Peston is the flagship political discussion programme on British television network ITV, usually recorded live on Monday or Wednesday evenings at 9pm. It is broadcast live on Twitter (the first terrestrial UK programme to do so) and then played out after ITV News at Ten at 10.45pm (usually later on STV). It was announced on 5 June 2018 that the show would launch in the autumn of that year as a continuation of Peston on Sunday. The programme is presented by Robert Peston, the Political Editor of ITV News, and features a combination of interviews with politicians and public figures alongside analysis of the major news events of the week.
Format According to ITV, Peston intends to "provide viewers with a fresh, intelligent and lively perspective on the big matters of the day." Political and cultural guests join Robert Peston in the studio or remotely for interviews, with analysis from Pippa Crerar, who replaced Anushka Asthana in September 2025, and 'Screeny', the show's large touchscreen which also features social media interaction.
The show launched on 26 September 2018 with its own emoji on Twitter promoting the launch. The emoji appears when any user tweets " #Peston. "
Episodes Run 1
The show launched on 26 September 2018 for its initial run.
Episode Date Guests 26 September 2018 Matt Hancock, Barry Gardiner, Amber Rudd and Rose McGowan with Nadine Dorries and Alastair Campbell 3 October 2018 Andrea Leadsom, Dawn Butler, Nigel Dodds and Steve Baker with Stella Creasy and Anna Soubry 10 October 2018 David Davis, Nick Clegg and David Lidington with Sarah Wollaston and Gloria de Piero 17 October 2018 John McDonnell, Nigel Farage, Helen McEntee and James Cleverly with Lisa Nandy and Andrea Jenkyns 24 October 2018 Sadiq Khan, Johnny Mercer and Sebastian Coe with Nicky Morgan and Caroline Flint 31 October 2018 Sajid Javid, John McDonnell and Julia Neuberger with Chuka Umunna and Antoinette Sandbach 7 November 2018 Matt Hancock, Emily Thornberry, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Stanley McChrystal with Angela Eagle and Oliver Letwin 14 November 2018 Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nicola Sturgeon and Brandon Lewis with Nadine Dorries, Jess Phillips and Heidi Allen 21 November 2018 Philip Hammond, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Nigel Dodds with John Whittingdale, David Lammy and Nicky Morgan 28 November 2018 Greg Clark, Barry Gardiner, Jo Johnson and Professor Green with Hilary Benn and Suella Braverman 5 December 2018 David Gauke, Iain Duncan Smith, Nigel Dodds and Ian Hislop with Sam Gyimah and Lisa Nandy 12 December 2018 James Brokenshire, John McDonnell, Steve Baker and Nigel Dodds with Gus O'Donnell, Nicky Morgan and Caroline Flint 19 December 2018 Amber Rudd and Angela Rayner with Nadine Dorries, Chuka Umunna and Justine Greening
Run 2
Peston returned in the New Year to cover the run-up to Britain's scheduled departure from the EU on 29 March.
Episode Date Guests 9 January 2019 Andrea Leadsom, Tom Watson and Dominic Grieve with Lucy Powell, Maria Caulfield and Femi Oluwole 16 January 2019 John McDonnell, Liz Truss and Nigel Dodds with Lisa Nandy, Ben Bradshaw, Sam Gyimah and John Whittingdale 23 January 2019 Keir Starmer, Matt Hancock and Nigel Farage with Jess Phillips, Jo Swinson, Nicky Morgan and Gareth Johnson 30 January 2019 Greg Clark, Jon Trickett and Philippe Lamberts with Nadine Dorries, Oliver Letwin, Lisa Nandy and Peter Kyle 6 February 2019David Davis, Damian Hinds, Tom Watson and Michelle O'Neill with Luciana Berger and Andrea Jenkins 13 February 2019Nicola Sturgeon, Len McCluskey, Yvette Cooper and John Allan with Jess Phillips, Steve Double and Henry Newman 20 February 2019Sajid Javid and Peter Mandelson with Heidi Allen, Gavin Shuker, Maria Caulfield and Stephen Doughty 27 February 2019John McDonnell, Matt Hancock and Oliver Letwin with Lisa Nandy, Wes Streeting, John Whittingdale and Anna Soubry 6 March 2019Sadiq Khan, David Miliband and Tracey Emin with John Mann, Antoinette Sandbach, Mark Francois and Lloyd Russell-Moyle 13 March 2019Greg Clark, Steve Baker and Angela Rayner with Andrea Jenkyns, Sam Gyimah and Lucy Powell 20 March 2019Emily Thornberry, Nigel Farage, William Hague and Suella Braverman with Lisa Nandy and Phillip Lee 27 March 2019Liz Truss, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Chris Wilkins with Nicky Morgan, Heidi Allen and Justin Madders 3 April 2019Philip Hammond, Tom Watson and Steve Baker with Alastair Campbell, Anand Menon, Jill Rutter, Nadine Dorries and Ed Vaizey 10 April 2019Jeremy Hunt, John McDonnell and Mairead McGuinness with Justine Greening, Melanie Onn and John Whittingdale
Run 3
Peston returned after Easter in 2019, covering a period including the Local and European elections and the Conservative Leadership race to replace Theresa May as PM.
