The first head-to-head debate will take place a month before the general election.
After the surprise news of an impending summer election was revealed just last week, the campaign trails have been readied and now the first head-to-head election debate has been announced.
The hour-long debate, entitled Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate, will be moderated by journalist and newsreader Julie Etchingham and will take place in front of a live audience.
Etchingham herself is no stranger to moderating a general election debate, having done so in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
The debate will take place on Tuesday 4th June at 9pm and will see Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, leader of the Conservative Party, and Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, face off on some of the country's most pressing issues and their own party promises in the hopes of providing some clarity to voters.
On the announcement of the debate, Michael Jermey, ITV's director of news and current affairs, said: "Millions of viewers value the election debates. They provide a chance to see and hear the party leaders set out their pitch to the country, debate directly with each other and take questions from voters. ITV is pleased to be broadcasting the first debate in this year's election campaign."
As of now, ITV is the first broadcaster to announce its plans for a special debate but it's widely expected that there will be at least another one that could take place on the BBC, Channel 4 or Sky News.
In terms of election night coverage, ITV has not yet announced who will be fronting its programming on 4th July, although the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky News have confirmed their line-ups.
Clive Myrie and Laura Kuenssberg will host the BBC's election night coverage while Rory Stewart, Alastair Campbell and Emily Maitlis will be at the helm of Channel 4's, and Kay Burley and Sophy Ridge will be there for Sky News' election results broadcast.
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Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate will take place on ITV1, ITVX and STV and STV Player on Tuesday 4th June at 9pm.
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Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
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