Sturgeon and Johnson in TV debate

Nicola Sturgeon will be among the participants in Thursday night's EU debate

Prime Minister David Cameron and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage will both by grilled by an audience in a live programme on ITV.

The pair will appear for 30 minutes of questions each from a studio audience in ITV’s Cameron and Farage Live: The EU Referendum programme but the two men will not share a stage.

On Thursday, Boris Johnson will be the only male participant in a broader also being broadcast by ITV.

The former London mayor will line up alongside Conservative minister Andrea Leadsom and Labour backbencher Gisela Stuart on the Leave side against Labour’s Angela Eagle, Tory Energy Secretary Amber Rudd and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon making the case for Remain.

Critics have previously complained that the referendum debate has so far been heavily skewed towards male voices.

The politicians taking part will each make short opening statements before answering questions posed by the studio audience or submitted by email by ITV viewers.

The debate will end with closing statements from all six politicians.

The format will allow each politician to give a short uninterrupted answer to each question, before the floor is opened up to free-flowing debate, said ITV.