Introducing BBC1's new Aussie soap Out of the Blue

The BBC has announced that its major new Australian-based daytime soap, Out of the Blue, will premiere on BBC1 in late spring.

Although no transmission time has yet been allocated, it's thought that Out of the Blue will screen at lunchtime in a similar time to the previous daytime slot of Neighbours.

Neighbours was bought by Five last year and now screens at 5.30pm on that channel.

Out of the Blue is set in the Sydney beauty spot of Manly Beach and concerns the lives of a group of 30-something friends who have returned to Manly for a high school reunion after nine years apart. The celebrations soon end when one of the friends is found dead in the surf. And so the story begins...

BBC drama controller Jane Tranter said at the time of the commission of the multi-million pound, 130-episode series: "This is an ambitious project that we think will break new ground, at the same time as providing daytime audiences with a compelling and intriguing watch."

With a touch of irony, the Aussie broadcaster Network Ten has bought the rights to show the soap in Australia off the BBC.