David Farnor | On 19, Nov 2019

On 12th December 2019, the country will go to the polls to decide who will lead the UK into the future, a future that may or may not involve Brexit, could or could not see a new EU referendum take place and might or might not feature a hung parliament and some kind of coalition government. With the first Christmas-time general election in years, all bets on what the result will be are off, but what we do know is that TV coverage will be the most comprehensive in recent memory, from live debates to podcast explainers, all of it available to catch up with on-demand.

But who’s taking part when? And what are you supposed to do if you’re not near the telly on the nights put aside for political programming?

Presenting your 2019 general election streaming TV guide…

Johnson V Corbyn: The ITV Debate

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn go head to head in their first live TV debate. Both will set out how they would break the political deadlock and heal a divided nation.

When? 19th November (8pm)
Where? ITV

Available until: 19th December 2019

Election Interviews

Following Johnson V Corbyn: The ITV Debate, ITV will broadcast a live interview based programme in which other party leaders will be able to comment on the head-to-head debate and set out their own electoral offers.

Party leaders, Jo Swinson of the Liberal Democrats, Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP, Nigel Farage of The Brexit Party and Sian Berry co-leader of the Green Party will be interviewed individually in consecutive face-to-face interviews with Nina Hossain, from a studio in East London.

When? 19th November (10pm)
Where? ITV

Available until: 19th December 2019

Question Time Leaders’ Special

Fiona Bruce will be hosting a Question Time Leaders’ Special, broadcast from Sheffield on BBC One and BBC Radio 5 live. Across two hours, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon and Jo Swinson will each be invited to take questions from the audience for 30 minutes.

When? 22nd November (7pm)
Where? BBC Two

Available until: November 2020

BBC Wales

The BBC Wales Live team will host two live debates as they put key questions to a panel of politicians. The first debate takes place in Pembrokeshire on Tuesday 26th November with the second on Tuesday 3rd December from North Wales.

When? 26th November (8pm)
Where? BBC Wales

Available until: 27th December 2019

Channel 4 Emergency on Planet Earth

Channel 4 will host a one-hour special programme – the first ever leaders’ debate on the issue of climate change. The Lib Dems, Green Part, Labour and SNP have all agreed to take part in principle, with the Conservatives and the Brexit Party yet to confirm whether they will participate. The date is yet to be confirmed, but it will be one night in the week of the election at 7pm.

When? 28th November (7pm)
Where? Channel 4

Available until: 30th November 2019

The BBC Election Debate

Broadcast live from Cardiff on BBC One and BBC Radio 5 live, it will feature a seven-way podium debate between leaders or senior figures from the seven major GB political parties. The format will see each of the panellists make short opening statements; these will then be followed by questions and debate. At the end of the debate the representatives will be invited to make short closing statements.

When? 29th November (7pm)
Where? BBC One

Available until: November 2020

The ITV Election Debate

ITV will broadcast a two hour long debate programme moderated by Julie Etchingham. The Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the Brexit Party, the Greens and Plaid Cymru have all been invited to this debate.

When? 1st December (7pm)
Where? ITV

Available until: 31st December 2019

The BBC Prime Ministerial Debate

A head-to-head between Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, live from Maidstone. Chaired by Nick Robinson.

When? 6th December (8.30pm)
Where? BBC One

Available until: November 2020

Channel 4 Leaders’ Debate

Channel 4 has cancelled its planned election debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn because Johnson refused to take part. Instead, with just days to go before the UK goes to the polls, Cathy Newman will host a live debate from Leeds looking at the key election issues away from Brexit. Produced by ITN Productions, the 90-minute programme, Britain Decides: The Everything But Brexit Debate see an audience of undecided voters question senior figures on a range of issues, including crime, the NHS, the economy, climate change and poverty. Confirmed to take part are Angela Rayner the Shadow Secretary of State for Education from the Labour Party, leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson, co-leader of the Green Party Jonathan Bartley, with the SNP represented by their Health spokesperson in the House of Commons Philippa Whitford and Plaid Cymru by leader Adam Price.

When? 8th December (6.30pm)
Where? Channel 4

Available until: 8th January 2020

Question Time Under 30

The BBC is planning a 90-minute Question Time for younger audiences hosted by Emma Barnett. A selected audience of under-30s will question leading figures from each of the main parties, and it will be broadcast in prime time on BBC One, Radio 1, 1Xtra and 5 live will partner in the coverage, and there will be full digital coverage.

When? 9th December (8.30pm)
Where? BBC One

Available until: November 2020

BBC Scotland

With just two days until the country goes to the polls, BBC Scotland will broadcast its Scotland Leaders debate live from Pacific Quay in Glasgow. Sarah Smith will chair the programme in front of an audience with party leaders facing questions about the issues that matter most to them.

In addition to broadcasting the programme live, the BBC Scotland channel will air a half-hour Debate Spin Room show from the venue before the debate. Commentators, journalists, politicians and analysts will discuss how the debate will be won and lost. The channel’s flagship news programme, The Nine, will have first reaction to the debate from the Spin Room.

When? 10th December
Where? BBC Scotland

Available until: November 2020

BBC Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland the leaders of the main parties will be invited to take part in a debate in front of a studio audience. The NI Leaders’ Debate will be on BBC One NI and will be chaired by Noel Thompson.

When? 10th December (10.45pm)
Where? BBC Northern Ireland

Available until: November 2020

Alternative Election Night

Produced by ITN Productions and Expectation, Channel 4’s coverage will be hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Katherine Ryan along with Rylan Clark-Neal who will be sense-checking results with a specially invited studio audience.

Throughout the night Krishnan, Katherine and Rylan will be joined by an eclectic mix of the country’s biggest political figures and sharpest comedic talent to tell the dramatic story as it unfolds, with top-class analysis and some much-needed laughs.

Clare Balding will have the results as they happen, Matt Forde will run the Alternative News Desk and the inimitable Rob Rinder will be out and about assessing the mood on the ground.

Also In the studio will be exclusive heavyweight political guests including ex-Home Secretary Amber Rudd and former Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson, who will give their take on developments along with a host of comedians including Sophie Willan and Tez Ilyas, candidates and political bigwigs.

When? 12th December (9.55pm)
Where? Channel 4

Available to catch up with on All 4 after broadcast

BBC Election 2019

Huw Edwards will be the lead presenter of the BBC’s election night coverage, alongside Reeta Chakrabarti, Andrew Neil, Tina Daheley and Jeremy Vine with his swingometer.

The 2019 election programme team will include BBC experts including Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg, Europe Editor Katya Adler, Economics Editor Faisal Islam, and Media Editor Amol Rajan, alongside Professor Sir John Curtice.

BBC presenters in key constituency locations, including Naga Munchetty, Andrew Marr, Martha Kearney, Nick Robinson and Lucy Manning will bring news and results from across the UK throughout the night.

When? 12th December (9.55pm)
Where? BBC One

Available to catch up with on BBC iPlayer after broadcast

ITV Election 2019

Tom Bradby will return as anchor for the election night programme accompanied by high profile guests as he guides viewers through the results as they come in. The day after the election, Julie Etchingham will present a special programme from 9am analysing all the fallout from the previous night’s result.

When? 12th December (9.55pm)
Where? ITV

Available to catch up with on ITV Hub after broadcast

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