The BBC has denied allegations from Reform UK that Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce privately admitted the programme's audience is "packed with critics of Nigel Farage's Reform party". The claims, made to the Daily Mail, have been rejected by the broadcaster.
Reform UK's allegations
Reform UK accused the BBC of "boundless bias" and claimed a source said Bruce told producers that audience members lie about being Reform supporters. The source alleged Bruce said: "It's not our fault if people lie and say they're Reform supporters to get themselves into the audience."
A Reform spokesperson told the publication: "The producers of Question Time claim to have a politically balanced audience, but when the cameras stop rolling even the programme's host, Fiona Bruce, admits that this isn't true."
BBC's response
The official Question Time X account tweeted: "Not true. Fiona Bruce and the team have always made clear that Question Time has robust vetting procedures in place. Everyone who applies to be in the audience is interviewed and has to provide links to their social media accounts. If they don't - they don't get in."
The BBC added in a statement: "The Question Time team vets every audience applicant, acknowledging the risk that someone may apply under false pretences. Everyone who applies is spoken to by a researcher and must provide links to their social media accounts."
Background checks and denial
The statement continued: "The team also carry out a series of background checks to ensure we have a representative audience with a diverse range of opinions. We do not recognise this characterisation of events at all. Fiona is often asked about the makeup of our audience and is always clear about the robust processes we have in place to ensure people are who they say they are, as she made clear on Thursday's programme."
Reform UK also said a Reform UK government would scrap the TV licence fee, citing the alleged vetting issues as a reason.
