The West Country Tonight

The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol. It replaced The West Tonight (ITV West) and Westcountry Live (ITV Westcountry) following their merger.

ITV The West Country Tonight Covers Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire

When the programme first launched, it was presented by ITV West presenters Lisa Aziz and Steve Scott (formerly of The West Tonight). However, Aziz was suspended in June 2009 from her position and officially left ITV West & Westcountry in February 2010. Scott left his position to become Sports Editor for ITV News in May 2010. The programme is now fronted by former Meridian Tonight newscaster Ian Axton and former Westcountry Live freelancer Vanessa Cuddeford.

Broadcast times
The West Country Today/Tonight airs on ITV1 West and ITV1 Westcountry seven days a week.

Weekdays

Weekends

Sub-regional service
As part of The West Country Tonight's launch in February 2009, two opt-out services for the ITV1 West and ITV1 Westcountry regions were retained, incorporating the first half of the main evening programme on weeknights at 6pm, the full late bulletins after News at Ten on weeknights and sports news on Mondays and Fridays.

On Monday 5 September 2011, separate weekday daytime bulletins for the two regions (during Daybreak and at lunchtime) were reintroduced. Both sub-regional services utilise the same presenter(s) and studio/set in Bristol, therefore one of the two opt-outs - depending on the day's news - is pre-recorded 'as live' shortly before transmission.

The West Country Tonight is broadcast from the ITV West & Westcountry studios in Bristol with reporters and camera crews also based in newsrooms at Plymouth, Exeter, Truro, Taunton, Gloucester and Weymouth.

Former on air team

 * Lisa Aziz
 * Gillian Davies
 * Peter Rowell (jailed)


 * Steve Scott (continues with ITN produced ITV News)
 * Mark Tyler