this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm: the queen misses the christmas day service at sandringham as she has a heavy cold. she will still celebrate with her family. the duke and duchess of cambridge are spending christmas with the middleton family in berks. more than 60 members of a celebrated russian military band are among the missing after a plane crashed in the black sea on its way to syria. also in the next hour: the pope uses his christmas mass at the vatican to call for an end to the war in syria. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

for the first time in almost 30 years, the queen has missed the christmas day church service at sandringham. buckingham palace say she's still recovering from a heavy cold. later today, in a pre—recorded christmas broadcast, she will speak of drawing strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. morning service at sandringham — part of the royal family's christmas day routine. but with one significant absentee this year — the queen. while other members of her family, including the duke of edinburgh, gathered at the church, the queen remained at sandringham house, continuing to recover from what buckingham palace described as a heavy cold. in a short statement, the palace said she would take part in the family's celebrations. her absence from the church service, the first time in many years she hasn't attended, is understood to be

a precautionary measure. there is no sense of undue concern. also absent from sandringham were the duchess and duke of cambridge and their children, george and charlotte. they attended church in the berkshire village of bucklebury, where they are spending christmas day with the duchess‘s family, the middletons. in her christmas day broadcast, recorded at buckingham palace several weeks ago, the queen talks about inspiration. she reflects on the achievements of olympic and paralympic athletes from britain and the commonwealth, many of whom she met at a palace reception in october. and in this year, when the queen has marked her 90th birthday, she will refer to the inspirational work of the many charities with which she has been associated during her reign. she will also talk about the work of the many unsung heroes she meets around the country — carers, community leaders and good neighbours. ordinary people, as she puts it, doing extraordinary things. nicholas witchell, bbc news. with me is our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. this will not having taken lightly

by the queen, not to go to church in sandringham. it will have been after medical advice. still evidently suffering from this heavy cold. not recovering from it as quickly as she might have wished. it is certainly unusual. buckingham palace is trying to define the medical issue, such as it is, as carefully as possible. they are still saying a heavy cold, not that it has turned into anything other than a heavy cold. the other members of the royal family who attended all look very relaxed, laughing and joking. the duke of edinburgh, of course, was there. he, too, was suffering from this heavy cold. it delayed their departure to sandringham from london early in the week. he has recovered. you would not have thought that was anything wrong with him at all. the general demeanour of the family, the sort of

mood that one gets talking to palace officials suggest there is no sense officials suggest there is no sense of alarm, no sense of undue concern, but they are mindful of the fact that they are dealing with people of that they are dealing with people of that particular age. looking at pictures from sandringham, there will be disappointment from well—wishers, some of whom go exceptionally early and travel vast distances. that disappointment would have rather acute. the distances that people come, some of them from america and lots of different places, so not only did they not see the queen, they did not see the duke and duchess of cambridge. william and duchess of cambridge. william and kate, george and charlotte, not that they would have gone to church at sandringham, but the cambridge s are down at bucklebury in berks stained the middleton family and they did alter that the church there, so they are giving them a bit ofa dry

there, so they are giving them a bit of a dry run at church with the middletons before they turn up to church with the queen which would be rather more of a daunting prospect. that is why william and catherine have been keen to have this sort of family christmas with george and charlotte in the more relaxed surroundings which inevitably you would find with the middleton family. however hard you try to make the sandringham christmas relaxed and jovial, inevitably, there is a degree of formality to it. and of course we will see the christmas message from the queen later on. yes, three o'clock on radio and television. and the theme is inspiration. we will see what she has to say about inspiring others. thank you, nicholas. a russian military plane with more than 90 people on board has crashed into the black sea. the plane was carrying 64 members of the renowned red army choir and was heading from sochi to latakia in syria. russian president vladimir putin has

declared a day of mourning tomorrow. this is one of the final images of the tupolev—154 jet. it was taken by a journalist before he boarded the plane. the flight would end in tragedy. the aircraft crashed into the black sea. the russians scrambled helicopters and ships but the search became a recovery operation. there were no survivors. the plane had taken off from a military airfield near moscow. it flew south, stopping in sochi to refuel. the final destination was syria, and russia's airbase near latakia, but minutes after leaving sochi, it crashed. at the russian defence ministry, a spokesman said that more than 90 people were on board the plane. he said the recovery operation was continuing. on board were more than 60 members of the russian army's famous song and dance ensemble, once known as the red army choir.

