BBC Scotland has unveiled a wide range of television, radio, and digital content to serve audiences throughout the 2026 Scottish Parliament Election campaign.
It includes a rolling programme on BBC One Scotland and BBC Radio Scotland during the day on Friday 8 May to report the breaking news from the declarations across the country.
There will be no overnight declarations, with results instead being announced progressively the day after the 7 May poll has taken place.
Presented by Martin Geissler with Laura Miller and Gary Robertson in Pacific Quay, Glasgow, and Rebecca Curran in Holyrood, the programme will air from around 9.00 am on BBC One Scotland, combining live declarations, interviews, and reporting from every count location across Scotland. There’ll also be an extended edition of Reporting Scotland from 10.30 – 11.00 pm as the results day draws to a close.
Coverage of the campaign will also include a live leaders debate broadcast from Paisley Town Hall on Sunday 12 April on BBC One Scotland and iPlayer from 7.00 – 8.30 pm. Hosted by Stephen Jardine, The Debate Night Leaders Special will feature leaders from the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Greens, Scottish Labour, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, and Reform UK. There’ll also be three regular Debate Night editions in the campaign, including one with a focus on hearing from younger voters.
BBC Scotland News online will run a daily live page starting on Tuesday 7 April, with news, features and interviews from the campaigns, and in-depth analysis of the big issues. Digital content will include short-form pieces themed around explainers, news round-ups, and manifesto digests. These will be on BBC digital channels and on a range of prominent social media platforms.
The digital offering will also include an online policy grid – an interactive tool giving a summary of where the main parties stand on the issues that are most important to voters.
BBC Scotland News will also host several hustings events across the country for radio and online, featuring candidate debates in specific constituencies. On BBC Radio Scotland, Radio Scotland Breakfast will conduct a series of leader interviews, offering listeners the opportunity to hear directly from those seeking election.
The BBC Verify team in Scotland will contribute specialist analysis and verification throughout the campaign, helping audiences to navigate the information and claims that will be aired in the weeks before polling day.
Coverage will also feature Your Voice, a cross-platform project designed to amplify audience voices. It aims to reflect what audiences are saying to the BBC and will cover the issues that affect them.
Scotcast, the news and current affairs podcast, will continue its series of interviews with the leaders of the larger parties which began last week. Weekend flagship politics programme,The Sunday Show, which is simulcast on television and radio, will be extended to an hour on BBC One Scotland. Presented by Gary Robertson the programme will focus on the big issues that matter to voters.
There’ll be extensive coverage for Gaelic audiences throughout the campaign on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal’s news programming, on BBC ALBA’s daily news programme show An Là, and online at bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan. On Friday 8 May, there’ll be continuous content on radio and online as the results come in.
Howard Simpson, Head of News and Current Affairs, BBC Scotland, said: ‘The range of programming and journalism we’re announcing today reflects our commitment to serving audiences across Scotland with trusted, high quality election coverage. Our principal aim is to be led by the issues that matter most to our audiences. The campaign coverage has a level of ambition, scale and geographical reach that will ensure the voting public are kept fully informed as they engage in the democratic process.
‘With the count taking place during the day for the first time, we’ve built a results service that’s fast, comprehensive, and accessible wherever people are. Our teams across the country will bring unrivalled reporting, sharp analysis and clear explanations as the picture develops.’
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