THE pressure was on Rajdeep Sandhu last night. As Westminster correspondent for BBC Scotland’s brand-new show The Nine, it was her job to explain what Jeremy Corbyn’s belated decision to back a second EU referendum might mean for amendment votes, deals or no deals ... and most importantly, keep Brexit-fatigued viewers from switching off.

It’s credit to both Sandhu (pictured) and the producers that the handling of this headline story felt fresh and distinctly Scottish – no-one could accuse co-anchors Rebecca Curran and Martin Geissler of going easy on Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who made every effort to stick to his script but was eventually forced to admit the party leader’s change of stance had implications for the prospects of a second independence referendum.

Next up was a report on drug deaths, and while the choice of investigation topic likely had many bristling, the package by social affairs correspondent Chris Clements was humane, informative and disturbing, highlighting the easy availability of prescription drugs (real and fake) from Facebook. The contrast between the testimony of bereaved addicts and the jaunty, jokey names used by dealers was particularly stark.

There was an update on efforts to discover the truth about the death of Kirsty Maxwell, who fell from a tenth-floor hotel balcony in Spain in April 2017, and an in-depth background about PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, the drug that reduces the chances of contracting HIV. It’s likely no-one was expecting to see a polyamorous gay “thruple” on the nine o’clock news, but there wasn’t a trace of sensationalism about this package, which precedes the release tomorrow of figures showing how many Scots are taking the drug.

The Nine’s punchy opening titles feature faces of Scots from all walks of life, and this opening show felt like a statement of intent to present a diverse range of human stories along with the headlines – not just blink-and-you’ll miss it clips, but longer interviews that put the news into context.

BBC foreign affairs veteran James Cook reported from Iceland, and while conducting interviews in swimming trunks from a hot spring might have felt a little gimmicky, Yes supporters will have been particularly interested to hear the perspective of Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir on a no-deal Brexit and whether Scotland might become independent.

In sport, the show brought together Alex McLeish and Gregor Townsend for their first joint interview, and in lighter news there was package highlighting the decline of the iconic Scottie dog and an interview with Ellie Fergusson, the West Lothian 14-year-old who took the title of The Greatest Dancer on the BBC’ show at the weekend. All in all, it was a pretty promising start.