THE incoming controller of Radio 3 has insisted he will not "dumb down" the highbrow BBC station in response to falling listener figures.

In the latest figures from industry body Rajar covering July, the classical music station saw its audience shrink by 120,000 year-on-year to 1.88 million, falling behind digital-only BBC Radio 6 Music for the first time.

Alan Davey, who takes over as controller in January, rejected suggestions that the solution was to follow the more popular Classic FM by concentrating on more accessible music. He said: "If you do complex culture properly, it makes sense to people."