Females dominate shortlist taking trial runs in front of audiences
BBC1’s long-running current affairs format Question Time is to settle the decision over its next host with a series of off-air pilots.
According to The Guardian, a predominantly female line-up of presenters are in the running for the top job, including Victoria Derbyshire, Today host Mishal Hussain and Kirsty Wark, who fronted this year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival Question Time session.
Other potential candidates are said to be Hussain’s Today co-host Nick Robinson, Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, ITV News’ Julie Etchingham and Radio 5 Live’s Emma Barnett.
Barnett earned plaudits for her grilling of Jeremy Corbyn during the 2017 General Election campaign and deputised for Andrew Marr on his BBC1 show earlier this year.
The pilots, which will be filmed in front of a live audience but not broadcast, will take place from next week.
Incumbent long-running host David Dimbleby is due to step down at the end of this year and return to reporting after 25 years in the hot seat.
He is only the third presenter to have helmed Mentorn Media’s long-running format since its 1979 inception. His brother Jonathan Dimbleby has hosted Radio 4’s Any Questions since 1987.
Dimbleby has only ever missed one episode, in 2009, when he was briefly knocked unconscious after being kicked by a cow in his West Sussex home.
Last night’s Question Time pitted arch Brexiteers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Rod Liddle alongside Labour’s party chair Ian Lavery.
The BBC and Mentorn-owner Tinopolis did not comment.
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