David Dimbleby does U-turn to present tenth general election results show for the BBC
This snap election is expected to be “one of the most closely followed in recent times”
David Dimbleby is to present general election coverage for the tenth time when Britain goes to the polls on 8th June, despite Huw Edwards having supposedly taken over the role after the 2015 election.
Dimbleby presented his first election results programme in 1979, when Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, and was meant to step down after the 2015 general election, according to a BBC statement released at the time.
However, the working assumption in 2015 was that with a fixed term parliament, the next general election would be in 2020. The fact that it's come three years early means the BBC wants all hands on deck, with Dimbleby presenting the overnight show before Edwards picks up the following morning.
And of course, the potential implications of this election and what it could mean for Brexit would have made it a pretty tough opportunity for Dimbleby to resist.
Also reporting on the snap election, called by Theresa May on Tuesday, will be Mishal Husain, Emily Maitlis and Jeremy Vine, with BBC experts including political editor Laura Kuenssberg and economics editor Kamal Ahmed in the studio.
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James Harding, director of news at the BBC said: “This snap election surprised the country and election night is bound to be one of the most closely followed in recent times.”
It is still unknown whether there will be TV debates in the lead up to the election, but a petition for them to go ahead with or without Theresa May has reached more that 96,000 signatures – and ITV has announced that it is intending to broadcast a leaders’ debates show.
The overnight General Election 2017 results programme will be aired on BBC1, BBC News Channel and BBC World News.
