Election debates agreed, but pity the viewers

So, Britain is to have its first ever live prime ministerial TV debates, modelled on the long-running US presidential debates. David Cameron and Nick Clegg have been pushing for it for ages, and Gordon Brown has relented. The three debates will be broadcast in peak-time during the month leading up to the general election (any time from March to early June), each programme lasting an hour and a half.

An American-style debate has never happened here before and three men will get a big buzz out of it - Alistair Stewart, the ITV news anchor who will present the first one; Adam Boulton, Sky's political editor who will manage the second; and Mr Question Time himself, David Dimbleby, who will present the third and final debate for the BBC.

The big question is what the three contenders and the TV viewing public are likely to gain. The immediate feeling is that Clegg of the Lib Dems is the clear winner before the debates have even begun, simply because he gets a rare chance of equal airtime with the big boys.

The man with most to lose is Cameron because, if the very latest opinion polls are anything to go by (they show the Tories leading with a spread of between nine and 17 points), he doesn't need to take the risk.

As for Gordon Brown, it's a little like the weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons - it all depends on how foul a temper he's in that day and how well he's been prepped. On the whole, the feeling in Downing Street is that he's got nothing to lose and, with a little help from Alastair Campbell, possibly something to gain.

One obvious advantage for Labour, which desperately needs to get the vote out at this election, is that the debates will raise the profile of the election among heavy TV users, more likely to be Labour supporters.

But at 90 minutes there's no guarantee the audience will stick with the show and not watch The Bill instead. Prime Minister's Questions isn't exactly a ratings topper.

And there's one crucial difference between here and the US: over there, the debates offer the American public a chance to see and hear the newcomer to the race. But do the British need to be introduced to David Cameron and Nick Clegg? In Clegg's case, yes - another plus for the Lib Dems. But they've seen and heard plenty of Cameron thank you very much.

"I'm afraid this could be a case of 'I'm a voter - get me outta here'," a veteran TV producer told the Mole last night. "I just don't see millions of us staying up to watch Cameron and Brown and Clegg debate healthcare or foreign policy, overseen by a relatively tame anchor." ·