LONDON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The BBC on Tuesday confirmed that it decided to cancel its plans to hold a Brexit debate on TV between Theresa May, the British prime minister from the Conservative Party, and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labor Party.
The British broadcaster, in a statement issued here, said it was "disappointed" an agreement could not be reached on the terms of the debate.
However, ITV is still interested in hosting the debate, meaning the prime minister has the difficult decision of either accepting her rival's preferred format or appearing to run away from a debate that she proposed.
Labor had earlier formally rejected the BBC's proposal for the discussion, calling it a "mish-mash" and accusing May of dodging a head-to-head debate.
The BBC had said it was keen for the program to include other voices.
Downing Street backed this proposal while Labor said it preferred ITV as a host.
The debate between party leaders had been due to take place on Dec. 9, two days before MPs are due to vote on May's Withdrawal Agreement.
The move, which will allow viewers to watch the scheduled final episode of David Attenborough's Dynasties program on BBC One, still leaves open the possibility of a similar debate on ITV this weekend.
The prime minister proposed the debate on her deal reached by London and Brussels last week, prompting days of discussions between political parties and the broadcasters over who would host the program.
Labor backed a proposal by ITV, which consisted of a simple head-to-head format hosted by Julie Etchingham, while Downing Street preferred the BBC's offer of a debate featuring a panel of experts and representatives of smaller parties.
Until now, none of the broadcasters or political parties were willing to compromise, prompting the farcical situation where both ITV and BBC were planning for a live television show scheduled to take place in five days in the same timeslot, with no idea whether either of the main guests would turn up.
