Lively topical debate came to the heart of Bury St Edmunds last night as the BBC’s Question Time was filmed in the town for the first time in its history.
Host David Dimbleby was joined by panellists West Suffolk MP and culture secretary Matt Hancock, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, and stand-up comedian Simon Evans.
The show was filmed at the Athenaeum on the Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds with around 100 people in the audience, who were selected to ensure political balance.
First broadcast in 1979, host David Dimbleby took the helm of the BBC flagship show in 1994, but this is the first time it has visited Bury.
But the programme has visited the region previously.
Colchester’s moment in the spotlight was cut short after a member of the audience was taken ill during filming of the programme in November last year.
An ambulance was seen outside the building as medical staff tended to the woman, but recording was cancelled after she could not be safely moved.
Business secretary Greg Clark, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe, former chief executive of Marks and Spencer Lord Rose and crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell made up the panel that night.
The show also filmed from Ipswich’s Corn Exchange in 2013.
The panel for the Ipswich show included former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, defence secretary Philip Hammond, and Labour shadow minister Chris Bryant.
The Bury St Edmunds programme was broadcast at 10.45pm on BBC One last night and is available on iPlayer.
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