The five remaining candidates in the race to lead Britain's Conservative Party will face their toughest grilling yet on Friday, in the first of three TV debates that could make or break their chances of becoming prime minister.
After days of choreographed campaign speeches, the 90-minute Channel 4 debate will force the candidates to field questions from a studio audience made up of potential swing voters.
For the two relative outsiders, former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and backbench MP Tom Tugendhat, the debates are potentially a final chance to impress after both candidates resisted pressure to drop out.
"I have never turned down a challenge because the odds were against me. I don’t plan to start now," said former soldier Mr Tugendhat.
The three front-runners, former chancellor Rishi Sunak, trade minister Penny Mordaunt and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, are competing for two spaces in the final run-off, when the 200,000 Conservative members will decide the next leader.
How they fare in front of the public could help sway undecided Conservative Party MPs who will cut the field down to two in three more rounds of balloting next week.
When Tory MPs last chose a leader in 2019, a poor debate performance by maverick MP Rory Stewart sapped his momentum and he was knocked out of the race the next day.
Another TV turning point came at the general election in 2010, when Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg enjoyed a surge in the polls as the debates gave voters a closer look at the third party.
"This debate will be essential viewing for those wanting to know more about our next prime minister and what she or he stands for," said Channel 4 executive Louisa Compton of Friday's showdown.
ITV will host a second televised debate on Sunday. Sky News plans to broadcast a third on Tuesday, by which time the field will have narrowed further.
The debate comes amid increasingly vicious briefings between the rival camps despite the candidates insisting they want to keep things civil.
Knives were out for Ms Mordaunt on the Tory right after she caught many by surprise by leading Ms Truss in the first two rounds of voting.
It raised the prospect of a Mordaunt-Sunak contest that would be likely to disappoint right-wing MPs who see their views as too moderate.
Former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost, who weighed in with an outspken attack on Ms Mordaunt, said on Friday that Ms Badenoch should pull out and get behind Ms Truss in a so-called "unite the right" ticket.
"I urge Kemi to stand down in return for a serious job in a Truss administration," wrote Lord Frost in an article for the Daily Telegraph.
But the Badenoch camp said a fresh start was needed after the tumultuous Boris Johnson years and that their candidate should not be judged for a lack of ministerial experience.
"She has had two years’ more experience than both David Cameron and Tony Blair, who both went and did very well in elections," Tory MP Justin Tomlinson told Times Radio.
Conservatives on the campaign trail - in pictures
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Candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings at Wembley Arena, London. This was the final hustings attended by Tory Party members who will vote for the new leader and next prime minister. EPA -
Liz Truss addresses Conservative Party members at Wembley Arena. AP -
Mr Sunak puts forward his case to be leader while speaking at Wembley Arena. Bloomberg -
Mr Sunak visits his family's old business, Bassett Pharmacy in Southampton, while on the campaign trail. Reuters -
Ms Truss speaks to staff at Condimentum Ltd at the Food Enterprise Park in Norwich. Getty Images -
A Rishi Sunak supporter at a hustings event in Norfolk. PA -
Mr Sunak greets people at a leadership hustings in Manchester. Bloomberg -
Ms Truss poses for a selfie with a supporter as she arrives for the event in Manchester. Getty -
Rishi Sunak looks through the sights of an anti-tank missile launcher, supplied to Ukraine, during a visit to the Thales Defence System plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP -
Liz Truss at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event in Belfast. Getty -
Liz Truss meets supporters before a hustings in Perth, Scotland. Getty -
Rishi Sunak speaks during a campaign visit to Cluny Castle in Inverurie, Scotland. Getty -
Police hold back protesters outside Perth Concert Hall, Scotland, where Conservative leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were speaking. PA -
A mural showing the two leadership contestants appears on a wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP -
Rishi Sunak during a visit to St John's Wood Synagogue, north London. PA -
Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings in Cheltenham. EPA -
Rishi Sunak during a hustings event in Cheltenham. Reuters -
Liz Truss speaks to scientists during a campaign visit to a life sciences laboratory at Alderley Park in Manchester. PA -
Rishi Sunak during a campaign hustings in Darlington, England. Bloomberg -
Liz Truss meets party members before she speaks at the Darlington campaign hustings. Getty -
Rishi Sunak arrives for the Darlington hustings. Getty -
Liz Truss plays pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak looks at a book with Teddy Openshaw, 4, as his father, Henry, looks on after a Conservative leadership campaign event in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Getty -
Liz Truss plays table tennis with former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters -
Liz Truss with supporters at a campaign event in Solihull, England. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak attends a campaign event held by his party in Bexhill, England. Reuters -
A protester is removed as Ms Truss speaks during the Conservative Party leadership hustings in Eastbourne. Bloomberg -
