In the swing

SO who will you vote for?

Could Jessica from Middlesbrough still be Dorothy?

Sorry, wrong competition, that’s the BBC talent show Over The Rainbow to find a young star for a West End stage revival of The Wizard of Oz.

The public will have the final say in that contest, just as they will when it comes answering the question: could Gordon, David or Nick still be PM? Put your X in the appropriate box and remember, other political parties are available.

Look upon the hat-trick of TV election debates as trailers for the main event as the nation goes to the polls.

If the search for a talented dog to play Toto in The Wizard Of Oz has grabbed your interest more than the search for the next occupant of No 10, then you probably won’t be putting your cross against any of the General Election night presenters on TV.

But the battle for election night viewers is hotting up, with BBC1, ITV1 and Sky News wanting you to put your finger on the button and choose them.

C4 has given up without a fight, offering an Alternative Election Night promising “a satirical and provocative poke at the sober world of politics” with the likes of David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr, hosting four hours of entertainment in front of a live audience (always so much more responsive than a dead one, I think).

To add to the hilarity are pre-recorded editions of You Have Been Watching and Fonejacker, plus a special political Come Dine With Me featuring Edwina Currie and Derek Hatton among the cooks. Some MPs, as the expenses scandal revealed, are used to cooking the books.

OVER on BBC1’s Election 2010, David Dimbleby won’t be cracking many jokes although Jeremy Vine’s frantic presentation of all-singing, all-dancing graphics could result in a few unintentional chuckles.

He’s also in charge of a new-look swingometer, as Peter Snow’s old version is as outdated as the clapometer that used to judge audience reaction on Opportunity Knocks.

Jeremy Paxman will be in rottweiler mode to interrogate some of the election’s main players, with Nick Robinson on hand with analysis of what’s going on.

Alastair Stewart anchors the ITV1 programme with Julie Etchingham, who’ll be operating the holographic wall graphics, joining him in a virtual studio. All sounds a bit Avatar to me.

The graphics team has been working overtime to produce ITV’s very own swingometer designed to show a threeway flow of seats, a 3D House of Commons and a hung parliament.

Try not to get too excited when I tell you that 3D animated caricatures of the main party leaders have been designed to illustrate historical swings.

Mary Nightingale hosts the ITV election night party overlooking Parliament, with reaction from A-list party guests (and I bet Katie Price tries to gatecrash).

Both BBC1 and ITV1 go with the imaginative title Election 2010, while Sky News opts for Decision Time, accompanied by a claim of having more reporters and presenters at more counts than ever before.

In the leaders’ constituencies, Kay Burley will be stalking Gordon Brown, Jeremy Thompson will be following David Cameron and Anna Botting will focus on Nick Clegg.

Sky’s political editor Adam Boulton, in the Sky News Centre in West London, will be crunching the results and conducting the major interviews, along with experts and pundits.

Tomorrow, Eamonn Holmes and Dermot Murnaghan take over as the counts finish.

On Radio 4, Election 2010 (from 10pm) has James Naughtie and Carolyn Quinn in charge while over on Radio 5 Live, Victoria Derbyshire and John Pienaar front Election Special.