Danny Cohen has been appointed as the new controller of BBC One.

The 36-year-old has been controller of its sister channel, BBC3, since 2007 and overseen a rise in the digital channel’s audience.

Under his leadership BBC3 was twice named Digital Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Festival

Mr Cohen, whose partner is economist and writer Professor Noreena Hertz, is from Edgware in north London, and studied at Oxford University.

Before joining the BBC he was the head of youth channel, E4, where he was credited with commissioning the hit series Skins and The Inbetweeners .

He left after the channel was embroiled in the Jade Goody-Shilpa Shetty race row on Celebrity Big Brother in 2005.

Mr Cohen said: "It's a huge privilege to take charge of Britain's most-watched channel, and I feel honoured to have this opportunity.

"BBC One is one of the nation's great cultural institutions and I'm looking forward to working with a wonderful range of talented people in the coming years.”

He praised his predecessor, Jay Hunt, for leaving the channel in “very good shape.”

“I hope to build on these very strong foundations. I'm excited by the challenge."

Jana Bennett, the director of BBC Vision, described Mr Cohen as “an innovator and a great creative thinker.”

She said: “He is one of the most talented TV executives of his generation.”