• Parties began the day still putting a positive spin on their respective leaders' performances in Thursday night's televised debate, although polls pointed to no clear winner
• SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon was in buoyant mood as her supporters claimed victory. But she ended the day denying reports she privately told a foreign official she "preferred" David Cameron over Ed Miliband as PM
• Labour and the Conservatives faced pressure over claims they could be forced into a post-election deal with UKIP or the SNP, respectively
• UKIP leader Nigel Farage defended comments made during the debate about migrants using the NHS for HIV treatment costing £25,000 per year

BBC political producer Emily Clark dug out a copy of the Times from 2010 to find a striking similarity with Friday's post-debate front page headline. "Almost the same, but so very different," she notes.

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So, @NicolaSturgeon, external says @Telegraph, external story is untrue. Does that mean she DOES see Ed as PM material? #constituencyof1, external

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The BBC's James Cook reports: "A source close to Nicola Sturgeon says Civil Service minutes of the meeting between the SNP leader and the French ambassador make no mention of a discussion of Ms Sturgeon's preference for prime minister."

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Regardless of any SNP denial, Scottish Labour Leader Jim Murphy is quick to respond to the Telegraph's story. He describes the story as a "devastating revelation that exposes the uncomfortable truth behind the SNP's General Election campaign".

Image source, PA

"We've been here before with the SNP... [they] say one thing in public but another in private. If Scotland votes SNP in May then Nicola Sturgeon will get her wish - the Tories will be the largest party across the UK and David Cameron will return to Downing Street."

The BBC's James Cook reports: "Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has denied telling the French ambassador to the UK that she would prefer David Cameron as prime minister."

Here's that Telegraph front page, which describes the SNP leader's "secret backing" for Mr Cameron.

Image source, Telegraph

It looks like a big story is brewing in one of tomorrow's papers. On its website, the Telegraph, external claims to have seen a leaked memo detailing how SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon privately told a foreign official she would "rather see" David Cameron remain in No 10 after the election because Ed Miliband was not "prime minister material".

The BBC is awaiting responses from both the SNP and Labour, about the Telegraph's version of what's reportedly an official account of Ms Sturgeon's meeting with the French Ambassador in February.

Some of Saturday's front pages have started to arrive - and it looks like political stories will be featuring on many of them.

Avid readers might recall that BBC Radio 4 World at One's Shaun Ley has spent the week in Dudley, where Labour are sweating over a UKIP challenge in one constituency and the Conservatives fearing the Farage effect in another.

But will the challenge from the eurosceptic party materialise? "It's not hard to find people who say they're attracted by UKIP's message, but not sure they'll vote for it," says Shaun.

Find out what's on the minds of the electorate, in his latest dispatch.

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