Tonight | |
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Current titles (2013–)
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Also known as | The Tonight Programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald (1999–2007) |
Genre | News, current affairs, human interest |
Presented by | Trevor McDonald (1999–2007) Julie Etchingham (2010—) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes (includes adverts) |
Production company(s) |
ITV Studios, ITN for ITV News & Current Affairs |
Release | |
Original network | ITV, STV, UTV |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV |
Original release | 8 April 1999 | – present
Chronology | |
Preceded by |
World in Action (1963–1998) |
Related shows |
ITV News The Agenda Exposure On Assignment |
External links | |
Website |
Tonight (often referred to as The Tonight Programme) is a British current affairs programme, produced by ITV Studios (formerly Granada Television) and ITN for the ITV network, replacing the long-running investigative series World in Action in 1999. Previously airing twice-weekly, on Monday and Friday evenings at 8.00pm (ITV Wales, STV and UTV would often air the show at different times or different days, to make way for regional programming), the show runs the gamut from human interest-led current affairs to investigative journalism. Tonight has conducted interviews with a plethora of political and public figures, including George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Hillary Clinton. From 1999-2007, the programme was known as Tonight with Trevor McDonald.
The programme currently airs in the Thursday night timeslot at 7.30pm, with Julie Etchingham as host.
The format of Tonight consists of a number of long-form news stories which present an angle on a major development, often following up on an investigation instigated by a national newspaper or news network. The stories are introduced by Julie Etchingham from different locations each week.
Many topics centre on allegations of wrongdoing and corruption on the part of corporations, politicians, and other public officials. The show also features profiles. The profiles are occasionally of celebrities and offer a biography of the figure, followed by a sit-down interview. Rather than offering a simple publicity platform, a celebrity will often feature after a period of intense media scrutiny, such was the case when the model Naomi Campbell appeared after there were claims she had a substance abuse problem. Non-celebrity profiles usually feature a person who has accomplished an heroic action.