General election TV debates: How to watch, dates, channels and who will take part

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will face each other in the final televised debate of the campaign on 26 June

Broadcasters have finalised their line-up of televised debates ahead of the general election on 4 July.

The BBC confirmed it will host the final head-to-head debate between prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on 26 June.

The debate will be hosted by newsreader Sophie Raworth and take place in Nottingham, airing on BBC One and BBC News. The first head-to-head between Sir Keir and Mr Sunak was broadcast on ITV on June 4. Sky News also hosted a leaders’ debate on June 12.

Elsewhere on the BBC, Mishal Husain hosted a debate on June 7 between leading figures from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru, Green Party and Reform UK.

The final head-to-head debate between Sunak and Starmer will take place on 26 June (PA Wire)

Also included in the BBC’s election coverage is a two-hour-long Question Time leaders’ special, hosted by Fiona Bruce, on June 20.

The leaders of the four biggest political parties – the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and SNP - will answer questions from the studio audience for 30 minutes each.

BBC journalist Nick Robinson has also invited the leaders of the seven biggest political parties in Britain to be interviewed for Panorama specials, airing in the run up to the general election.

Additional dedicated debates will also take place in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

When are the debates taking place?

BBC One seven-leader election debate – 7 June

BBC One Scotland’s debate between all Scottish party leaders - 11 June

Sky News leaders’ debate – 12 June

ITV multi-party debate – 13 June

BBC Question Time special – 20 June

BBC One Wales’s debate between Welsh party leaders – 21 June

BBC ONE prime ministerial debate – 26 June

BBC One Northern Ireland’s debate between Irish party leaders – 27 June

ITV will also broadcast a series of interview specials with party leaders, with all the major parties featuring over four shows. They take place on 6, 12, 24 and 27 June

If you’re travelling abroad and want to stream the Election Debate then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get the best VPN deals on the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.