US election night: Andrew Neil to front BBC coverage with Katty Kay

The BBC has unveiled its US election coverage – with veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil co-hosting alongside Katty Kay in his last job for the corporation.

The programme will air on BBC One, BBC News Channel, BBC World News and BBC iPlayer from 11.30pm on Tuesday November 3.

Kay will broadcast from Washington, while 71-year-old Neil – who is quitting the BBC for GB News – will provide interviews and analysis from London.

Kay, who covers US politics for the BBC, said: “It will be a hard-fought contest right to the end, and I’m excited to bring global BBC audiences the story on election night and in the days after.

The United States presidential election takes place on Tuesday, November 3.

“When trustworthy information is hard to come by, we at the BBC are committed to fairly and accurately reporting events, whatever happens.”

Neil said: “This has been a presidential campaign like no other in the long history of America’s democracy. And not just because it’s being fought in the midst of a pandemic.

“In many ways, it’s turned into a referendum on Donald Trump. Do you want to continue with four more years of the Trump rollercoaster? Or would you prefer a return to something approaching normal with mainstream Democrat Joe Biden? That’s the choice Americans must make on November 3.”

Broadcasters Jon Sopel and Clive Myrie will be with the Trump and Biden campaigns on election night, and Emily Maitlis and Nick Bryant will report from key battleground states.

Maitlis will also present Newsnight from Washington for the week.

On November 4, Laura Trevelyan, Matthew Amroliwala and Reeta Chakrabarti will take over from 9am, with coverage running until 1pm on BBC One – there will be no BBC Breakfast that morning.

Coverage will continue on the BBC News Channel, BBC World News and BBC iPlayer.

BBC head of newsgathering Jonathan Munro said: “The US presidential election is one of the world’s most important political events, and always has a big impact on politics across the world.

“Our goal is to make sure that we provide our audiences with the complete picture over the next three weeks.

“On election night, Katty and Andrew will bring an incredible level of experience, knowledge and authority from both sides of the Atlantic.”

There will also be coverage on BBC Radio 4, Radio 5 Live and the World Service.

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