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Question Time (TV programme)

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Question Time
File:BBCquestiontime2005.PNG
The Question Time titles, introduced in 2005.
Presented byRobin Day (1979-89)
Peter Sissons (1989-93)
David Dimbleby (1994-present)
Original languageEnglish
Original release
Release25 September 1979 –
present
Related
Any Questions?

Question Time is a topical debate television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. It is currently shown on BBC One at 22:35 on Thursdays,(Delayed by 30 mins in Wales) and typically features politicians from the three major political parties and other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience. It is sometimes referred to as BBC Television's flagship political programme.

Many believe that Question Time is live, when in fact it is recorded live, earlier on the same day of broadcast.

Origins

Question Time began on September 25, 1979, as a television version of the BBC Radio 4 question programme, Any Questions?. 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. His famous catchphrase when he had introduced the panel was "There they are, and here we go." After Day retired, Peter Sissons took over and continued until 1993. Since 1994, David Dimbleby has been the programme's presenter.

Format

Question Time began with a panel of four guests, usually one member from each of the three major parties (Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats) and another public figure, for example non-governmental organisation directors, newspaper columnists, or religious leaders. In 1999, the panel was enlarged to five, with two non-partisan members.

The Chairman 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; however, guests who have kept up with recent news stories should be able to anticipate most of the likely topics. 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.

For a brief period in the mid-1990s, the programme used voting keypads to take a poll of the audience, who were stated to have been selected to provide a balanced sample compared with the nation as a whole.

During general election campaigns, the programme has taken a different format, with the party leaders appearing as single guests and fielding questions from the audience.

SMS contributions

Viewers of the show can submit serious or lighthearted comments to the show via SMS and a selection of those comments are posted on Ceefax page 155 (not available in Wales). Comments are edited and put to air by a team of four journalists based on the seventh floor of Television Centre in London. The system displays one message at a time, and usually shows several tens of messages throughout each hour-long episode. The system is popular because its editors display both serious and lighthearted comments.

On average, around 3,500 texts are received during each hour-long programme, although 12,000 texts were once recorded in one frantic programme in 2004. Text quantity is directly related to the composition of the panel. The panellists who generate the most texts are: Tony Benn, Ann Widdecombe and Ken Livingstone, with messages of support and derision in broadly equal numbers.

Since March 2006, many episodes of Question Time have included lighthearted messages about the cult topic 'Peruvian Earthworms'. That month, a viewer remarked that one particular episode of the programme was so dull that they were considering reading their book on Peruvian Earthworms instead. Several viewers of that episode sent in further comical remarks about Peruvian earthworms, in a topical context. Since that episode, at least one comment on Peruvian earthworms has been displayed on the Ceefax-based service in most episodes. This has made 'Peruvian earthworms' an (albeit unlikely) cult topic.

Location

Under Robin Day, Question Time was almost always made in London, at the Greenwood Theatre on the south side of London Bridge. After his departure the BBC decided to try to widen the programme's appeal by moving it around the country. Currently the programme is presented from a different location each week, usually 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 or MSP onto the panel.

Some editions of the programme have been made in locations outside the UK, such as Australia in November 1999, before the republic referendum. In October 2004 a U.S. election special was made in Miami, Florida, with an American studio audience and guests including Michael Moore on the panel. On 10 March 2005, another overseas edition of the programme was shown from Shanghai, China, and a programme from Paris, France was broadcast on the 26 May 2005, three days before the French referendum on the EU Constitution. On 7 July 2005, an edition was broadcast from Johannesburg in South Africa, coinciding with the G8 summit in Gleneagles. It just so happened that this edition was broadcast on the same day as the suicide bombings on the London Underground and the London bus in Tavistock Square, therefore diverting the original topic of this QT special somewhat.

In time of the G8 conference in Moscow, there was a special programme from the city on 30 March 2006 [1].

Famous editions

In early 1981, David Steel declared his support in principle for "a marriage" between the Liberal Party and any party which might be formed by the Gang of Four; David Owen, who was also on the programme, said he could see advantages in an "electoral alliance" between them. This prefigured the period 1983–1987 when Owen and Steel were Leaders of the SDP/Liberal Alliance and tension grew over whether their deal was a prelude to a merger of the parties or merely a temporary electoral pact.

During the 1983 election campaign, Conservative cabinet minister Francis Pym was asked by an A-level student named Andy Davis about the implications of the Conservatives winning the election with a landslide victory. He began by casting doubt on the likelihood of this happening and then observed "I think landslides on the whole don't produce successful governments". This remark was regarded by many[citation needed] as a gaffe and Margaret Thatcher was reported to have been angry at Pym. After the election (won by the Conservatives on a landslide) she sacked him as Foreign Secretary.

In a 1984 edition, Alan Clark, a junior government Minister at the time, was openly critical of a government decision to buy a foreign-made missile system, prompting guest host Sue Lawley to ask the audience, "Is there anyone here who wishes to defend the government on this, because its Minister doesn't?"

The programme broadcast on September 13, 2001, which was devoted to the political implications of the 9/11 attacks featured many contributions from members of the audience taking the view that such attacks had been made inevitable by the course of United States foreign policy. The programme struck many as particularly insensitive given the recent nature of tragedy, leading to questions about the wisdom of screening a live edition at such a time. The BBC received more than 2,000 complaints and later apologised to viewers for causing offence, stating that the edition should have been recorded and edited.[1]

In 2002, the Editor of Private Eye, Ian Hislop, made an open attack on Jeffrey Archer, who had been imprisoned for perjury, when his wife Mary Archer was a fellow panellist. Mary Archer was noticeably angry that the issue had been raised and criticised Hislop after the recording had finished.

Errors

There have been famous Freudian slips and slips of the tongue. David Dimbleby once referred to Robin Cook as "Robin Cock"; Cecil Parkinson referred to a particular feat having been accomplished "without liars" as opposed to without wires, and Harriet Harman confidently started one answer "Since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister ...". In the final edition before the 2005 general election, a questioner asked about the relationship between the Prime Minister and US President "George Blair".

Similar programmes

In the Republic of Ireland, Questions and Answers is an RTÉ programme which follows an almost identical format to Question Time. BBC Northern Ireland likewise has Let's Talk, though this is broadcast monthly (replacing Question Time for that week) and has greater audience interaction. BBC World produces an Indian version of the programme for such viewers. Pakistan has also developed its own version of Question Time.

Notes

  1. ^ BBC chief apologises for terror debate, BBC News, 15 September 2001

References

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