BBC and ITV shift TV schedules on Monday for Andy Burnham's first day as British PM

BBC One and ITV will provide significant news coverage of the new PM on Monday morning.

Andy Burnham wearing a blue suit jacket and white shirt, looking off to the side of the camera.

Dan Kitwood / GETTY IMAGES

Published: Friday, 17 July 2026 at 10:40 am

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BBC and ITV have shaken up their schedules next week to make way for news coverage of Andy Burnham's first day as the UK's Prime Minister.

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Burnham is set to be named as Labour leader today (Friday 17 July), before he becomes PM on Monday.

There will be a special ITV News at 11am on Monday (20 July), which will provide news coverage as Burnham moves into Downing Street.

Over on BBC One, a special BBC News will air at 10am, which will also provide news coverage of Burnham's first day in the role.

The process of Burnham becoming prime minister on Monday will begin with Keir Starmer travelling to Buckingham Palace and meeting King Charles to formally offer his resignation of the role.

Andy Burnham speaking to reporters.

Andy Burnham. TOBY SHEPHEARD / GETTY IMAGES

Burnham will then make his way to the Palace, where the king will meet with him and ask him to form a government.

Once Burnham has accepted, he will officially become the UK's prime minister.

He will then travel to Downing Street, where he will likely give a speech outside before heading inside.

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It's not the first time the world of UK politics has forced late-in-the-day schedule changes on the major channels this summer.

After Starmer's resignation announcement, a special Friday edition of Question Time was announced, while EastEnders was also moved from BBC One to BBC Two – meaning. for once, it wasn't the World Cup or Wimbledon causing the soaps to shuffle around.

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Authors

RadioTimes.com senior trends writer Molly Moss. She is sitting outside wearing a black top, holding a white teacup with a smily face on it to her mouth

Molly MossTrends Writer

Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.

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