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Spotlight is the name given to a BBC Northern Ireland weekly current affairs programme.
The programme is aired on BBC1 Northern Ireland at 10:35pm (and sometimes early) on Tuesday evenings, with a repeat on BBC2. It is available to UK viewers outside of Northern Ireland on BBC iPlayer for a week after the programme. The format usually consists of a half-hour report presented on a rotating basis by a small number of presenters and reporters. At present, these are Brian Hollywood, Stephen Walker, Darragh MacIntyre and Bobby Friedman. Occasionally, the programme consists of a studio format with various reports and panel discussions.
Spotlight is well known for its hard-hitting investigations and recently won a Royal Television Society award for Mandy McAuley's dog-fighting investigation.
It has launched the careers of a number of high-profile broadcasters, including Jeremy Paxman and Gavin Esler.
Spotlight at 40
On the 22 October 2013, Spotlight celebrated its 40th anniversary with a special show dubbed 'Spotlight at 40'. The show featured interviews with stars such as Gavin Esler, Patrick Kielty, Stephen Nolan and Jeremy Paxman and took a look back at the show's 40-year run including its most controversial shows.