Panorama brings bigger and younger audience to BBC current affairs

Panorama's new format and peak time position has brought in a million extra viewers and an audience "ten years younger", according to the BBC.

The programme's first three episodes in the newMonday night 8.30pm time slot attracted viewers with an average age of 46, compared to its Sunday night slot in 2006 which had an average age of 56 – the corporation has revealed.

According to the BBC, this makes Panorama's audience the youngest of the three current affairs programmes currently scheduled on a Monday night – the others being Tonight on ITV and Dispatches on Channel Four.

BBC research says that almost 20 per cent of Panorama's audience comprises viewers aged 25 to 34 – up from 10 per cent in 2006.

The new look Panorama, presented by Jeremy Vine, has also added a million more viewers to the 2.6 million average audiences of 2006.

George Entwistle, BBC head of TV current affairs, said: "These figures are very encouraging, as they indicate that current affairs can bring in new and younger audiences. The new format is clearly helping to engage with a wider range of people than ever before."

The first three episodes this year have looked at IVF treatment, the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko and the anti-depressant drug Seroxat.