Event preview: Any Questions in Burnley (From This Is Lancashire)

Event preview: Any Questions in Burnley

9:20am Friday 12th February 2010 in News

A TOPICAL debate show that has been a fixture on British radio for over 60 years is coming to Burnley.

Radio 4's flagship Any Questions programme will be broadcast from the town on February 12.

Joining chair Jonathan Dimbleby in the hot seat will be Sir Christopher Frayling, Kelvin MacKenzie and Haleh Afshar.

The debate show was first aired in October 1948 and the programme plays an important role in the UK’s political landscape.

A spokesman for the BBC said: “We hope in particular that the tickets will go to people prepared to play a positive role in the broadcast - people who will think about topical issues beforehand and then do their best to contribute useful questions, bearing in mind the interests of the Any Questions? panel that evening and the events of that week.

“As the programme broadcasts to a UK-wide audience, questions on purely local issues will not be chosen unless they raise matters of genuine national interest.

“As we are a weekly programme, it may be that some subjects will have received regular coverage over preceding weeks.

“The programme in any case strives to achieve a varied choice of subjects from week to week, and therefore, with all the goodwill in the world, we will not be able to guarantee that an issue of particular interest to the local audience will be included in the broadcast.”

Sir Christopher is a British educationalist and writer and now Professor Emeritus at the Royal College of Arts.

Mr MacKenzie, is the former editor of The Sun and a media pundit.

Ms Afshar is professor of Politics and Women's Studies at the University of York and was awarded an OBE for services to equal opportunities in 2005.

* Any Questions is at Thomas Whitham Sixth Form, at Burnley Campus, at 7pm on Friday, February 12. Tickets for the live recording are free. To book tickets, please call: 01282 682 272.