Six Scottish party leaders will appear on the BBC’s Scotcast podcast as part of a series of extended interviews ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election.
The BBC Scotland news podcast will feature conversations with leaders from the SNP, Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, Scottish Greens, Scottish Liberal Democrats and Reform UK.
Interviews are scheduled with John Swinney, Russell Findlay, Anas Sarwar, Gillian Mackay, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Malcolm Offord. Each episode will be presented by BBC journalist Martin Geissler.
The first of the long-form interviews, with Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, is due to be released and broadcast on Tuesday 10 March.
Martin Geissler said the extended format offers more time than typical political interviews during election campaigns.
“I have plenty of experience of interviewing party leaders ahead of elections, but I have never before had the opportunity to speak to them at such length.
“I am looking forward to having the opportunity to find out more about each of these leaders and what makes them tick, as well as challenging them on their policies ahead of what should be a fascinating election campaign.”
Scotcast Series Producer Michael Hunter said the series will give audiences a deeper understanding of those standing for election.
“People will be hearing a lot from our political leaders over the next couple of months, but we hope this series of interviews offers something a little different and the chance to really understand those putting themselves up for election.”
An interview with Reform UK’s Malcolm Offord is scheduled for publication on Thursday 12 March. Dates for the remaining interviews in the series are expected to be confirmed soon.
Each episode will be released on BBC Sounds and other podcast platforms. They will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer, BBC One Scotland and the BBC Scotland channel.
