Dermot O'Leary to front BBC Three Question Time
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X Factor host Dermot O'Leary is to front a youth-oriented Question Time for the BBC in a bid to engage a younger generation with politics, it was announced. O'Leary will host First Time Voters' Question Time for BBC3 next month in front of an audience which has not previously cast their vote in an election. The programme will feature representatives from "the main political parties", although names will be finalised nearer to the live broadcast on March 3. O'Leary revealed last month he had been in discussions with the BBC to present a political show. The programme, which is to be filmed at Canary Wharf, east London, will come shortly before a general election. Although a date has yet to be announced, it is being tipped for May. The special edition of Question Time - which is normally fronted on BBC1 by David Dimbleby - is part of a package of BBC3 shows aimed at bringing politics to 16 to 34-year-olds. Danny Cohen, Controller of BBC3, said: "BBC3 has a unique role to play as the only youth-targeted British television channel with a regular and passionate commitment to current affairs. "We have exciting plans to cover the build-up to the general election, and are keen to engage young people who may not typically watch political coverage. "We're delighted to have Dermot O'Leary as our host for this programme. He is passionate about politics and hugely popular with young people."
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.
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