Michael Grade will serve on the BBC Trust

Dermot Gleeson, Richard Tait and Jeremy Peat will join BBC chairman Michael Grade on the new body to assist the transition, Ms Jowell said.

Mr Grade said he welcomed the "measure of continuity" brought to the Trust.

Eight new trustees including a vice-chair will be recruited for the body, which will operate on behalf of licence fee payers.

Mr Gleeson is an executive in the construction industry, Mr Tait is a journalist and Mr Peat, who will represent Scotland on the Trust, is an economist.

'Critical friends'

Under the terms of the government's White Paper to determine the BBC's future, the board of governors is being replaced with the Trust and executive body.

The executive body will run the BBC's activities with a number of non-executives who will scrutinise the corporation as "critical friends".

Grade said: "The new BBC Trust will have serve licence fee payers effectively from day one."

He added that the three new trustees would bring skills in property, finance and editorial issues to the new body, and would be "critical" to the transition between the board of governors and the Trust.

The Trust will include people with various areas of expertise, including broadcasting and competition.

Members will not have specific roles, but will be assigned according to which of the four countries of the UK they represent.