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tv   BBC News Now  BBCNEWS  February 6, 2024 12:30pm-1:01pm GMT

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this is bbc news, the headlines... king charles�*s cancer treatement has begun. the prime minister rishi sunak says he wishes the king well. thankfully, this has been caught early, and now everyone will be wishing that he has the treatment he needs and makes a full recovery. but what does the diagnosis mean for the king, the wider royal family and the uk? the fossil of a unique flying reptile has been discovered on the isle of skye in scotland. let's return to our main story this
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hour. prime minister rishi sunak has said he's thankful that king charles' cancer had been "caught early". he told the bbc he was shocked and saddened by the news of the king's diagnosis and wished him a full recovery. as head of state, king charles has a number of constitutional duties. the uk's system of government allows for them to be taken on by others, if the monarch is unable to carry them out. joe pike has been looking at how the system works — should it ever be needed. king and queen step. down from the airline. since 1937 and the reign of george vi, there are arrangements in place in law in case a monarch is incapacitated. the pressure for reform came from the fact the heir apparent, princess elizabeth, wasjust ten years old at the time. so the 1937 regency act was born and can apply when the monarch is under the age of 18 or is out of the country or is incapacitated. one provision is for the monarch to delegate certain functions
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to counsellors of state, as queen elizabeth did, asking princes charles and william to attend the state opening of parliament in 2022. under legislation, counsellors of state are all members of the royal family. they are the partner of the monarch, queen camilla, plus the next four in line to the throne, who are over 21 — the prince of wales, the duke of sussex, the duke of york and princess beatrice. but in 2022, the royal household said only working royals will be called on to be counsellors of state, meaning the dukes of sussex and york and princess beatrice are effectively out of the picture. the same year, the counsellors of state act 2022 added the princess royal and the now duke of edinburgh. legislation is also in place for a regent to take the monarch�*s place, although this hasn't happened for hundreds of years. if there was to be a regency and this seems highly unlikely at this point, the regent taking
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over the sovereign�*s duties is the next in line to the throne. currently, the prince of wales. but charles and william have no say. instead, the decision of whether a monarch is incapable of carrying out their duties falls to five people. the partner of the king or queen, in this case, queen camilla, representing the monarchy. lord chancellor alex chalk and speaker of the house of commons, lindsay hoyle to represent parliament and lady chiefjustice of england and wales, dame sue carr and master of the rolls, sir geoffrey vos, to represent the law. the monarch does not need to agree with their decision. unfortunately for the king, a very private medical matter is not just of public interest, but public consequence. and he may be continuing with his duties of state. but how will disappearing from public view affect his young reign? one of the monarch�*s strongest tools
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is their image and their presence. as the king's mother once noted, i have to be seen to be believed. that is the official protocol, but still lots of questions about what that diagnosis means. now it's time for your questions answered. welcome to your questions answered. live from buckingham palace. the news of the king's diagnosis has created a huge reaction. many have been sending questions about what this means for the king and for the royal family. on monday, buckingham palace announced that the cancer was found in the king during recent treatment for an enlarged prostate, a benign enlarged prostate. they have not said what
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type of cancer the king has been diagnosed with. he will continue his constitutional duties but will step back from public engagements while undergoing treatment. let's have a look at what this diagnosis means for the king, the royal family and the uk. i'm pleased to bejoined by a very expert panel today. i'm joined now by our royal correspondent sarah campbell. i'm alsojoined by i'm also joined by kelly swaby and seamus mcaleer. let's get started. we've had a lot of questions about cancer. i will start with you, doctor mcaleer. the first question i would like to put to you as from... i don't know who this is from but it is from a viewer. what does form of cancer mean? when they released a statement about their cancer, buckingham palace said the king has a form of cancer. what does that
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mean? i a form of cancer. what does that mean? ~ , . , a form of cancer. what does that mean? ~ , ., , . ., mean? i think it is fairly clear that the king _ mean? i think it is fairly clear that the king has _ mean? i think it is fairly clear that the king has a _ mean? i think it is fairly clear| that the king has a cancer and mean? i think it is fairly clear - that the king has a cancer and he does not wish to tell which particular organ or type it is. if you think about cancer, it is not just one disease. there are 200 different cancers. depending on which cell the cancer generates from. if they start from skin or breast, they are very different entities and can be dealt with in different ways. they are saying it's not a prostate cancer, it is some of the form of cancer. they've chosen not to tell us and that is the king is right to privacy i think. interesting that we have not been told what kind of cancer it is. we have had a lot of people e—mailing the bbc asking what type of cancer this is. it is of course a question wejust this is. it is of course a question we just can't answer. it this is. it is of course a question we just can't answer.— we just can't answer. it is. they are entitled _ we just can't answer. it is. they are entitled to _ we just can't answer. it is. they are entitled to the _ we just can't answer. it is. they are entitled to the level - we just can't answer. it is. they are entitled to the level of - we just can't answer. it is. they l are entitled to the level of privacy they choose. he has burst out in the open that he has cancer and that has
