BBC’s ‘Question Time’ examines the presidential election, recorded live in Philly

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The BBC’s premier debate show, Question Time, hosted by British journalist Fiona Bruce, will be broadcast on Wednesday, October 9, from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. This event focuses on the upcoming presidential election and features a live audience and panel discussion.

This is the first broadcast of Question Time from the US since 2008, offering viewers in the UK, US and around the world a unique perspective on the issues that matter to American voters in a critical battleground state just weeks before the broadcast Hearts lie choice. Bruce, who has hosted the BBC One show since January 2019, recently spoke to WHYY Morning Edition host Jennifer Lynn about Britain’s view of the US presidential race and what makes her show special.

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Fiona Bruce: Question time is a panel discussion in which politicians from opposing parties are represented, but sometimes also journalists, political commentators or people in the public who are interested in politics and have an opinion on it. Then we have an audience made up of people, some of whom support one party and some of whom support another party. So there are different opinions in the room. We record it live, every week in different locations around the UK.

Jennifer Lynn: And you will receive questions from the audience. Do you read them beforehand? Decide who should ask the questions?

FB: Well, we get questions from the audience as they show up, which is about an hour before the broadcast, so it’s all pretty last minute. You know, we want to reflect what local people think. Of course, stories can change from day to day. The panelists do not know the questions. I go back and forth with the audience between questions. People put their hands up; Maybe they want to ask something else relevant to this question. Maybe they would like to comment. You may want to say, “That sounds like nonsense to me,” or “Actually, this policy doesn’t work for me.” It’s quite animated and can be quite passionate. It reflects people’s true views.

JL: You seem to know everything. What level of preparation is you? What do you go through to prepare for a show?

FB: Well, the thing is, I was a news journalist; I have also been a news anchor for 25 years. You know, over the years you’ve sort of accumulated a bit of knowledge. I have a fantastic team; There are only four or five of us – quite small – and we prepare short descriptions of what we think the topics might be. In the UK, for example, it’s pretty obvious at the moment that people want to talk about what’s happening in the Middle East. And of course, you know, it’s a cumulative thing. But sometimes people come with questions and it happens at the last minute. A lot of people might ask for something that we don’t expect, and then you just have to try, you know? You hope you know enough to correct mistakes, but also just let the conversation continue.

JL: Well, when Question time In Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center, the focus will be on our presidential election. Do you know who the panelists will be? I’m assuming you know by now, or is this still being sorted out?

FB: Well, we know most of them. So we have Madeleine Dean, a Democrat, you know, congresswoman from Pennsylvania. We have Brian Lanza, a senior advisor to Donald Trump, who was also part of his communications team in 2016. We have a British journalist named Mehdi Hassan who is now a US citizen. He’s been in the program before; he is fantastically knowledgeable. We have Anthony Zercher, our BBC America correspondent – a Texan who knows his stuff. If I don’t know something, I’m pretty sure he will. We had a Republican politician; He simply had to withdraw for personal reasons. So we’re making sure that we have a Republican politician on the board, because what’s important is that it’s balanced. You know, we are the BBC; This is a big deal for us and we need to ensure that both sides of the debate are represented and are heard fairly both on the panel and in the audience.