Question Time British National Party controversy is the flagship BBC Television political panel show, which began in 1979. The weekly show, hosted by David Dimbleby since 1994, takes place at locations around the country. Questions from a local audience are directed to a panel of invited guests, usually consisting of British politicians, alongside other public figures. The topics for debate during the programme are loosely defined by "set-piece" questions from pre-selected audience members. For each topic, the question is answered by each panel member in turn, followed by supplementary questions on the topic, time permitting. The show is pre-recorded a few hours before being broadcast, and
Question Time (TV programme) fully networked within BBC, with Scotland and Northern Ireland broadcasting the series from this point onwards. "Question Time" began with a panel of four guests, usually one member from each of the three major parties (Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats) and another public figure, for example non-governmental organisation directors, newspaper columnists, or religious leaders. In 1998, the panel was enlarged to five, with another non-partisan member or leading member of a fourth political party joining the panel. The presenter now sits in the middle and chairs the debate, deciding who can speak on the panel and bringing audience members into