they had been due to give a concert at the russian airbase in syria. most civilian airlines have stopped using the tupolev—154, once the workhorse of the russian aviation industry. in 2010, a tupolev—isii carrying the polish president crashed in russia, while trying to land. the following year, a similar plane caught fire in siberia before take—off. now the investigation begins into another disaster, to find out why this russian plane fell from the sky into the sea. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. within the last hour, president putin has spoken about the crash. translation: i would like to offer my most sincere condolences to our families who died in the black clr and crashed today. the government will form a committee to investigate

the incident. it will be chaired by the incident. it will be chaired by the minister of transport. we will investigate the incident to get to the root of the tragedy and we will offer a ll the root of the tragedy and we will offer all possible support to the families. with me is olga ivshina, bbc russian service correspondent. this will be felt very deeply in russia. most people will be shocked. many muscovites are coming to lay flowers a nd many muscovites are coming to lay flowers and candles to the place where this red army choir was based. people were preparing for the holidays and new year in russia. those who were heading to the russian military base in syria to entertain soldiers for the new year. this is rather shocking news and the fa ct this is rather shocking news and the fact that a russian military plane took off from a russian military base and disappeared two minutes after taking off, it is quite worrying. and no indication why.

there is no understanding of what has happened. the wreckage of the plane is spread over quite a significant distance and whilst experts say that this usually is a sign of the fact that the plane has started dismantling in the air. we heard the conversation from the aircraft and there was no sign of any problems, so this was quite an abrupt scene. the tupolev plane is widely used in russia and in the soviet union many years back. not only in the soviet union, as steve mention in his package, this plane was also carrying the polish president and was chosen by the polish air forces to be there for swann, as it were. there were a number of cases when this plane managed to land even without, when

all the engines were switched off and there is one famous case in russia when it managed to land on some deserted air in siberia. so it was quite reliable even though a few crashes have happen. the investigation will be under way and they will be looking for answers as to what has happened. this and investigation is now on the presidential control and the recovery operation is going on quite quickly. they have already found numerous pieces of wreckage, already found ten bodies and the weather is worsening, so that is why they have try to find out as much as possible at the moment. experts say that black boxes might bring new light on to what has happened, in the near future. church leaders are using their christmas sermons to reflect on the emotional impact of global

events in 2016. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, told his congregation that the end of the year leaves people in a less predictable world. martin bashir reports. entering canterbury cathedral in time—honoured fashion, justin welby focused his christmas day sermon on the uncertainty and division that has marked both domestic and international politics over the last year. the end of 2016 visors in a different kind of world, less predictable and certain, which feels more awash with beer and division. he went on to suggest that our anxiety is a clear sign that placing our trust in material prosperity has failed. the uncertainty of our world, our feelings, tells us that our values are in the wrong place. in rome, where additional security was in place following the berlin attack, pope francis also criticised

materialism, and appealed to christians to stand out as people of compassion and self—sacrifice. he focused on the plight of children and ask parties to end the conflict in syria. translation: it is time for weapons to be still for ever, as the international community to actively seeka international community to actively seek a negotiated solution so that civil coexistence can be restored in these countries. but france is concluded by appealing for christians to stand out as people of compassion and self—sacrifice. —— pope francis. our rome correspondent david willey listened to the pope's message.

it is not unexpected that he devoted his message to the problem of world peace. he lamented the fact that there is so much conflict going on, wherever you look in the world — the middle east, africa, his native latin america. and even he referred to the conflict still going on between north and south korea, the fact that there has been no end to the state of war, which has existed for decades between those two countries. he says without peace, there is no future for the world. people have to resolve their conflicts. and then he went on to talk in a much more personal way about all of those who have suffered, not only those who have suffered from violence, he mentioned, the berlin terrorist attack, but also the children who have been suffering in syria. the children who have been suffering in other ways as well, brought over from africa

across the mediterranean on these overcrowded boats, many of them losing their lives. and the children who are hungry because they are malnourished. a powerful typhoon, nock—ten, known locally as typhoon nina, has made landfall in the philippines as thousands of people are being forced to evacuate their homes. the typhoon has hit the remote eastern province of catanduanes with winds speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour. there's no immediate official reports of damage or casualties. the military and extra emergency staff are struggling to evacuate people and prepare for any damage. people who were unwilling to evacuate their homes have been ordered to leave. many more who have been heading home for the christmas holiday are stranded as flights are cancelled. more than 6,000 people died and 200,000 homes

were destroyed when typhoon haiyan hit the country in 2013. the headlines on bbc news: the queen misses the christmas day service at sandringham as she has a heavy cold. more than 60 members of a celebrated russian military band are among those killed when their plane crashes in the black sea on its way to syria. president putin has declared a day of mourning tomorrow. pope francis urges world leaders to negotiate a peace deal in syria, and called for peace between israel and the palestinians. the american president—elect donald trump says he intends to close his charitable foundation to avoid any conflict of interest with his presidency. the trump foundation is currently being investigated by new york's attorney general to establish whether it supported a republican political campaign in florida in 2013. lynn sweet is a political commentator with the chicago sun—times. at the bottom line here is that donald trump

does not give any of his own money to the foundation. he has not given any of his own money between 2009 and 2014, so at the heart of this is a foundation that goes to other people to ask for money. then there is another set of controversies, and this is what the attorney general in new york is looking at, is whether or not there is self—dealing. you're not supposed to use a non—profit foundation in the united states to make political contributions, or to help your business. that's at the heart of it. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this afternoon. a 19—year—old man has died after being stabbed at a working men's club northumberland. the victim was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.