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not been done in the past. hopefully it will help. generally have better conversations in the country about cancer and treating it and catching it early. cancer and treating it and catching it earl . . ~ cancer and treating it and catching it earl . ., ~ i. ., it early. thank you for answering those questions. _ it early. thank you for answering those questions. let's _ it early. thank you for answering those questions. let's bring - it early. thank you for answering | those questions. let's bring their discussion back to buckingham palace. sarah, people have been asking us what this announcement means for the royals. a generic actual question but what does it mean for the royal family? it’s actual question but what does it mean for the royal family? it's been uuite a mean for the royal family? it's been quite a start — mean for the royal family? it's been quite a start to _ mean for the royal family? it's been quite a start to 2024. _ mean for the royal family? it's been quite a start to 2024. first _ mean for the royal family? it's been quite a start to 2024. first of- mean for the royal family? it's been quite a start to 2024. first of all, - quite a start to 202k. first of all, we know that catherine the princess of wales, she had abdominal surgery. she was in part hospital. at that same time, king charles was admitted to the same hospital, and that is when, as we have been hearing, this form of cancer was discovered. what does it mean for the royal family? effectively, it means that the king is having to step away from public
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facing duties. this is not to say that he is not carrying out any duties. because as we know, the red boxes, the state papers arrive on his desk every day. he will still be going through those. we know that the king will still be meeting the prime minister, richey su nack, every week —— rishi sunak. and he will be carrying out as many of those public duties as possible. many of those will be involving small numbers of people. he won't be going out and meeting large numbers of the public. he won't be doing that, and that could be, we haven't been given any specific guidance of the reason for that from the palace, but what we would assume, firstly, depending on what treatment he is having for the cancer, that could take a physical toll, but also, as we know, many treatments affect your immunity. what you don't want to do if you are going to cancer treatment, is going out and shaking hands with lots of different people, which we know the king likes to do.
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he is going to have to step away from doing that, and what that means is that the rest of the working royals are going to have to take on some of his duties as well as some of their own. and there aren't that many of them. prince william is helping his wife to convalesce. we are not expecting to see her out and about until probably easter. so prince william has his first engagements about a month tomorrow. princess anne, princess royal, one of the hardest working royals, is outdoing for engagements today. she will be carrying on her work schedule. the duke and duchess have lots of engagements and other royals, the duke and duchess of gloucester and kent. primarily, for the royal family, we won't see the king out and about in a way that we would be used to, but we will maybe see other members of the royal family. the one i forgot to mention of courses queen camilla. she is
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going to be, i would have thought, quite visible throughout this time, as well as of course helping her husband to cope with what is, for anybody, upsetting diagnosis. flit anybody, upsetting diagnosis. of course. it is upsetting for any family. indeed, sarah. talk to me a little bit about succession. that is not the series on tv. i want to know about what is happening within the royal family. someone has e—mailed us and asked us what this means in terms of royal succession. in us and asked us what this means in terms of royal succession.- terms of royal succession. in terms of r0 al terms of royal succession. in terms of royal succession, _ terms of royal succession. in terms of royal succession, at _ terms of royal succession. in terms of royal succession, at this - terms of royal succession. in terms of royal succession, at this point, l of royal succession, at this point, it doesn't mean anything. hopefully, the king makes a recovery and we don't need to think about it.. but when we talk about the line of succession in regency, prince william will be the first in line and the only over the age of 18 he is eligible to serve as his father is eligible to serve as his father is regent. if we get to that point. succession also has a bearing on the role of councillors of state. those
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that can step in and under can take engagements in behalf of the sovereign. those are the people in line of the succession who are over the age of 21 and in late 2022, princess and and prince edward were added as councillors of state. that is really the only news their line of succession has at this stage. talk of councillors of state being involved and a regent is not necessary, but that is not to suggest that we won't need to revisit this topic at a later date. another question we have had from a viewer as if there is any precedent for this kind of announcement. hat for this kind of announcement. not in terms of — for this kind of announcement. iirrt in terms of the widespread announcement we saw last night announced by the news. we are in very unchartered territory when it comes to talking about the sovereign public health. we don't have to think that far back to remember the queen's rain. it was very clear into the later years of her reign that
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she was struggling with her health, but it was a topic you didn't talk about. it may seem that was a red line you did not cross. in terms of a cancer diagnosis within the world —— within the royal family. the king is not the first. his father had lung cancer in the early 1950s. at that time, it was not made known to the public. some details of his own diagnosis was kept from the king himself at the time. thankfully, times have changed and we can talk about these things openly, and as a result, the king's diagnosis, topics of talent —— topics of cancer and talking about cancer has reached the forefront. but it seems we have shifted in terms of how the royal public family talk to the public in terms of such issues as health. bringing it back to health, let's bring doctor mcaleer back into the conversation. we've had a few questions about cancer specifically. 0ne questions about cancer specifically. one is from david in north—west
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wales. he has is there any extra information for those who are worried about their health? i think of course there _ worried about their health? i think of course there is _ worried about their health? i think of course there is a _ worried about their health? i think of course there is a lot _ worried about their health? i think of course there is a lot of - of course there is a lot of information about cancer. macmillan cancer support are a charity that are online and give a lot of extra information. most cancer charities do. the first source of information is chapter your family about your symptoms and go to your doctor. if they are persistent for three or four weeks and they are not getting better, it is probably not cancer, but the common senses to get in touch with your gp and win something past them. they can decide the most likely diagnosis are what test is needed. if they are concerned about cancer, there are things they can do to get them to diagnose. but most people don't actually have cancer but they can look on the macmillan website and other cancer charity websites for explanations to re—insure themselves —— to reassure
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themselves. doctors are keen to help you. early diagnosisjust themselves. doctors are keen to help you. early diagnosis just cancer, thatis you. early diagnosis just cancer, that is the significant point. sue has asked what of the nhs waiting times for cancer at the moment. there is a problem with nhs waiting times. everyone know their health service has been starved of resources. the population is getting older and there are more illnesses around. there is less social support for people at home so people are winding up in hospital with many medical conditions. cancer services need to do scans and get operations done. hospitals can't get cancer patients through the system, so currently the uk nhs system does not have the capacity. five to ten years ago it was brought in a rapid access clinic which if a doctor though it had cancer you could be seen within
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two weeks to advance the diagnosis and yet it seemed too early. that seems like more like two months now in some places and that is very disappointing. whichever government is in power now, there will be a big drive into getting the health service back into gear and getting things properly resourced and getting capacity there and getting people in and sorted. get the cancer sorted and get people reassured. fiiq sorted and get people reassured. ok, thanks for that. sarah campbell, is here with me now at buckingham palace. let me ask you this. we are hearing reports that prince harry is on his way to the uk from los angeles. it must be a very difficult time for him being so far away from his family and taking a plane to come here as soon as he can to be with his dad. come here as soon as he can to be with his dad-— with his dad. absolutely, and we know the issues _ with his dad. absolutely, and we know the issues they _ with his dad. absolutely, and we know the issues they have - with his dad. absolutely, and we know the issues they have been | with his dad. absolutely, and we - know the issues they have been over the last few years between prince harry and the rest of the royal family. we know that the king spoke directly to harry, to both his sons
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to give them the news of his diagnosis. we know that harry took the decision that he wanted to fly immediately back to the country. he is not going to be with megan —— he is not going to be with megan —— he is not going to be with megan —— he is not going to be with meghan are his two children. we know he is due to be back in canada and the ltth of february to take part in some pre—invective games events and we expect him to be at that, so this will be a visit to come and see king charles and we expect him to go back. but there are camera people at heathrow as we speak awaiting his arrival, because we understand he is on his way. arrival, because we understand he is on his way-— on his way. thank you. and a final auestion on his way. thank you. and a final question to _ on his way. thank you. and a final question to you. _ on his way. thank you. and a final question to you. you _ on his way. thank you. and a final question to you. you are - on his way. thank you. and a final question to you. you are a - on his way. thank you. and a final question to you. you are a royal l question to you. you are a royal historian who has been following and studying the royal family for many many years. is there a link to the date to this announcement, that is a question from a viewer? i did date to this announcement, that is a question from a viewer?— question from a viewer? i did give an eyebrow _ question from a viewer? i did give an eyebrow yesterday _ question from a viewer? i did give
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an eyebrow yesterday when - question from a viewer? i did give an eyebrow yesterday when it - question from a viewer? i did give an eyebrow yesterday when it was announced because i spent all of yesterday talking about the george vi count said diagnosis. today is in fact the anniversary of what would have been the queen succession provided she was still alive. i honestly don't know. the king is a man who knows his royal history. i've noticed since he ascended the throne that he has nicely linked royal history events together. he knows his history. as to whether or not it was a conscious choice, i'm not it was a conscious choice, i'm not sure. but what we do know is that we won't be receiving this news in real time. the king would have known this news for possibly a week. so it has been a conscious choice to release it yesterday. i think it is more likely that yesterday was a monday, start of the week, as opposed to somebody looking through the history books and someone saying this is a good day to release it on. it does feel like a coincidence,
