About HARDtalk

Stephen Sackur and Ingrid Betancourt

HARDtalk is the hard-hitting flagship news programme shown on BBC World News and the BBC News channel.

The half hour interview is the result of detailed research and in-depth investigations.

HARDtalk asks the difficult questions and gets behind the stories that make the news - from international political leaders to entertainers; from corporate decision-makers to ordinary individuals facing huge challenges.

The main presenter of HARDtalk is Stephen Sackur, one of the BBC's most respected journalists.

Before joining HARDtalk, he worked as a correspondent in the Middle East, America and Brussels.

Click here to find out more about Stephen

HARDtalk's history

The first episode of HARDtalk aired on the 31st of March 1997. The first ever guest on HARDtalk was the acclaimed British actor and film director, Richard Attenborough.

The late writer and theorist Edward Said, journalist Irma Kurtz, yachtsman Pete Goss and the late raconteur Quentin Crisp rounded out HARDtalk's first week.

HARDtalk's first presenter, Tim Sebastian, won the Royal Television Society's Interviewer of the Year award in 2000 and 2001.

Tim left HARDtalk in 2006 and he is now the chairman of the Doha Debates.

In 2007 HARDtalk celebrated its tenth anniversary and took the opportunity to replay some classic interviews from the past -- ranging from the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to the jazz icon Nina Simone.

Click here to see more about HARDtalk's tenth anniversary

About Extra Time

Extra Time is another programme from the HARDtalk stable. It features interviews with top sports personalities and it is presented by one of the BBC's best-known sportscasters, Rob Bonnet. It is only broadcast on BBC World News- please check the BBC World News website for details.