THE BBC’s weekly political debate programme Question Time will be broadcast live from Dulwich this evening.
Tonight's episode will be an AI special, with several industry experts selected for the panel.
Fiona Bruce will once again be at the helm of the programme and will be joined by Darren Jones, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief secretary and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
She will also be joined by the Conservative MP Julia Lopez, who has served as the shadow technology secretary since July 2025, as well as leading software engineer Mo Gawdat, Laura Gilbert, senior director of AI and head of the AI for government at the Tony Blair Institute, and Victor Riparbelli, CEO of tech firm Synthesia.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the hour-long debate tonight.
When is BBC Question Time on and how can I watch?
The show starts at 10.40pm on BBC One, just after the 10 o’clock news, and it will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer, from 9pm.
You can listen to the episode live from 9pm on the BBC Sounds app, or follow the coverage on the BBC News website/app.
Who is on the BBC Question Time AI special in Dulwich?
Darren Jones
Jones, who had been chief secretary to the Treasury previously, was slotted into a purpose-built role in the Prime Minister's office in a mid-2025 cabinet reshuffle to “directly oversee work across Government to support the delivery of the Prime Minister’s priorities”.
Recent reports have emerged that his strong influence in Starmer's inner circle has been dramatically diluted, if not removed entirely, however he remains a key spokesperson for Labour's policy agenda.
He is perhaps best known for his high-profile gaffe of comparing benefits to children’s pocket money. He apologised for the comments – criticised as “incredibly insulting” – saying: “I'm sorry about it. It was tactless and it wasn't well considered.”
Jones is reportedly now focusing more on the Government’s dramatically scaled-back plans for digital ID and making cuts to the Cabinet Office headcount. He is also said to be looking at national security. He was also previously the chair of Labour Digital, a tech-focused think tank.
Julia Lopez
Lopez has served as the Tory MP for Hornchurch and Upminster since 2017, becoming the shadow secretary of state for science, innovation and technology in July 2025.
Before becoming an MP, Lopez served as a local councillor on the Tower Hamlets London Borough Council and also as a parliamentary aide.
She previously responded to our survey results published in 2023, which showed 53% of Scots felt the BBC had not covered the impacts of Brexit on Scotland well.
Mo Gawdat
Gawdat is an Egyptian software engineer who previously served as the chief business officer of Google X, a research branch of tech giant Google focused on "moonshot" technologies, described by the firm as projects that could make "the world a radically better place".
Laura Gilbert
Gilbert is the senior director of AI and innovation at the Tony Blair Institute, a think tank set up by the former prime minister that focuses on AI and technology and its role in the public sector.
Victor Riparbelli
Riparbelli is the founder and CEO of AI firm Synthesia, which creates AI generated video content from text or speech inputs. The company reportedly has more than 60,000 customers and is the UK's largest generative-AI firm.
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