The recent BBC Election Debate featured an audience that was paid to attend the show. The 150 audience members were each given £150 as “disturbance money” and £30 for expenses, totaling £27,000 of license payers’ money. Additionally, there were 15-20 reserve audience members who were also compensated, adding up to another £3,600 in expenses.
The audience was sourced through a marketing company called Savanta, who outsourced the job to another company named Roots. Audience members were selected from a mailing list and had to go through a screening process before being booked for the debate. Despite the payment, attendees were instructed not to heckle during the event.
A BBC spokesperson mentioned that the audience was chosen to represent a variety of political perspectives, including Conservative, Labour, and undecided voters. Audience members were offered a flat disturbance fee to cover their travel expenses and time.
It’s worth noting that the audience recruitment process raised some questions about transparency and inclusivity. Only individuals on the mailing list were contacted, and there was no public call-out for audience members. Typically, BBC programs allow the general public to apply for tickets online, but this was not the case for the Election Debate.
When contacted for clarification, Roots declined to provide additional information about the recruitment process. Overall, the paid audience for the BBC Election Debate raises concerns about the transparency and fairness of audience selection for such events.