BBC Three controller Stuart Murphy is "really pleased" with the first night of his channel, which launched on Sunday.

The new service hit a peak of 270,000 for comedy Paul and Pauline Calf's Cheese and... with Steve Coogan.

Two hours of BBC Three programming were shown on terrestrial channel BBC Two, and got ratings of 2.1 million.

"We're really pleased with the launch night of BBC Three," said Mr Murphy.

"It had a mix of genres, including news, animation, science, live entertainment, live music, new British drama and new British comedy.

"It is great that so many BBC Two viewers had the chance to sample it and I feel this is a good base from which BBC Three can grow.

Stuart Murphy is the BBC's youngest controller

"BBC Three is in it for the long game, nurturing new talent and new ideas," Mr Murphy said.

A spokeswoman for the channel said: "We think the success of the channel isn't based on ratings alone, or on one night's output."

BBC Choice, the service's predecessor, was averaging 60,000 viewers each evening last year.

Government review

BBC Three replaced BBC Choice, but did not get the go-ahead until Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell agreed it was "distinctive" enough.

She rejected the channel's first application for a digital licence, but accepted the second last September.

The government will review the channel again in 2004 to make sure it is keeping to its brief.

Part of the channel's remit is to meet certain minimum levels of arts, current affairs, business and religious programming.

BBC Three is the last of the BBC's digital channels to launch

Its current affairs include 60 Seconds, an hourly news bulletin that delivers five news stories in one minute.

It will also feature entertainment programmes such as Celebdaq, an interactive show where viewers buy and sell celebrities based on how many column inches they generate in the week's news.

BBC Three joins BBC Four, the arts and culture channel launched last March, in the corporation's digital line-up.

At least one million viewers have watched BBC Four each week since it began, with the figure rising to 1.8 million in the week after Christmas.