The Third's existence was controversial from the beginning, partly because of perceived "elitism" – it was sometimes criticised for broadcasting programmes of "two dons talking" – and also for the cost of its output relative to a small listener reach.

Its existence was against the corporation's founding principles, as Reith himself had during his time at the BBC been against segmenting audiences by splitting programming genres across different networks.

From the start, though, it had prominent supporters: the Education Secretary in the Attlee government, Ellen Wilkinson, spoke rather optimistically of creating a "third programme nation".

When it faced those 1957 cuts, the Third Programme Defence Society was formed and its leaders included T. S. Eliot, Albert Camus, and Sir Laurence Olivier.

The Third Programme's contribution to contemporary poetry and criticism was significant, under producers and presenters such as John Wain, Ludovic Kennedy, George MacBeth and Patrick Dickinson.