Victoria Derbyshire is a British weekday current affairs programme which began simulcast airing on 7 April 2015 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel; its remit is original stories, exclusive interviews and audience debates. The series is mainly hosted by the journalist of the same name. It also acts as a showcase for BBC journalism using reports and interviews by BBC Nations and Regions, BBC World Service, language services and other programmes such as Newsnight, World News Today and Global, plus the BBC Online teams such as BBC Trending and BBC Pop Up. Occasionally the uncut versions of interviews are aired as well, in this case they are taken in place of HARDtalk and aired by BBC World News as well. The show is broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC News every weekday from 10:00am to 11:00am. Until 2018, it used to be broadcast 9:00am to 11:00am. Its episodes are available to watch for 30 days on the BBC iPlayer catch-up service. On 22 January 2020, it was announced that the programme would be axed in later 2020 as part of BBC cuts. Due to priority on Coronavirus coverage, the BBC suspended the program, with the final episode airing on 17 March 2020.
Presenters
When Derbyshire is away, the titles say 'with' the stand-in presenter.
Despite being what the BBC described as the 'centrepiece of domestic daytime TV news,' The Victoria Derbyshire show historically attracted very poor ratings with one show in April 2015 famously attracting just 39,000 viewers and a 'zero rating.'
Controversies
An episode of the Victoria Derbyshire show broadcast on 22 May 2015 featured an interview with Lisa Longstaff from the organisation Women Against Rape. During the broadcast, Longstaff made reference to the case of Eleanor de Freitas, a woman who had falsely alleged she had been raped and committed suicide while on trial for perverting the course of justice as a result of her false allegation. Longstaff twice wrongly referred to the victim of de Freitas' false allegations as a "rapist", with this smear unchallenged by interviewer Joanna Gosling. The BBC later issued an apology for any distress they'd caused as a result of the broadcast.
Awards
In 2015, Derbyshire was nominated for RTS Presenter of the Year along with Zand who was nominated in the Young Talent category which Zand won. Derbyshire won Broadcaster of the Year at the PinkNews Awards in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, the programme won a BAFTA for its coverage of former footballers who had been sexually abused.
