood on a downtrodden farm. The Village is one of those scripts you read and can't wait to see realised on-screen from the moment you turn the final page. It has the richness and emotional depth of the very finest television writing.

Also on its way for BBC One viewers is Fight For Life, a major new natural history series which will use the latest live technology and filming techniques to tell the story of young animals right across the world. This is a very ambitious new live event for BBC One that we hope will bring viewers closer to the daily experience of wild animals than they have ever been before.

In entertainment, we're delighted to be able to announce a new series starring one of Scotland's brightest young talents, Kevin Bridges. BBC One should simultaneously be the home of Britain's national treasures in comedy and also a place where new talent can flourish. We are therefore thrilled to be working with Kevin, who combines brilliant jokes with an acute vision of human nature.

Finally, I'd like to announce two new projects that introduce a new level of risk and experimentation to BBC One. BBC One should be known for boldness, quality and mainstream impact, but I'd also like it to be known for a commitment to risk and innovation that is unusual on a mainstream channel.

To this end, we've commissioned a six-part improvised drama series from Dominic Savage for BBC One - Love Life - that will test the boundaries of fiction on the Channel. We are also announcing a run of new transmittable comedy pilots in order to supercharge the comedy development process for BBC One. Our aim here is to use a run of transmittable pilots as a way of reaching out to joyous new things, in the way we managed with Being Human on BBC Three.

So, from the African savannah to a small English village, from major live events to one of Britain's hottest young comic talents, these commissions show the range and ambition we have for BBC One, and our aim to combine world-class quality with risk and innovation.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this and watch the video - and I hope you find plenty to enjoy on BBC One in the coming months and years.

Danny Cohen is Controller of BBC One

• The Media Guardian Edinburgh International TV Festival finishes tomorrow. Details on the official web site. Follow @edinburghtvfest on Twitter.
• The Guardian has a special page for news from the festival.
• There's also a special page on the BBC Press Office web site for announcements from the Festival.

BBC Three received valuable recognition last night for the work it is doing to bring serious and complex subjects to young British audiences.

At the Broadcast Digital Awards, BBC Three won Awards for the Best Current Affairs' programme for Women, Weddings, War and Me, and Best Popular Factual Programme for Blood, Sweat and Takeaways.

Both of these programmes are characterised by their engagement with the complexities of globalisation, foreign affairs, and human rights.

Women, Weddings, War and Me was a documentary broadcast on BBC Three this year in which a young Anglo-Afghanistani woman returned to her birthplace to explore how much the lives of women in Afghanistan have changed since the fall of the Taliban. It's a moving, very thought-provoking film which received an extraordinary response from the audience. The BBC runs a panel which allows viewers to provide feedback on the quality of the programmes they are watching on the BBC and other UK channels. This documentary got the highest feedback score of any factual programme on any channel ever reported. 

Blood, Sweat and Takeaways explored the impact of globalisation on the developing world by sending a group of young Brits to work in the factories that produce the food we eat. With this series, BBC Three found a compelling way of engaging young people with the impact that their personal choices can have on the lives of people thousands of miles away.

Watching these award-winning, serious factual programmes, it is hard to reconcile them with some of the criticism the BBC has recently received about its content. This week, the criticism has been about whether the BBC is serious or 'adult' enough. Next week, there will likely be another line of attack.

Inevitably the BBC does not get everything right but I believe it to be the most extraordinary public service broadcaster in the world, and one that makes an enormous contribution to serious debate on important issues such as those covered in these award-winning programmes.

Indeed, there are a wonderfully diverse and intelligent mix of programmes on the BBC every week.

Not all of them appeal to all audiences. But whether it is serious factual programmes on BBC Three like Blood Sweat and Takeaways, or dramas like Occupation and Small Island on BBC1, the BBC offers thought-provoking and compelling content in a way that is unrivalled anywhere in the world.

Danny Cohen is controller of BBC Three

Happy New Year, and thanks for taking the time to look at BBC Three's plans for 2010.

We're starting the year on a roll. Since our relaunch in February 2008, the channel has increased its share of young audiences by 29%.

And in 2009 BBC Three became the most watched digital channel for 16-34 year olds during its broadcast hours.

But I want the channel to keep growing and improving - in both our appeal to young audiences, and the richness, range and public reputation of our output.

BBC Three's mission is clear - to provide thought-provoking and entertaining programmes for young viewers, featuring young British talent. I believe our new programme line-up delivers on this promise. It is a rich combination of documentaries, comedy, drama and entertainment - all underpinned by a host of young television stars.

In 2010 you'll see young stars from Russell Howard to Simon Bird, Russell Tovey to Dan Clark. There are also opportunities for puppets, vampires, ghosts, werewolves and princesses...

Thought-provoking factual programming now sits at the heart of BBC Three, and this year the channel will continue to tackle a powerful range of complex subjects in ways that appeal to our young audiences. Over the next few months we'll cover autism, globalisation, disability sports and child trafficking. We will also continue to increase our coverage of the wider world with documentaries on women's rights in Afghanistan and the use of rape as a weapon of war in the Congo. 

BBC Three is very committed to developing the next generation of young British talent, both in front of and behind the camera. I am excited by the way home-grown British drama is developing on the channel. This month sees the return of the hit series Being Human, and later in the year comes a new relationship drama, Lip Service.

But we also have plans in place to develop the next generation of stand-out scripts and talented young performers. Being Human started life as one of a series of drama pilots broadcast by BBC Three in 2008. This year we are going to repeat that experiment with three new drama pilots featuring vibrant young casts. We will ask our audience for their feedback on the pilots, and will take this into account when we decide which to commission as a full series.

Shows that make young viewers laugh continue to be the lifeblood of BBC Three and commitment to new talent is deeply embedded in our comedy plans for 2010. It has been fantastic to witness Gavin and Stacey's hugely successful transfer from BBC Three to BBC One, and we are working hard to develop the next generation of young stars. New shows this year include character comedy from Simon Brodkin in the form of The Lee Nelson Show; an ambitious new puppet show, We Are Mongrels; and the beautifully written new sitcom Young, Lazy and Unemployed.

Our entertainment plans should also give young audiences plenty to make them smile in the coming months. The last year has been something of a renaissance for entertainment programming on BBC Three, from break-out hit Russell Howard's Good News to the recent Move Like Michael Jackson. We plan to build on this momentum in 2010 with The King Is Dead, a unique new entertainment show starring Simon Bird that combines character comedy with elements of a panel show, a chat show and a spoof job interview. We will also be bringing three foreign princesses to Essex to find love in The Undercover Princesses, and Russell Howard will return with more of his Good News.

This is just a taste of the line-up on BBC Three in the coming months, and I hope you find plenty to enjoy. In 2010, there is certainly a great range of programmes on the channel that find contemporary and energetic ways to inform, educate and entertain young viewers.

Danny Cohen is the Controller, BBC Three