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
Gardeners' Question Time by the death of long-serving chairman Franklin Engelmann just days earlier. The format and panel remained largely unchanged for many years. In 1994 the complete panel left the BBC and moved to the new Classic FM station on a short-term contract to present "Classic Gardening Forum", sponsored by The Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society. In 2009 the production of the show was taken over by the UK's largest independent radio production company Somethin' Else. In December 2009 panellist John Cushnie died suddenly. The programme's audience figures continue to perform strongly as confirmed by the official audience measurement body, RAJAR. The