Votes are cast, let the counts begin
Election Coverage
BBC One, STV, Channel 4, 9.55pm
THERE was a time when General Elections were like the Olympics. They rolled round every four years or so, the nation went to the polls and that was that. However, in recent years they land with the regularity of a new Star Wars movie. In 2015, when fans of that saga were counting the days until The Force Awakens, it was a case of May the force be with you as Theresa took over from David Cameron following his resignation a year later.
By the summer of 2017, another war developed between the stars of Westminster a few months before The Last Jedi divided fans almost as much as Brexit had split the nation.
All of which preamble brings us to the latest chapter in a saga filled with heroes and villains, depending on your point of view.
And naturally as it’s one of the most dramatic times in the political calendar, TV’S experts have been falling over themselves to give us the most accurate reporting in a way that is anything but boring.
At times BBC One, ITV and Channel 4 will deliver the sort of hi-tech graphics which will make pending Star Wars movie The Rise of Skywalker look positively boring by comparison. Viewers of a certain age may yearn for the low tech glory days of the Swingometer, which debuted on the BBC in 1955, and eventually became synonymous with Peter Snow. It even landed its own show four years ago, Sixty Years of Swing.
On BBC One’s Election 2019, Huw Edwards will be taking the helm for the Beeb’s overnight coverage as the results of the election are announced.
Able assistance comes from Laura Kuenssberg, Katya Adler, Faisal Islam and Amol Rajan, along with Professor John Curtice.
Sophie Raworth analyses the results on a giant map of the UK; Sarah Smith and Kirsty Wark broadcast from Scotland, and correspondents including Naga Munchetty, Andrew Marr, Martha Kearney, Nick Robinson and Lucy Manning will have news and results from key constituency locations across the country. While his colleagues review the situation across the UK, Glenn Campbell will keep tabs on the Scottish results.
Finally, the exit poll, and the eventual result will be projected on to Old Broadcasting House, providing an idea of who will lead the country over the next five years.
On STV’S Election 2019 Live: The Results, Bernard Ponsonby presents the election results, with correspondents reporting from the key Scottish seats, as well as declarations from other parts of the UK.
And if you fancy a lighter look at the night’s news on Channel 4, Krishnan Guru-murthy and Katherine Ryan host their take in C4 Alternative Election Night.
Rylan Clark-neal will be getting the thoughts of the studio audience; Clare Balding reveals results as they happen; Matt Forde will run the Alternative News Desk, and Rob Rinder assesses the mood on the ground.
Throughout the show, presenters are joined by political figures and satirists – including ex-home secretary Amber Rudd; outgoing Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, and, as “The Circle is now complete” (one for hardcore Star Wars fans), that show’s acerbic narrator Sophie Willan will add her comic take on proceedings with Tez Ilyas.