Episode Date Guests 1 May 2019 Rory Stewart, Barry Gardiner, Jonathan Powell and Felix Ottaway O'Mahony with Wes Streeting, Nicky Morgan, Jo Swinson and Steve Double 8 May 2019 George Osborne, Nigel Farage and Jon Ronson with Caroline Flint, Andrea Jenkyns and Caroline Lucas 15 May 2019 Emily Thornberry, Nicola Sturgeon, Vince Cable and Anthony Scaramucci with Lisa Nandy, Ed Vaizey and Andrew Bridgen 22 May 2019 Jacob Rees-Mogg, Johnny Mercer and Alastair Campbell with Wes Streeting, Dominic Grieve, Laura Parker, Alexandra Phillips and Gavin Esler 29 May 2019 Jeremy Hunt, Len McCluskey and James Cleverly with Ben Bradshaw, Mims Davies and Mark Francois 5 June 2019 Rory Stewart, John McDonnell Steve Baker and Heidi Allen with Theresa Villiers and Peter Kyle 12 June 2019 Andrea Leadsom, Priti Patel and Mark Harper with Lisa Nandy, Sam Gyimah and Annunziata Rees-Mogg 19 June 2019 Rory Stewart, Tom Watson and Jo Swinson with Lucy Powell, Andrea Jenkyns and Dominic Grieve 26 June 2019 Jeremy Hunt, David Gauke, Dawn Butler and Will Young with Ben Bradshaw and Mark Francois 3 July 2019 Dominic Raab, Nigel Farage, Jon Ashworth and Richard Ratcliffe with Jess Phillips and Nicky Morgan 10 July 2019 Philip Hammond, Emily Thornberry and Sean Spicer with Nicholas Soames and Melanie Onn 17 July 2019 Boris Johnson, Peter Hain and Greg Swenson with Lisa Nandy, Nadine Dorries and Sam Gyimah 24 July 2019 Rory Stewart, John McDonnell and Jacob Rees-Mogg with Caroline Flint, Mark Francois and Ed Vaizey
Run 4
Peston was back on air after the summer on 4 September 2019, returning with an interview with the PM Boris Johnson and ending with coverage of the snap UK General Election.
Episode Date Guests 4 September 2019 Boris Johnson, John McDonnell and Ian Blackford with Dominic Grieve, Jess Phillips and Salma Shah 11 September 2019 Robert Jenrick, Nigel Farage, Emily Thornberry and David Gauke with Lisa Nandy, Luciana Berger and Jason Stein 18 September 2019 Nicky Morgan, Rachel Riley and Sam Gyimah with Mark Francois, Gloria de Piero and Joanna Cherry 25 September 2019 Boris Johnson, Amber Rudd and Barry Gardiner with Jess Phillips, Dominic Grieve and Alexandra Phillips 2 October 2019 Michael Gove, Nicola Sturgeon and Richard Burgon with Sarah Wollaston, John Whittingdale and Melanie Onn 9 October 2019 Andrea Leadsom, Rory Stewart and Julia Gillard with Damian Green, Heidi Allen and Peter Kyle 16 October 2019 Nicky Morgan, Steve Baker, Mairead McGuinness and Stephen Kinnock with David Lammy and Andrea Jenkyns 20 October 2019 ('Brextra Edition') Matt Hancock, Emily Thornberry and Joanna Cherry with Bernard Jenkin and Antoinette Sandbach 23 October 2019 Sajid Javid and John McDonnell with Lisa Nandy, Mark Francois and Dominic Grieve 30 October 2019 Robert Buckland and Dawn Butler with Sayeeda Warsi, Chuku Umunna, Melanie Onn and Gavin Barwell 6 November 2019 Jeremy Hunt and Andy Burnham with Luciana Berger, Ben Bradshaw, Alexandra Phillips and Ed Vaizey 13 November 2019 Andrea Leadsom, Jon Trickett and Conrad Black with Caroline Lucas, Matthew Elliot and Ali Milani 20 November 2019 Nicky Morgan, Len McCluskey and Petronella Wyatt with Ed Davey, Catherine West and John Whittingdale 27 November 2019 Jonathan Ashworth, Robert Jenrick and David Gauke with Sayeeda Warsi, Lucy Powell and John Nicolson 4 December 2019 Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon and Barry Gardiner with Mark Francois and Gloria De Piero 11 December 2019 Jo Swinson, John McDonnell and Brandon Lewis with Adam Price, Rosie Duffield and John Whittingdale 18 December 2019 Emily Thornberry, Matt Hancock and David Baddiel with Andrea Jenkyns and Melanie Onn
Run 5
The show returned to air on 15 January 2020 staying on air throughout lockdown to cover the COVID-19 pandemic, including a number of episodes with Robert Peston himself in isolation.
