BBC commissions original dramas specifically for digital platform iPlayer

The eleventh doctor played by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan as his companion Amy Pond (BBC)

BBC bosses have commissioned their first original dramas specifically for catch-up service iPlayer.

Six short films will be made for the service to be screened over the next two years by "up and coming talent" as a BBC3 strand.

Although the BBC has screened some comedy pilots and spin-offs from other shows - such as a Doctor Who mini-series Pond Life - it has not created fresh dramas for the iPlayer until now.

Victoria Jaye, BBC's head of TV online content, said it would help to explore "storytelling outside of a scheduled TV slot or duration".

BBC3 controller Zai Bennett said: "This new drama strand is exactly the kind of venture BBC3 is all about."

PA