''The Context'', also styled as ''The Context with Christian Fraser'', is a live current affairs programme that airs Monday to Friday on the international and UK feeds of the

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

channels from 20:00 GMT till 22:00 GMT. The programme aims to provide a discussion about international news with interviews of select guests and BBC News correspondents from around the world. ''The Context'' is the BBC's flagship panel programme focusing on politics and government, with a particular focus on UK and US view.

History

The programme debuted in 2017 as ''100 Days'' and aired daily to document the first one hundred days of

US president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in administration. After the first 100 days of President Trump's presidency passed, the programme continued; it was briefly called ''100 Days+'' before it was launched in September 2017 as ''Beyond 100 Days'' in the same timeslot Monday to Thursday right after '' Focus on Africa'' and '' BBC News at Six''. ''Beyond 100 Days'' was originally an edition of '' World News Today''. It was jointly hosted live by Katty Kay from Washington, D.C., and Christian Fraser from London. It focused on the current US Administration, global politics,

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

and news from around the world, with attempted punches of irreverent wit and fun. The show was presented from various locations during this time such as Brussels (during

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

meetings), BBC News Singapore (for a week during the 2018 North Korea–United States summit). The show was also presented, for a week in May 2018, from London and Windsor by Kay and Fraser respectively, during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The programme also aired on other networks. It premiered on 2 January 2018 on PBS stations in the United States. It appears that it had been cancelled on PBS after the introduction of an hour long '' Amanpour & Company'' programme debuted the week of 10 September 2018. It also aired on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. In late August to December 2019, Kay moved to Senegal with her family to write her latest book. Michelle Fleury was the main stand-in Washington anchor during this period. In March 2020, the programme was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, however, Kay and Fraser often co-presented a half-hour weekly look at what's going on both sides of the Atlantic at 19:30 on Thursday and/or Friday. On 17 August 2020, the programme returned as ''BBC News with Katty and Christian''. On 24 June 2021, the last programme in its previous format aired. In the back half of the final programme, frequent contributors Jon Sopel and Ron Christie featured, as well as a compilation of some of the show's highlights over the years. In January 2022, after having been off air for six months following Kay's departure, the programme was relaunched as ''The Context'' and since has been styled as ''The Context with Christian Fraser'' which aims to provide a discussion about international news with interviews of select guests and BBC News correspondents from around the world. In September 2022, Kay briefly returned as co-presenter and panellist following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and both Fraser and Kay presented the week of the

2022 United States elections Elections in the United States, Elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2022, with the exception of absentee balloting. During this U.S. midterm election, which occurred during the term of president Joe Biden, all 435 seats in ...

. Kay also returned for the 2023 England local elections and for the

coronation of Charles III and Camilla The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

. Since the restructuring of the BBC News Channel in April 2023, the programme was moved into a primetime slot from 20:00 till 22:00 GMT, Christian Fraser was named a Chief Presenter on the News Channel as a whole, and the graphics and logo of the programme were updated to suit the channel's new digital vision.

Format

The one hour-long programme originally aired at 19:00 GMT/BST weekdays on the BBC News Channel in the UK, which meant 14:00 EST on

BBC World News BBC News is an international English-language pay television channel owned by BBC Global News Ltd. – a subsidiary of BBC Studios – and operated by the BBC News division of the BBC. The network carries news bulletins, documentaries, an ...

. In August 2020, the show moved to 21:00 GMT/BST in the UK, 16:00 EST on BBC World News. Since April 2023, the programme is now aired and broadcast for two hours from 20:00 GMT/BST weekdays on BBC News around the world and across the UK. The programme uses Studio C, with the backdrop of London at night, the main anchor (usually Fraser) in the Broadcasting House studio and guests appearing via video for segments such as The Panel. Interviews have previously been carried out both in the Washington studio and the London studio, with Kay and Fraser contributing to each other's interviews. Regular contributors to the programme included Ron Christie, a Republican strategist who served as a former adviser to

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, BBC North America editor and relief presenter Jon Sopel, and political correspondents Rajini Vaidyanathan ( Washington), Adam Fleming and Iain Watson (

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

). In mid-2019, Vaidyanathan moved to Delhi and left the programme and John Pienaar - a former contributor - left the BBC to join

Times Radio Times Radio is a British digital radio station owned by News UK, part of the Murdoch family, Murdoch media empire. It is jointly operated by News Broadcasting (which News UK acquired in 2016, when it was known as ''Wireless Group''), ''The Tim ...

Presenters

When Christian Fraser presents, the title sequence ends by stating The Context with Christian Fraser'''. When other presenters present the programme the title only shows '''The Context''', regardless of the presenter.

Former presenters

References

External links

* (BBC News)
''Beyond 100 Days''
(BBC World News) {{DEFAULTSORT:Context (BBC News programme), The 2017 British television series debuts 2020s British television series BBC World News original programming British television news shows 2010s British political television series 2020s British political television series BBC television news shows British political television series 2010s American political television series 2020s American political television series American English-language television shows Media about the first Trump presidency