Angela Griffin will star in a hair salon drama

BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey said: "We want the channel to feel bigger, bolder, more in tune with contemporary life."

She added that Test The Nation, which will run throughout a single Saturday evening, will be "fun, but also revealing".

It also promises to be the biggest survey conducted so far to find out the nation's IQ.

Every viewer in the UK will be able to join in through the internet or via interactive TV - or with a pen and paper.

The BBC will tell the story of the Queen's 50-year reign

The much-loved comedy drama, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, is returning to TV screens after a 16-year absence.

Almost all of the original cast - Jimmy Nail, Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Timothy Spall, Pat Roach and Christopher Fairbank - have reformed for the series.

This time round the Middlesbrough gang have ended up in Arizona for adventures scripted by the original writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.

The BBC is also to provide blanket coverage of the Queen's Golden Jubilee weekend.

The channel will cover everything from music concerts in the grounds of Buckingham Palace to the street parties being held across the UK.

It will also show a host of programmes which look at aspects of the Queen's reign, including documentaries with contributions from members of the Royal Family.

Tony Parsons' best-selling novel Man And Boy has also been adapted for TV in what BBC One says will be a perceptive and moving drama starring Ioan Gruffudd.

Sport

And Pauline Quirke is back as April, a 39-year-old single mum, living in Leicester in the new drama series Being April.

Drama of a different kind takes place in the world of Manchester hair salons, where Amanda Holden, Sarah Parish, Jason Merrells and Angela Griffin battle it out in the series Cutting It.

Meanwhile Neil Morrissey, Charles Dale and Ralf Little star as three brothers struggling to keep their business afloat in Paradise Heights.

The season's sport - including the FA Cup, World Cup and the Commonwealth Games - will also make up a significant part of BBC One's schedule.