Frow, who joined the channel three weeks ago from British broadcaster Five, said that he believed that there was "a great opportunity for TV3 to increase its original output".

He said, however, that the station would retain its simulcasts with Britain's ITV, which include Coronation Street, I'm A Celebrity. . . Get Me Out of Here and X-Factor.

"Any channel would chop their right hand off to have those and we treasure them, " he said.

"I'm not here to frighten the horses. I think there is a very loyal TV3 audience and I think it would be a mistake to rip up everything they know and love and to give them something we don't know they know and love.

You get rid of successful programmes at your peril."

Frow admitted that his plans to increase the station's home-grown programming was heavily reliant on receiving fund from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland's Sound and Vision fund, which allocates public funding to encourage the development of locally-produced programming on particular themes.

"We are very grateful to the BCI because, to be honest, without the BCI, we wouldn't be able to do very much originated programming at all, " he said. "We don't have enormous budgets, we don't have the licence fee and we're a commercial channel, which has to make a profit."

He said, however, that TV3 would fund some original programming through its own resources, such as the new series of personal makeover show Inside and Out.

Frow said that the channel had been encouraged by the performance of its new celebrity show Expose, which was launched in April and is funded entirely by TV3.

"That's a huge step. To create a programme that runs five days a week, 52 weeks of the year; that's a huge achievement that very few other broadcasters anywhere would take on."

Frow's recent expertise has largely been based in lifestyle programming and includes the launch of programmes such as Build A New Life In The Country and Cosmetic Surgery Live for Five and the creation of shows such as Location, Location, Location, How Clean Is Your House and Nigella Bites for Channel 4.

He said that it would be a mistake to assume that TV3 would focus on those kinds of shows. "RTE do a lot of lifestyle and it would be a mistake to compete with them in the same area. Let them have it. I not going to say we won't do lifestyle programmes but they won't be like the RTE ones."