Episode Date Guests 15 January 2020 James Cleverly, Jonathan Ashworth, Soweto Kinch, Nadia Whittome and Tom Tugendhat 22 January 2020 Brandon Lewis, Lisa Nandy, Arlene Foster, Lucy Powell and Suella Braverman 29 January 2020 Grant Shapps, Emily Thornberry, Cherie Blair, Gloria De Piero and Andrea Jenkyns 5 February 2020 Robert Buckland, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Jess Phillips, Rosie Duffield and Damian Green 12 February 2020 Nicky Morgan, Len McCluskey, Jeremy Hunt, Rosena Allin-Khan and Sayeeda Warsi 26 February 2020 Grant Shapps, Keir Starmer, Zelda Perkins, Liz Kendall and Justine Greening 4 March 2020 Nicola Sturgeon, Sir Patrick Vallance, Seb Gorka, Jonathan Ashworth, Huw Merriman and Poppy Trowbridge 11 March 2020 Alistair Darling, Steve Barclay, Dr Margaret Harris, Tobias Ellwood, Alison McGovern and Poppy Trowbridge 18 March 2020 Mark Walport, Johan Lundgren, Anthony Scaramucci, Tobias Ellwood and Jess Phillips 25 March 2020 Robert Jenrick, Jeremy Hunt, Angela Rayner, Mikhail Varshavski, George Freeman and Wes Streeting 1 April 2020 Jonathan Van-Tam, Lisa Nandy, Rick Wilson and Nick Timothy 8 April 2020 Thérèse Coffey, Keir Starmer, Pascal Soriot, Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Nicky Morgan 15 April 2020 Matt Hancock, Jeremy Howard, Ai WeiWei, Jess Phillips and Gavin Barwell 22 April 2020 John Newton, Jeremy Hunt, Jonathan Sacks, Liz Kendall and David Davis 29 April 2020 Nicola Sturgeon, Robert Jenrick, Jonathan Ashworth, Cherie Blair and Tobias Ellwood 6 May 2020 Gordon Brown, Robert Buckland, Joe Tracini, Jeremy King and Steve Baker 13 May 2020 Andrew Bailey, Anneliese Dodds, Matt Forde, Ed Davey and Nicky Morgan 20 May 2020 Anthony Costello, Sam Allardyce, Andy Puddicombe, David Miliband and Andrea Leadsom 27 May 2020 Matt Hancock, Stephen Reicher, James Graham, Yvette Cooper and Amber Rudd 3 June 2020 Jeremy Hunt, Michael O'Leary, Sheila Jackson Lee, David Lammy and Nick Timothy 10 June 2020 Oliver Dowden, Lisa Nandy, Tinchy Stryder, Dawn Butler and David Davis 17 June 2020 Robert Buckland, Anne Longfield, John Barnes, Jess Phillips and Gavin Barwell 24 June 2020 Matt Hancock, Paul Nurse, David Frum, Greg Clark and Cherie Blair 1 July 2020 Dominic Raab, Jonathan Ashworth, John Edmunds, Nicky Morgan and Jonathan Powell 8 July 2020 Alok Sharma, David King, Simon Emeny, Caroline Nokes and Ed Balls 15 July 2020 Matt Hancock, Nicola Sturgeon, DeRay Mckesson, Peter Kyle and Sayeeda Warsi
Run 6
Peston returned following the summer break in September 2020 to discuss the ongoing management of the COVID-19 pandemic, UK-EU Free Trade Deal negotiations and the US Presidential Election.