Published: 09:35 am, 5 May 2026
BBC Scotland’s news teams will tell the story of the how Scotland voted in the Scottish Parliament election with an ambitious all-day results programme on 8 May.
Election Scotland 2026, which airs from 9.30am on BBC One Scotland and on iPlayer, will have breaking news from every count, compelling interviews and expert analysis. The presenters give the inside track on maintaining energy levels during the marathon programme, and what viewers can expect.
Martin Geissler
How does it feel to be presenting the election?
It’s an absolute privilege to be given a job like this. Hopefully it’ll be a great pleasure as well. It’s a massive moment in Scotland’s public life and to be able to bring it to the country and let them understand and see the story as it develops is something I certainly don’t take for granted.
What will your role be on the day?
I’ll be the main presenter. Mercifully, I will be surrounded by experts who are going to help me analyse the results as they come in – help people understand what they actually mean and form a picture of what’s happening in this election. As the declarations take place, this story is going to develop over the course of the day.
What makes this election different?
It’s a really different election this time because the count is taking place through the day, so it’s going to be a busy old building. We’re going to be presenting this from the main atrium here at BBC’s headquarters in Glasgow. There’ll be people all around. There’ll be a bit of a hubbub. I’ve done this job overnight as well and it can be a bit lonely in the wee hours. None of that this time, the counting is going to start just after breakfast. We’re going to sit down in that studio not knowing what’s going to happen, what it’s going to mean for the country, what the future is going to look like. By the end of that day, we’ll know what the next five years, what the shape’s going to be.
What’s your favourite part of election coverage? / What’s going to be a key moment to look out for?
My favourite part of the day is probably the declaration because it’s quite a long slog when you’ve talked for a couple of hours by the time the first presiding officer walks onto the stage. But after that, the declarations start to come thick and fast, and the story starts to develop, the picture starts to build, and you begin to get a real sense of the importance of the day.
It’s going to be a long day – what will keep you going?
I’m going to be in that seat for about nine hours – that’s a lot. I’m saying now that I’m going to survive on fruit, but inevitably somebody will bring tray bakes and I can never, ever resist them. They’re always very good. The key though. It is not too much fluid, not too much tea, not too much coffee because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t want to have to run off short notice.
Gary Robertson
How does it feel to be presenting the election?
It is really exciting . I think if you’re a bit of an enthusiast for politics as I am, this is a bit like the Olympic games for politicians. So for me, this is something that comes around only every four years and it’s one of the big highlights of my job.
What will your role be on the day?
I’ll be focusing on interviewing politicians. This will be a developing story. We’ll go on air at 9.30 in the morning, not knowing what the result’s going to be, and hopefully by the end of the day we’ll have a clear picture. And during that period, I’ll be speaking to the politicians, getting their reaction to who’s up, who’s down, and what all of this will mean in terms of who can form a government and what it might mean for some party leaders. Because if they don’t do well, their heads might be on the chopping block.
What makes this election different?
This election’s a bit different because this is going to be a day count. In the past, people would stay up all night to watch the election results coming in, and there’d be a rush to be the first to declare. For this election, people who count get to go home to their beds after the votes are cast, and we have to wait until the next day. By the end of Friday, hopefully we’ll have a clear picture as to who is going to be the occupant of Bute House and who’s going to form the next government.
What’s your favourite part of election coverage? / What’s going to be a key moment to look out for?
I think my favourite part of the election coverage really is the results because all of what we’re going through in terms of the campaign leads up to this one moment, and it’s when the public really become engaged. They’ve cast their votes. They’ve decided who is going to be the next First Minister and who’s going to form the next government. I think that’s the most exciting part all of this – not knowing until potentially the very last minute how all of this is going to pan out.
It’s going to be a long day – what will keep you going?
It’ll be an exciting day, but what’ll keep me going? Bananas, sweeties, lots and lots of sweeties, and probably lots of coffee as well, and adrenaline, of course. We’re live on television, on radio. This is the very essence of a breaking story.
Rebecca Curran
How does it feel to be presenting the election?
It feels like such an honour and a privilege. You know, this is something that matters to every single one of us. Whether you’re really into politics or you don’t really care about it at all, it really does affect us all, and to be able to bring our audience, the news of what’s happened when it happens is really just such a huge responsibility. But also such a privilege.
What will your role be on the day?
I’m going to be based at the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, which is where each of the 129 MSPs are going to end up. Luckily, I’ll be surrounded by people far smarter than me. I’ll have our political colleagues from the BBC, some politicians and political pundits as well. They will all be there to react to the news as it’s happening and to provide analysis and hopefully have some fun on the day as well.
What makes this election different?
This election is different because the count is happening during the day. Some people may remember that’s what happened in 2021 because it was during COVID. We won’t have to stay up all night and neither will our audience, so that’s good. Everything else really remains the same.
We’re going to be at every election count around the country, bringing you the news, as it happens.
What’s your favourite part of election coverage? / What’s going to be a key moment to look out for?
I think my favourite part of the election coverage is just the immediacy of it all. There’s a lot of thinking on your feet. It’s really fast paced.
There’s a real buzz around the whole day, and honestly, it just goes past in the blink of an eye. It’s a full day’s coverage, but it feels like it’s just gone past in an hour. So it’s great fun on the day.
It’s going to be a long day – what will keep you going?
I think the adrenaline will keep me going and probably some nerves as well. It’s a huge responsibility being part of the presenting team, delivering the results to the people in Scotland. So I think the adrenaline, the nerves, some coffee and sweeties along the way as well, to keep me going.
Laura Goodwin
How does it feel to be presenting the election?
It feels great. I think I’ve covered every election in Scotland and general elections since I began my career in journalism. I think this is an interesting election. So much has changed in the world, even in the five years since Scotland last went to the polls in a Holyrood election. It it will be interesting to see how that influences voters and what they’re thinking about when they go to the ballot box.
What will your role be on the day?
I will be presenting Reporting Scotland. If you’re at work through the day, or perhaps you can’t stay tuned to the coverage that will be rolling throughout the day, tune in for Reporting Scotland. We’ll get you right up to date with what’s happened, the comings and goings, the deals that might need to be done. So don’t worry if you’re busy, we will bring you up to date.
What makes this election different?
This is an interesting election because of everything that’s happened since the last time Scotland went to the polls in a Holyrood election. We’ve had three first ministers, three prime ministers, a change of Monarch, and global conflicts that are having a major impact here in Scotland. Two. An awful lot has happened in five years.It will be fascinating to see how that influences people’s choices.
What’s your favourite part of election coverage? / What’s going to be a key moment to look out for?
We all love when the first results start coming through. Some of the seats will start to give you a bit of an indication about how things might be changing or maybe aren’t changing. And I suppose it’s that point where you start to think, right, what is the story going to be? What’s the picture going to be?And it isn’t always predictable. There’s always a surprise.
It’s going to be a long day – what will keep you going?
I’m known for having a very specific tea order here. I like two tea bags. It’s got to be strong, but milky, the colour of a brown envelope. I suspect I will have quite a few cups of tea. And then also the healthy things that I’m meant to say, like fruit, nuts, dark chocolate. But to be honest, adrenaline mainly keeps us going.
Laura Miller
How does it feel to be presenting the election?
It sounds corny, but this genuinely a privilege. I present the news every night, but this is a different type of news. You start not knowing what’s going to happen at the beginning of the day, and you follow that story over a course of hours, and then at the end of it, history has been made and you get to tell people what the result is.The BBC election machine kicks in and our coverage is the essence of public service broadcasting. I think it’s going to be fascinating.
What will your role be on the day?
I’m going to be on the election news desk, and over the course of the day I will be bringing news updates. There’s so much going on in various areas across the country, so the news desk will be anchor point.There’s an important election going on in Wales and also the local elections in England, so it will be about bringing all the threads of that together, and telling people at home what they need to know, what has happened and what may be about to happen.
What makes this election different?
For the people at home and for us in the studio it’s the logistics of it, the fact that it’s a day count. People might be used to staying up to the wee small hours or waking up in the morning to a result, but this time it’s happening during the day.The last time we did that was at COVID which again feels like a lifetime ago. The other thing though is the interesting time in Scottish politics. Four of the parties have switched their leaders since 2021. There are new people, new faces leading the charge. The parliament, whatever happens is going to look so different. There are lots of veteran parliamentarians that are stepping down.
What’s your favourite part of election coverage? / What’s going to be a key moment to look out for?
When counting begins, it’s sort of a free for all for speculation during the first few hours. A key moment can be that one declaration where you think – this is the story, and this is what we believe is going to be the case for the next five years. History in the making.
It’s going to be a long day – what will keep you going?
It sure is. I mean, normally in an overnight count it’s sweeties and there’s a point in the earlier as the morning where the bacon rolls come round. I don’t think that’s going to be the case this time, probably just coffee. I’ll probably need to have quite a lot of fruit as well, and sweets.
JG2
