Time to quiz the 'Question' master David Dimbleby

But after filming this week's programme in Telford, Mr Dimbleby revealed that he's far from jaded when it comes to the questions and topics raised by the audience.

"I think it's always surprising as the political scene changes a lot," he said after Thursday night's recording.

"The people who come to the filming come because they've already seen the programme and like it, and in that sense you always have to be quick off the mark to catch the nuance of what people saw, and there were a few questions tonight that were fresh."

The 150-strong audience filled Oakengates Theatre for the evening's filming, and Mr Dimbleby said they lived up to his pre-show advice of being lively and arguing their points.

"It was a very lively audience," he said. "There is a feeling that as the election gets closer things are hotting up and the debates are getting more passionate.

"The audience are more and more determined to get politicians to answer the questions they want to ask and not be told what's important.

"It was like that tonight, a very powerful programme. We had many more people wanting to speak than I could bring in, which is always nice for me.

"Sometimes there was a forest of hands waving at me."

Before the show the audience was asked to submit questions for the panel, comprised of Conservative MP Grant Shapps, Labour MP Rachel Reeves, Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt, newly-elected UKIP MP Mark Reckless and journalist Camilla Long.

Mr Dimbleby said it was important that the questions asked reflected the concerns of local people , such as the NHS or the radicalisation of teenagers.

"There were a lot of interesting points made, but what matters to me is that the rest of the UK gets a clear idea of what things are important to Shropshire, because otherwise you could film every episode in London, you wouldn't need to go anywhere," he said.

"It's meant to be approachable and it's open door. One of the key things we do is that we take the questions that the audience wants to ask we don't write an agenda for it.

"We get their questions in in advance by email or on the night and we put them in piles and take the most popular topics because otherwise you wouldn't have anything to say.

"Because it's democratic politics it refreshes itself all the time. People are always keen to express their view and have a view on Europe and tax and so on, and these views are changing all the time as policies change."

Younger people also took an interest in the political debate, with questions raised about how to attract the youth vote and whether under 19s should be given free bus passes to help them get to school and college.

Mr Dimbleby said he wasn't surprised by the number of younger people in the audience.

"We have quite a big following of all the political programmes in the UK. In fact we have the biggest young profile which is to say that if you look at 25 and under we have more that watch Question Time than any other political programmes," he said.

"Quite a lot of students and people with children who watch Question Time say they first got into it when they were younger."

Despite the tough grilling given by some members of the audience, panel member Mr Shapps said he had enjoyed the evening and being in Telford.

He said: "It was great fun. I think Question Time is a great format. We were introduced by the leader of the council and The Place is a fantastic venue. It was a very good evening."

The Question Time set had to be put up in front of the stage in the theatre, meaning that the number of seats was limited.

And the show proved so popular with Shropshire residents that even the leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Councillor Kuldip Sahota, was unable to get a seat.

"I had to sit right at the back by the camera man and I was told I couldn't clap or call out at all. I absolutely enjoyed the programme though. It was a very good evening," he said.

Members of the audience were excited to be involved in the filming, even if their own questions weren't answered.

Andrew Taylor, 48, from Randlay, said: "The reason I came was very much to do with the upcoming election. I was interested to see what they would say, particularly about NHS funding."

David Seadon, from Telford, said: "It was great to see people of Telford debating politics tonight, young and old, big and small.

"Pretty forgettable panel if I'm totally honest. The most controversial comment we got was probably from Camilla Long saying she thinks MPs are not paid enough. Great experience though."