Five director of programmes Dan Chambers said this week that he wanted to put the channel
Five director of programmes Dan Chambers said this week that he wanted to put the channel on a more "mature" footing by commissioning programmes with "intelligence" and "mischievousness".Speaking at the Broadcast Commissioning Conference - his first public speech since being promoted in September - Chambers claimed that Five was no longer a "problem child" and was maturing into an "intelligent" and "rewarding" channel."From being a channel with an attention deficit disorder, Five has turned into a channel that does not have to shout to prove itself anymore," he said. Five has in the past used many controversial "stunts" to bring in viewers, such as the Keith Chegwin-fronted Naked Jungle.Chambers, who has had his pilot budget quadrupled by Five chief executive Jane Lighting to£3m, said he now wanted more intelligent upmarket content such as history and arts programmes and science content along the lines of forthcoming programmes fronted by Professor Stephen Hawking and Professor Richard Dawkins.But he added that while programmes should be more intelligent - citing the BBC's Rolf on Art as "not smart enough" - they should also be "cheeky"."Everything needs a shot of enjoyment," said Chambers. "Being mischievous will go a long way in bringing people to Five."Chambers also identified entertainment as a key growth area: "There is a real scope for a decently budgeted entertainment show to capture some of the pizzazz that ITV used to have," he said. "There is also scope for another big reality show next summer or autumn that can hopefully make a name for us."This would follow Back to Reality, a£4.7m programme set to be screened over three weeks early next year which will pit contestants from earlier reality shows against each other.Chambers added he was looking to commission more original one-off dramas such as Hear the Silence, which is being aired next month and examines the debate around the MMR vaccine.Five is also placing a new emphasis on interactivity by video streaming shows which will be accessible via the red button on TV remote controls. Interactive ads will also launch next year and tying up with third parties to gain secondary revenue through gaming, texting and phone-ins is also expected.