Channel 4 has unveiled a new strategy to focus on digital viewing

The broadcaster said its plans would ensure that it "remains a relevant and vibrant voice in a digital world".

New programming includes drama Help, starring Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, which "will take an uncompromising look at the crisis that engulfed British care homes during the first wave of the pandemic".

New comedy Big Boys will follow two students embarking on their first year at university.

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Channel four will be focusing more on their digital viewing platform.Channel four will be focusing more on their digital viewing platform.
Channel four will be focusing more on their digital viewing platform.
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Former Great British Bake Off presenter Sandi Toksvig and her celebrity friends, including Bake Off judge Prue Leith, will get away from it all on a "staycation like no other in Extraordinary Escapes, a new travel series".

And former Bake Off presenter Mel Giedroyc will prove "that carpentry can be every bit as creative and competitive as cooking in Good With Wood".

Other shows include the return of The Circle, with a new celebrity version of the reality show, while Kathy Burke will front a new series, All Money, to "probe the gap between rich and poor in Britain today".

News and current affairs coverage includes a "landmark" new series on the policing of rape and a series following a covert police operation hunting a crime group believed to be trafficking women into the UK.

The Max Clifford Story will "explore the rise and fall" of disgraced celebrity publicist Max Clifford.

Director of programmes Ian Katz said he wants to double viewing to streaming service All 4 over the next five years.

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The announcement came after the Government unveiled plans to review public service broadcasting, with the possible privatisation of Channel 4 on the cards.

Katz said: "To ensure that Channel 4 remains a relevant and vibrant voice in a digital world, we know we must now bring all the passion, originality and disruptive flair that we brought to the world of terrestrial TV 38 years ago to the world of streaming and social media."

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But Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon said the broadcaster would not be abandoning its linear channels.

It will invest more in content that performs strongly on All 4 such as "young-skewing factual entertainment, 'box-setable' and noisy documentaries".

It also includes "reality, comedy entertainment, scripted comedy and young-skewing 'bingeable' drama".

Reporting by PA

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