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Question Time is a topical debate television programme in Britain. It is shown on BBC One and features politicians from the three major political parties and other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience. It is currently shown on BBC One at 22:35 hrs on Thurdays. It is sometimes referred to as BBC Television's flagship political programme.
Question Time began on September 25, 1979. It was originally intended to have only a short run, but the programme became very popular and was duly extended. Veteran newsman Sir Robin Day was the programme's first chairman, presenting it for nearly 10 years until June 1989. After Day retired, Peter Sissons took over and continued until 1993. Since 1993 David Dimbleby has been the programme's presenter.
The programme features a panel of five guests, usually one member from each of the three major parties and two public figures. The presenter sits in the middle and chairs the debate, deciding who can speak and selecting the questions for the panel to answer. Questions are taken from the audience before the programme goes on air, and the chairman picks some to put to the panel. The panel do not get to see the questions before filming begins, making all answers spontaneous. During the programme the presenter selects a member of the audience to put a question to the panel and gives each member an opportunity to answer the question and each others' points. Usually the first question deals with the major political or news event of the week, and the last with a humorous issue to be answered quickly.
Each week the programme is presented from a different location in the UK, with a local studio audience each time. When the programme goes to locations in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, the make up of the panel is usually altered to reflect the country. For example, when in Scotland the programme may invite an Scottish National Party MP onto the panel. Some editions of the programme have been made in locations outside the UK, such as in October 2004 when a U.S. election special was made in Miami, Florida, with an American studio audience and guests including Michael Moore on the panel.
The programme celebrated its 25th anniversary on September 25, 2004. A special programme was shown featuring some of the most famous and memorable moments.
In Ireland, Questions and Answers is an RTÉ programme which follows an almost identical format to Question Time.
BBC World produces an Indian version of the programme for its Indian viewers.
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