By Jonathan Easton

The update presents a dramatic change to the way that the iPlayer looks and operates on smart TVs.

The most significant change is the move of the navigation menu to the left hand side of the screen. The pubcaster said that this will make it easier to browse different categories like comedy, drama or sport.

In a blog post, BBC iPlayer head of product Neil Hall said that the overhaul comes as a part of the BBC’s ongoing efforts to “modernise the user experience” across its digital services and apps.

The update will begin rolling out on November 18, and will come to all iPlayer apps on TVs “in the coming weeks.”

Hall added: “It’s important to us that any changes we make to iPlayer work for everyone, so our new menu has been usability tested with adults, children, and people with accessibility needs to ensure people can continue to find and explore our many programme genres and channels with ease. We’ve also gathered feedback from the people who help us test changes like this in what we call our beta group, who have helped us improve the experience further.”