The BBC has refuted reports that the ratings for their flagship political show Question Time are ‘at an all-time low’.
In a now-deleted article, it was reported that viewing figures from the show 'plummeted to an all-time low’ during an episode in October with just over 620,000 viewers, however, the BBC has stated that the episode in question had 1.3m viewers.
Addressing claims that an episode of the political show hosted by Fiona Bruce had just over 620,000 viewers last month a spokesperson for the BBC said: “This story is completely untrue and the figures are not accurate. Question Time achieved a healthy 1.3m viewers when it aired on BBC One in its usual time slot.”
The reports also claimed that an episode that aired on November 19 obtained 700,000 views, with the BBC stating that it had 1.4m.
READ MORE: Covid Scotland: 'Christmas gatherings lead to January lockdown and third wave' warn experts
The reports online and in The Sun about Question Time audience numbers are untrue and the figures are wrong. Question Time achieved a healthy 1.3m viewers on 1 Oct and 1.4m on 19 Nov, a great performance by the team given the pressures of the pandemic. #bbcqt
— BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) November 25, 2020
The corporation further defended the show - with the BBC News Press team taking to social media to write: “The reports online and in The Sun about Question Time audience numbers are untrue and the figures are wrong. Question Time achieved a healthy 1.3m viewers on 1 Oct and 1.4m on 19 Nov, a great performance by the team given the pressures of the pandemic”
READ MORE: Spitting Image: First appearance of Nicola Sturgeon in Britbox series
The episode in question on October 1 aired from Carlisle and featured Grant Shapps MP secretary of state for transport; shadow sports minister Alison McGovern MP, the SNP’s David Linden MP.Stuart Rose, retailer and chair of Ocado, and Helen Stokes-Lampard, GP and chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.
We're off to Swansea this week, where our virtual audience will put their questions to the panel. See you Thursday, 10:45pm, @BBCOne.
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) November 23, 2020
To join an audience this series apply here ➡️ https://t.co/nTqhC7eJJd ⬅️ pic.twitter.com/o6d4m7aPgt
READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: Here are the Christmas rules for Scots
According to reports, Question Time had around 3.5m in March this year.
Fiona Bruce replaced long-time host David Dimbleby in January 2019.
Question Time this week comes from Swansea and will air on BBC One on Thursday at 10:45pm.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel