BBC Scotland has announced that the Scottish Greens will take part in both of its Holyrood election debates.

The broadcaster will hold two televised debates on March 24 and May 1. The Greens will be joined in the first debate by the SNP, Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and UKIP. However, UKIP will not be represented at the BBC’s second debate.

STV has already announced a televised debate, on March 29 in Edinburgh, where again the Greens will be joined on stage by the SNP, Labour, Tories and Lib Dems. STV's political editor Bernard Ponsonby will chair the live programme where he will put questions to all five party leaders.

The move was welcomed by the Scottish Greens who were previously critical of BBC Trust guidance which listed them as a small party.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Greens said: "It's great to hear that the BBC in Scotland will include the Scottish Greens in all its TV debates. We've been in Parliament since 1999 and are on course to achieve a record result, so viewers quite reasonably expect to hear from us.

"We have engaged constructively with the BBC, and while we await the final guidance of the BBC Trust, it is clear that programme-makers accept that Scotland has one Parliament with five parties and the Scottish Greens are an essential part of any high-profile Holyrood coverage."

Voters in Scotland will go to the polls on May 5 to elect the fifth Scottish Parliament. STV will provide live and extensive coverage from 10.30pm on election night to 6.00am the following morning.