The Andrew Neil Show

The Andrew Neil Show is a BBC political programme presented by Andrew Neil. It was broadcast on BBC Two every Wednesday evening.[1] It was launched on 4 September 2019 and returned for a second series on 8 January 2020.[2] The show came off-air during the COVID-19 pandemic on 11 March 2020 and was then cancelled as a result of budget cuts at the BBC.[3]

The Andrew Neil Show
GenrePolitics
Directed byJanet McAllen
Presented byAndrew Neil
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerHugh Milbourn
EditorRob Burley
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Original release4 September 2019 – 11 March 2020
External links
The Andrew Neil Show

Background

Neil's long-running politics and current affairs programme This Week ended in July 2019 following his decision to "step down from late-night broadcasting". His lunchtime Daily Politics show ended in 2018 after 15 years.[4]

The Andrew Neil Show was first announced on 29 August 2019 in a statement from the BBC's press office. Ahead of the announcement, Rob Burley, the editor of BBC live political programmes, tweeted a teaser of the programme's logo, a superimposed 'A' and 'N'.[5] Upon announcement, Neil said: "I'm delighted to be fronting a weekly show in prime time on BBC Two that will be on top of the story, whatever direction it takes. The autumn of 2019 is destined to be one of the most intriguing and significant in British politics for at least a generation".[6][7] Neil continued to present Politics Live on BBC Two every Thursday lunchtime in addition to the programme.[8]

Format

The Andrew Neil Show aired at 7 pm on Wednesdays and focused on Brexit.[9] It rounded up political events of the week and featured interviews with key politicians.[10] Other BBC journalists frequently appeared on the show to offer their analysis, with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg being the most frequent guest. Other journalists that appeared included Hugh Pym and Adam Fleming.

Episodes

Series 1
Episode Date Guests
1
 4 September 2019 Rishi Sunak and John Healey
2
 11 September 2019 Kwasi Kwarteng and Nigel Farage
3
 18 September 2019 Layla Moran and Andy McDonald
4
 25 September 2019 Robert Jenrick, Kirsty Blackman and Nick Thomas-Symonds
5
 9 October 2019[lower-alpha 1] Tony Blair and Zion Lights
6
 16 October 2019 Brandon Lewis, Philip Hammond and Jenny Chapman
7
 23 October 2019 Robert Buckland and Alastair Campbell
8
 30 October 2019 Jo Swinson and James Cleverly
9
 6 November 2019 Nadhim Zahawi and Andy McDonald
10
 13 November 2019 Jonathan Ashworth and David Linden
11
 20 November 2019 Brandon Lewis and Sir Ed Davey
12
 27 November 2019 Barry Gardiner and Robert Buckland
13
 11 December 2019[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] Andy McDonald, Siân Berry, Ben Habib and Michael Heseltine

Series 2
Episode Date Guests
1
 8 January 2020 Clive Lewis and Mark Dubowitz
2
 15 January 2020 Lisa Nandy
3
 22 January 2020 Emily Thornberry
4
 29 January 2020 Peter Mandelson and David Davis
5
 5 February 2020 John Whittingdale, Nathalie Loiseau and Jonathan Hall
6
 12 February 2020 Andy Burnham and Tom Tugendhat
7
 26 February 2020[lower-alpha 4] Tobias Ellwood and Ian Murray
8
 4 March 2020[lower-alpha 5] Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey
9
 11 March 2020[lower-alpha 6] Susan Michie and John McDonnell

Reception

The Telegraph gave the programme five stars, saying "Neil is back and taking no nonsense from either the left or the right".[15]

The first episode of the programme was watched by an average of 800,000 viewers.[16] According to Neil, the programme "was beating Channel 4 News every time it was on".[17]

Notes
  1. There was no programme on 2 October 2019 due to BBC Two live coverage of the World Athletics Championships in Qatar.[11]
  2. There was no programme on 4 December 2019 due to Neil's interview with Jo Swinson in The Andrew Neil Interviews.[12]
  3. This episode was an hour long due to the 2019 general election taking place the next day.[13]
  4. There was no programme on 19 February 2020 due to the February parliamentary recess.
  5. This episode was an hour long as Neil interviewed two of the candidates in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.
  6. There was no programme after 11 March 2020 due to the BBC scaling back its programming in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

References
  1. "Andrew Neil to host new BBC political programme". Media Centre. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  2. BBC News Press Team [@BBCNewsPR] (11 December 2019). "Great news that The Andrew Neil Show will be back on @BBCTwo for a second series on 8th January 2020 for our weekly dose of #Brexit analysis, political news and interviews with @afneil direct from #Westminster" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "The Andrew Neil Show ends as BBC News unveils cuts". BBC News. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  4. "Andrew Neil talks Brexit in new BBC Two show". BBC News. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. Burley, Rob [@RobBurl] (29 August 2019). "pic.twitter.com/mITLLUFa9F" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. Martin, Laura (29 August 2019). "Andrew Neil to return to the BBC with a new weekly politics show". inews. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  7. Parfitt, Tom (29 August 2019). "Andrew Neil to host new BBC political show as Brexit looms". The Independent. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  8. Media, P. A. (29 August 2019). "Andrew Neil to front primetime politics roundup show on BBC". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  9. Walker, James (29 August 2019). "BBC launches new half-hour politics show fronted by Andrew Neil". Press Gazette. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  10. Diver, Tony (29 August 2019). "Andrew Neil to be given his own Brexit show, BBC announces". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  11. Burley, Rob [@RobBurl] (2 October 2019). "Just a reminder that #andrewneilshow takes a break tonight because of the World Athletics Championship. Not much going on anyway ... @afneil will be back next Wednesday, #brexitcast will be back on your TVs tomorrow night after Question Time" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. Burley, Rob [@RobBurl] (4 December 2019). "Tonight at 7.30pm on BBC1 ⁦@LibDems⁩ leader ⁦@joswinson⁩ talks to ⁦@afneil⁩ #andrewneilinterviews" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. Burley, Rob [@RobBurl] (11 December 2019). "On election eve, @afneil with a bumper hour long Christmas edition of the #andrewneilshow with guests Lord Heseltine ⁦@AndyMcDonaldMP⁩ ⁦@sianberry⁩ ⁦@benhabib6⁩ - we invited the Conservatives to take part but no guest was available. #ge2019" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. Evans, Mel (17 March 2020). "BBC scaling back news output amid coronavirus with shows including Victoria Derbyshire replaced". Metro. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  15. Bennett, Asa (4 September 2019). "The Andrew Neil Show, review: the BBC's arch interrogator is back and taking no nonsense from either the left or the right". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  16. Walker, James (5 September 2019). "BBC Andrew Neil Show launch watched by average audience of 800,000". Press Gazette. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  17. "Andrew Neil admits he was 'unhappy' at the BBC on Good Morning Britain". The Herald. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
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