Mr Sunak speaks at an event in Edinburgh. PA -
Ms Truss leaves the hall in Exeter, south-west England, after her speech to a Conservative Party membership hustings. Getty -
Mr Sunak speaks at the University of Exeter in south-west England. AP -
A supporter of Ms Truss at a Conservative Party hustings in Exeter, south-west England. Getty -
Ms Truss at a hustings event at the Pavilion conference centre at Elland Road in Leeds. PA -
Mr Sunak in Salisbury watching a screening of the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final between England and Germany at Wembley stadium. England won 2-1 in extra time. PA -
Ms Truss before the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final at Wembley stadium in London. AFP -
Mr Sunak meets Tory members at Fontwell Park Racecourse. Reuters -
Ms Truss at an event in Dereham, Norfolk. AFP -
Mr Sunak in Ropley, near Winchester, Hampshire. PA -
Ms Truss speaks as Conservative Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat looks on at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event at Biggin Hill Airport. Getty -
Ms Truss on the campaign trail in Woodford Green, on the outskirts of London. Reuters -
Mr Sunak at a Conservative Party hustings event in Leeds. AFP -
Ms Truss speaks at the hustings event in Leeds. AFP -
Sunak and Truss-themed souvenirs at a stand during the Leeds hustings event. Reuters -
Ms Truss, and her mother, Patricia, arrive for the hustings event. Getty -
Ms Truss poses with supporters in Morley, England. Getty -
Mr Sunak delivers a speech during a campaign event in Newmarket. AFP -
Ms Truss and Jake Berry, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, during a visit to a broadband interchange company in Leeds. PA -
Mr Sunak answers questions as he takes part in the hustings in Leeds. AFP -
Ms Truss speaks at an event at a private house with members of the Conservative Party in Woodford Green. PA -
Ms Truss and Mr Sunak pose for a picture before a BBC leadership debate at Victoria Hall in Hanley. Getty -
Ms Truss addresses Mr Sunak during the televised debate. Getty -
Mr Sunak, with daughters Krishna and Anushka, and wife Akshata Murthy, during a visit to Vaculug tyre specialists at Gonerby Hill Foot, Grantham. PA -
Ms Truss speaks to people while campaigning in Marden. Getty -
Ms Truss celebrates after being named, along with Mr Sunak, one of the final two candidates in the race to become the UK's next prime minister. PA -
Mr Sunak outside his campaign office in central London. EPA -
Ms Truss outside Downing Street in London. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak meets Conservative Party members and activists, in Teesport, Redcar. Reuters -
Conservative leadership candidates Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Kemi Badenoch, presenter Julie Etchingham, Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt during 'Britain's Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate' in London. EPA -
Ms Badenoch arrives at Here East studios in Stratford, east London, before a live television debate. PA -
Mr Sunak arrives at a London event to launch his campaign to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister. Reuters -
Mr Tugendhat appears on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA -
Ms Badenoch, Ms Mordaunt, Mr Sunak, Ms Truss and Mr Tugendhat before the live television debate. PA -
Ms Mordaunt arrives for the launch of her Conservative leadership campaign at the Cinnamon Club in Westminster. PA -
Ms Truss speaks at the launch event for her campaign to become the next leader of the Tory Party and Britain's prime minister, in London. EPA -
Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, one of the candidates who has been knocked out of the race, giving a speech at the Churchill War Rooms. PA -
Former leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA -
Sajid Javid attending the launch of his campaign to be Conservative Party leader and prime minister, at the Cinnamon Club in London. He has since been knocked out of the contest. PA -
Rehman Chishti is interviewed after announcing his bid to become the next prime minister. Mr Chishti is no longer in the race. Getty -
Mr Tugendhat speaking at the launch of his campaign. PA -
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith arrive for the Truss campaign launch event. Getty -
Former leadership candidate Attorney General Suella Braverman at the Churchill War Rooms in central London. PA -
Supporters of Mr Sunak wait for his arrival ahead of the campaign launch. Bloomberg -
Mr Tugendhat makes a speech at the launch of his campaign. PA -
Mr Javid mops his brow while launching his campaign. Getty -
Ms Truss leaves for work after her announcement that she would be running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Getty
And a Mordaunt supporter, Dame Maria Miller, said Lord Frost was wrong about the candidate and described her as "one of the leading proponents of Brexit".
Another Truss supporter, former party leader Iain Duncan Smith, took aim at Ms Mordaunt's out-of-the-blue popularity by saying the Tories "can’t just elect somebody because for a short period of time they may look better than others".
"What we’re actually electing is not, in a way, a popularity contest. We’re electing somebody who has to govern for probably two years with a huge set of crises," he told LBC radio.
Ms Truss received a boost late on Thursday when Suella Braverman, the attorney general, backed the foreign secretary's campaign after being eliminated in the second round of voting.
Hoovering up the bloc of 27 Braverman votes could offer Ms Truss a way back into contention after her 64 votes in round two put her some way behind Ms Mordaunt on 83.
Mr Sunak was in the lead on 101. Ms Badenoch had 49 and Mr Tugendhat 32. Anyone who gets 120 will effectively be guaranteed a place in the final two.