a 35—year—old man and a 36—year—old woman have been arrested on suspicion of murder. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has cut some of his country's funding to united nations agencies. he's responding to friday night's un security council resolution demanding an end to settlement activities in the occupied palestinian territory. he said the resolution was was "biased and shameful". just on that subject, a further line from benjamin netanyahu, the british, spanish, and chinese ambassadors will be summoned and reprimanded, these are countries from the un security council, as a result of that vote that condemned israel's building of settlements on the occupied west bank. the american decision not to veto that enabled it to pass, and as a result of having happened and the other those going the way they did, benjamin netanyahu has ordered his foreign military to

summon and reprimand ambassador or is from countries which include britain. tens of thousands of residents of the southern german city of augsburg have been forced to leave their homes on christmas day so that a huge second world war bomb can be defused. it is the biggest evacuation in germany for an unexploded bomb since the end of the war. the british bomb is thought to be a legacy of an allied air—raid in 1944, which destroyed the old town. the authorities are confident that most people can stay with friends or family, but a number of schools and sport halls will be open too. the family now live in coventry but it isa the family now live in coventry but it is a big change. two of their children have visible scars from a

suicide bomb. we report on how they are settling into their new home. a year on, and with a new addition to the family, this couple and their two young children were among the first to come to the country under a government scheme to resettle vulnerable refugees. translation: it is a big change for us. it made us forget our concerns, especially for the little girls. they are much happier now. the uk has been good for us. the only issue is the language, but we are trying to learn. but it is very different from our country. the family have spent the year settling into their new home in coventry. translation: the community is nice, the people are quite nice. we miss home for sure, but what can we do? the children go to school, they are happy. we are happy. they were forced to leave syria after a bomb exploded while out with others, celebrating

a kurdish spring festival. their nine—year—old and six—year—old were left seriously injured. they were taken to iraq for urgent treatment before being brought to this country. the government pledged to resettle an extra 20,000 refugees last year. more than 150 people are making this city their new home. the girls are at a school in the local area. it's really fun, and they teach us really well. the teachers are good. it is really good. is the weather different? yes. sometimes it rains. and it is cold. both still need to undergo surgery, but, for this family, their focus is on their new lives and what the future may bring. it is an important time

for family, of course. we hope you are having a very enjoyable day with your family. christmas is a time for family — but if you don't have one, it can be difficult. the poet lemn sissay knows exactly how that feels. he was fostered as a baby, but when he turned 12, his foster family gave him up. he spent the next five years in and out of children's homes. that's why each year he organises special christmas dinners for young people who've left care. jayne mccubbin went to meet him as he prepared for one of those dinners in hackney. not everyone has someone at christmas. this isn't my... you're better with words. i'm better with words. lemn sissay understands this. author, poet, broadcaster, orphan. there was nobody there. you were on your own? yeah, i was on my own. if i visited a friend's house, i often felt i was the boy with no family who was going to visit families, you know? # jingle bells, jingle all the way.#

here in hackney, he's getting ready for one of his care leavers' christmas dinners — a project that has grown from one city to five cities in four years. all of the gifts here have been donated by strangers, and all the parties will all be run by volunteers. do we really not know the words tojingle bells? the only reason we do the christmas dinner is so that those young care leavers go away with a memory that they can look onto next year. that's all christmas is — it's the making of a memory for you to look onto next year. so we all come around the christmas dinner table and we all remember, "we did this last year, and it was incredible". for a lot of care leavers, the memory was a bad one from the year before. we are creating memories. this is his passion, and for the team, that passion is infectious. this is amanda, who is

sorting everybody out. am i right? we have 20 volunteers — 60 young people, four hairstylists, artists, musicians, social workers coming down to do a really amazing christmas day for young people. it's gonna be amazing. this is sabrina, who is the hair woman and stylist, and she is pretty incredible! as a care leaver myself, i know how important it is to give self—esteem and to feel like people care. this incredible man is ryan. ryan is going to be the chef for the evening. when i was 14 i went into temporary foster care for a weekend, and it sort of turned into nearly five years. christmas is about family, and not everyone is lucky enough to have it. the best part of the day

