Sir Keir Starmer and prime minister Rishi Sunak with go head-to-head on Tuesday evening as ITV hosts the first general election debate between the leaders of the UK’s two largest parties.
It marks the first in a packed line-up of debates throughout June, all hosted by either the BBC, ITV or Sky.
Tuesday’s television event will be hosted by Julie Etchingham, a veteran journalist and presenter who has been a leading figure at ITV since 2008.
Ms Etchingham will also host the channel’s second debate, which will see senior figures representing seven of the UK’s largest parties hash it out on June 13.
It comes after Mr Sunak challenged Sir Keir to six TV debates in after calling the general election – one a week until the general election.
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“I could do one, I could do one hundred, I know what he’s going to say,” said the Labour leader at the time.
Now it would seem the prime minister got his wish, with at least some version of a debate taking place every week in the run-up to the general election. It remains to be seen whether the party leaders take part in all of them, or if their deputies will step up to some instead.
Here’s everything you need to know about the host of the debate on ITV:
Who is Julie Etchingham?
Ms Etchingham began her career as a journalist 30 years ago in 1994, joining the BBC as a trainee before moving to Sky News in 2005.
Born in 1969, Ms Etchingham grew up in Leicester, where both her parents were teachers. She attended Cambridge University where she gained a degree in English.
In 2008 she joined ITV News at Ten as a newscaster and continues in this role today alongside her other ITV projects such as the Tonight programme.
The TV presenter is no stranger to hosting political debates. In 2015, she hosted the ITV Leaders’ Debate, the only programme of that election cycle to host then-prime minister David Cameron.
Ms Etchingham received plaudits for her cool and composed moderating style, able to reign in the big personalities and allow everyone a fair platform to speak.
Her performance earned her the same role at ITV’s 2017 and 2019 leaders’ debates, as well as the 2022 debate between the Conservative candidates for Boris Johnson’s replacement as leader.
Although generally cool under pressure, an awkward moment arose in 2007 when Ms Etchingham made a quip at the expense of then-leader of the opposition David Cameron whilst working for Sky News
Speaking about immigration at a political event, Mr Cameron said: “Here our policy should be obvious…”
“…Extermination,” followed Ms Etchingham, unaware that her microphone was on.
Sky News was quick to apologise for the slip-up, which it called “regrettable”. Ms Etchingham said of the incident “[it was] not my finest hour,” adding that she “apologised to Cameron personally.”
