With campaigns beginning, the leaders of Scotland's five larger parties are to go head-to-head in their first televised debate ahead of this year's election.

Tonight is the first time the leaders from SNP, Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats will face off this year.

BBC editor Sarah Smith will present the debate, which will be watched by a virtual audience from across Scotland.

The debate will begin at 7.50pm tonight (March 30) on BBC One Scotland, and can be watched live or on BBC iPlayer.

READ MORE: Two leaders' debates to form part of BBC Scotland's Holyrood election coverage

Gary Smith, head of news and current affairs at BBC Scotland, said: “With Covid restrictions still in place, this will be a challenging election campaign to cover.

“But our news and current affairs teams will be offering comprehensive reporting and analysis from round the whole of the country.

“We aim to give our audiences the facts so that they can engage with and debate the issues that will make this such an important election for the future of Scotland.”