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doesn't it? it it does feel like a coincidence, doesn't it?— it does feel like a coincidence, doesn't it? it does. ithink it is 'ust one doesn't it? it does. ithink it is just one of _ doesn't it? it does. ithink it is just one of those _ doesn't it? it does. ithink it is just one of those weird - doesn't it? it does. ithink it is just one of those weird and - just one of those weird and wonderful coincidences that people who are a bit nerdy will like and particularly enjoy but i don't put much into it i'm afraid. trier? particularly enjoy but i don't put much into it i'm afraid. very final thou~ht much into it i'm afraid. very final thought from _ much into it i'm afraid. very final thought from you. _ much into it i'm afraid. very final thought from you. we _ much into it i'm afraid. very final thought from you. we haven't i much into it i'm afraid. very finall thought from you. we haven't had much from buckingham palace today. they were expecting anything from them today or in the near future about the king's health. what do you think that's it? i about the king's health. what do you think that's it?— think that's it? i think that's riuht. i think that's it? i think that's right. i think— think that's it? i think that's right. i think they _ think that's it? i think that's right. i think they have - think that's it? i think that's| right. i think they have been think that's it? i think that's i right. i think they have been as open as they have are the bin about health of a member of the royal family. they have given some detail. we know the king has been very pleased with the fact he feels he has started to come the station about enlarged prostate is and now a conversation about cancer and cancer diagnosis. but there is an element of privacy here that the members of the royal family are entitled to, and i think that is why we should
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not expect to hear any more. i don't want to say business as usual, but certainly princess and is out and about and princes william will be out and about tomorrow. they are trying to keep the show on the road, but obviously this is going on in the background.— but obviously this is going on in the background. but obviously this is going on in the backuround. . ~ , ., , . the background. thank you very much. thanks also to — the background. thank you very much. thanks also to our _ the background. thank you very much. thanks also to our other— the background. thank you very much. thanks also to our other panellists. . thanks also to our other panellists. thanks also to our other panellists. thanks to both of you for taking the time tojoin us thanks to both of you for taking the time to join us and thanks to both of you for taking the time tojoin us and to thanks to both of you for taking the time to join us and to answer the questions we have been receiving here from viewers. thank you also to you for watching your questions answered. we have had so many questions from people all around the world. keep them coming and we will try as best as we can to answer as many possible. i'm live from buckingham palace. goodbye. people who live near this land have had the prospect of a massive solar farm here hanging over them for more
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than two years. a thousand responses. 1,000 responses from this tiny rural population... an inquiry has been held, opinions heard. they'll know the outcome by the summer. a petition is being gathered by a local mp right up to the last possible moment to put pressure on the energy security secretary, who will decide. myjob is to be a voice for our communities, so i'm going to take every opportunity i can to do just that. it can't hurt, can it? but hopefully it will make a difference. plentiful energy for the national grid — enough to power 92,000 homes, say the developers. a terrible loss of agricultural land by the side of the east coast main line, say opponents. rutland has lost a huge swathe of farmland before to a national infrastructure project when rutland water was built. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. in the 1980s michaelj fox was one of the biggest stars
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in hollywood, with starring roles in the back to the future films. in 1991, he was diagnosed with parkinson s disease. he retired from acting two years ago, but now he s back — in a documentary that s been nominated for several awards. tom brook went to meet him in new york. i was big. i was bigger than bubble gum. the story of me, take two. michaelj fox has been picking up awards and doing interviews to support the documentary in which he appears. michael, good to meet you. how are you? the documentary is called still:
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a michaelj fox movie, which chronicles his life, his rise to major tv and film stardom in the 1980s, and his life after being diagnosed with parkinson's disease. i woke up and i noticed my pinky. parkinson's disease. it's not a portrait of a man full of self—pity. quite the contrary. i have parkinson's. i struggle with it. it's hard. it's annoying. it's more than annoying, but it can be devastating for some people. the story is about resiliency and about hope. an incurable optimist meets an incurable disease. michael] fox! i don't believe this. this is great. in 1989, two years before his parkinson's disease diagnosis, michaelj fox was on top of the world, a major tv and movie star. his huge following, with fans around the world, is quite phenomenal... i met him in california at the time when he was shooting back to the future 2. in the documentary, his far—reaching success is presented as an epic moment before profound change. i can't explain to you how huge an explosion it was. big thing. and then shortly after, i got married, my father passed away, my son was born and i was diagnosed. and so, just crossed the threshold into adulthood and into challenges that i didn't anticipate. you were diagnosed with parkinson's disease, and you didn't reveal it publicly for quite some time, did you?
