What’s it like to prepare for a TV debate?

Tonight – for the only time in this election campaign – David Cameron will stand on the same stage as Ed Miliband. The 7 way TV debate promises to be a rather different beast to the three way debates of 2010, but they were the first to take place in British election history.

Theo Bertram was a Downing Street adviser involved in Gordon Brown’s preparation for the 2010 TV debates, and in a fascinating series of tweets this morning he’s given us a rare glimpse of what it’s like to prepare a candidate for such an event:

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583549050940760064

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583549093898760192

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583549835229429761

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583551563257479168

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583552760852938753

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583553393337184256

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583554791063867392

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583555839669235713

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583556104665313280

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583556701841920000

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583565308805435392

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583565940354342913

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583566115168718848

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583566574981926912

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583567414929010688

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583567776679387136

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583568291995766784

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583569169695821824

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583581205863497728

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583581350638256128

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583582043486978049

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583582444860891136

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583583043190923264

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583584804446330880

https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/583585037695713280

Only a few hours until the debate now…