BBC bosses have cleared part of the primetime schedule of the broadcaster’s main TV channel amid ongoing Brexit chaos at Westminster.
Planned programming on BBC One will be shelved on Wednesday evening and replaced with special news coverage between 8.30pm and 9pm, the corporation said, a change on previous plans.
Conservative MPs are due to hold a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May between 6pm and 8pm, with the results expected to be announced at about 9pm.
The hour-long ‘One Show’ was cut in half to allow for the full broadcast of consumer show ‘Shop Well For Less’, with the special politics broadcast slotted in afterwards.
Doubts were raised, however, over business reality show ‘The Apprentice’ – famed for its “You’re fired!” catchphrase – due to broadcast at 9pm.
Any overrun to the special political programme could see Lord Sugar’s search for a business partner postponed until another time slot can be found.
A BBC News spokesperson said: “There will be a BBC News Special tonight on BBC One, presented by Andrew Neil, with the result and reaction of the confidence vote in the PM.”
UPDATE: This article was updated throughout to reflect a new BBC statement which said the planned timings for the political broadcast had changed.