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i didn't know what it was going to do, i didn't know how it was going to manifest itself. and i didn't know what to expect. and no—one could really tell me what to expect. michaelj fox eventually became a big advocate for finding a cure for parkinson's, launching a foundation which has raised substantial sums for research. his optimism is very apparent in the documentary. to deny that part of me that wants to continue to go on and do things is to quit. i won't accept that. he sees his disease as giving him the opportunity to do something for others. i would say it's a gift, and people look at me and say, it's a gift that keeps on taking, but it's a gift. and it opened me up to a whole different... i realised i had to turn it around and turn it into something and make it some positive thing that affected other people in a positive way. and so i started the foundation, but it took me a long time to get there.
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the documentary isn'tjust a chronicle of a man who's fought the physical effects of a debilitating disease. it's as much a portrait of psychological triumph to show, as michael] fox puts it, that a devastating diagnosis may not necessarily be the ending, but the advent of a new beginning. the fossil of a unique flying reptile has been discovered on the isle of skye in scotland. its wings, shoulders, legs and backbone were found in a rock on a beach, and it is thought to have lived around nearly 170 million years ago. scientists were surprised to find a pterosaurfrom this period off scotland's west coast, they were thought to mostly live in china. and before we go, we want to show you one of the most—watched videos on our website. drone footage shows this
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unfinished luxury high—rise in los angeles that's been covered in graffiti. police said that more than a dozen people broke into the 0ceanwide plaza and spray—painted the windows. the buildings were once set to be the tallest residential towers in the city. the site has been abandoned since 2019. i also want to show you other images. we have been telling you about the storm, pretty violent storm sweeping through california. you can see images of this man being rescued by from a river. it is thought he entered the water trying to rescue his dog but needed to be rescued himself. you can see the helicopter there. pretty perilous, flying close to the world. but the man did get out safely and the dog managed to clamber to safely safety. stay with us here
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on bbc safely safety. it is going to be turning colder across the uk over the next 2a hours with snow in the focus for some of us including here in shetland. blizzard —like conditions here in scotland with coastal gales. blustery winds to across the south of england, but likely to stay in the milder air until we get to the end of tonight. you can see that colder air sinking southwards behind the cold front. marked in blue here displacing that milder air further south. there will be some heavy rain on that cold front pushing south. through the midlands into east anglia. blustery winds ahead of the front to the north. there will be some sunshine around, and it will be colder of course. snow showers piling into scotland and temperatures ranging between three and perhaps 1a celsius. there will be some heavy rain through the evening rush hour. just pressjust
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clearing away from the south of england there. snow showers piling into western scotland. watch out for icy stretches here. they could be icy stretches here. they could be icy stretches here. they could be icy stretches further south. a cult and ahead. much later wins, but still this legacy of cloud towards the south coast. some showers as well pushing into scotland and across northern ireland. feeling cold across the board, 4010 celsius, keeping that milder air into england in the channel islands potentially. it pushes in as a warm front as it bumps into that colder air, it is likely to turn to snow as we had to be the first part of thursday morning across northern ireland, wales and to the north midlands and the north of england. particularly over higher ground. this is where we are likely to see the snow. wired two to five centimetres and even at low levels. that cold air continues
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to push further northwards. quite a deep area of low pressure it will bring some heavy rain to the south and some gusty blizzard —like conditions for a while. that's no moves across scotland, rain towards the south and there will be some strong, gusty winds as well, and again a range of temperatures.
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today at one — warm wishes
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from around the world for the king as he is treated for cancer. the disease was discovered during treatment for another condition. we'll have the latest on the king's condition. also on the programme... a final cost of living payment starts going to 8 million people today — nearly £300 to help with rising prices. mud slides and flooding in southern california — a powerful storm left at least three poeple dead and a million without power. action! and we speak to michaelj fox about acting, fame and developing parkinson's in his 20s. and coming up later this hour on bbc news... a double injury blow for scotland ahead of their six nations match with france, as two players are ruled out for the rest
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of this year's tournament.

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