UKTV, who operate channels like Dave and Watch, has announced new Freeview channel Drama.

The station will launch on July 8 and feature shows including Pride and Prejudice, Catherine Cookson’s The Cinder Path, Sharpe, Tipping The Velvet, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford.

The channel is UKTV’s first new station since the launch of Really in May 2009.

It has been announced that the UKTV Drama channel will be available on Freeview. No confirmation of if this channel will be available on Freesat or Sky, but going with the fact that UKTVs other channels are on the Sky subscription service, it does look like it will not be available on Freesat.

But wil UKTV Drama be a new channel in addition to the current portfolio of channels, or will it replace an existing channel?