was sitting down and having a meal with everyone, getting to know people. messages from previous dinners showjust how much they mean to care leavers. everyone looks happy. i won't ever forget this day! everything was spot on. amazed by it, amazed by everything. i hope they have one next year as well! and that is totally the plan. all: merry christmas! now, if you're already missing the excitement this year's strictly come dancing had to offer, i've got some good news for you. later today, there'll be a strictly christmas special, where dancers past and present will tango, jive and cha—cha it out to get another chance of winning that coveted glitterball trophy. naga munchetty went behind the scenes to take a look at what gives the christmas episode that fabulous magic and sparkle. it may not look like much from the outside. but, behind closed doors,

it's a different story. welcome to elstree studios, the home of strictly come dancing. this is where the magic happens. it's been another year of sparkles, sambas and salsas, and last weekend, ore oduba wowed the judges and audience becoming champion with dance partnerjoanne clifton. it was an emotional end to the series as the grandfather of strictly, len goodman, bid an emotional farewell after leading the judging panel since the programme started 12 years ago. but he's back for one last time with six former contestants taking to the stage for a christmas feast that will not disappoint. so, what does it take to put a festive bonanza of a show like this together? behind the scenes at strictly, all these fantastic costumes. so much work goes into these.

this department is where it all happens. jane, hello! the christmas show is christmas themes. we've got love actually, home alone, frozen. is there more glitter or more snow? a bit of both. always more glitter. we endeavour to make everything sparkly and christmassy. taking part in this year's series threw me out of my comfort zone completely. it was totally different to anything i'd ever done before, but i loved every minute of it. and coming back to the studios, well, it was like i had never been away. bumping into familiar faces, catching up with old friends. and how are this year's competitors finding it? like giving birth. you remember the good bits,

not how scary it is to get out on the dance floor. my family are coming to me for christmas and we always watch strictly. my mum hasn't been on social media, and has been away and doesn't know i'm doing the christmas special. what should we expect from you? i'm doing the charleston. music from the musical, elf. it's very quick but it's very fun. i'm working on my swivel. everyday, just, you know, swivelling. he's got it! my charleston isn't. .. you've got heels. tell us about the outfit. your theme is frozen, you're elsa. i'm elsa. and the handsome prince, obviously. where's he?! this man is so popular. he's magnetic. the pink bowtie, it does it all. it's a privilege for me.

it's mine. i'm the luckiest. too much love here! i still have my backstage privileges and managed to sneak into bros star matt goss's room before the show. i'm singing white christmas. always lovely to be on that studio floor. there is a real excitement and a real buzz. the sets are so beautiful, they really go to town. they throw everything at it. i've been here a few times now and i'm always amazed at the sets. the amount of detail. and the production that goes into the sets. in the meantime, merry christmas from everyone on the dance floor. merry christmas, breakfast! have a wonderful, brilliant christmas day. we hope you have joyful family cuddles, best presents, full of christmas cheer. everything, all of it, mwah! and you

can catch that on bbc one at 7pm. now the weather now with philip avery. you would not believe what julian was up to during that piece. he's obviously a massive fan. there's a lot of whether going on at the moment. there's a weather front moving into south—west of scotland. to the east of scotland, glorious sunshine in some places. this is to do with the amount of wind we have at the moment. in the south west it is incredibly mild across the piece. although behind that front temperatures are beginning to fall away. through the evening and overnight, that weatherford comes down, with gusting winds, watch out if you are on the move. and that is

the mechanism to start pushing the mild are away. boxing day, what a contrast. we have this amber weather warning because conor will be close to the northern isles, what's a wintry showers across the heart of scotland. for northern ireland, england and wales, a decent day. it is going to be between 5—8dc. at least it will be bright and sunny if you are off to the shops. hello. this is bbc news with julian worricker. the headlines at 2.30: the queen has missed the christmas day church service at sandringham, as she has a heavy cold. the duke of edinburgh and other royals were at holy communion on the norfolk estate. in berkshire, the duke and duchess of cambridge are spending christmas with kate's family, the middletons. in his christmas mass at the vatican, the pope has called more than 60 members of a celebrated russian military

dance band are among those killed when their plane crashed in the black sea on its way to syria. president putin has declared a day of national mourning tomorrow. and in his christmas sermon, the archbishop of canterburyjustin welby said the last year has left the world "awash with division and fear". now it's time to catch up with some of our favourite author interviews from 2016. rebecca jones talks to publishing superstarjames patterson, and james naughtie chats with fiction supremojoanne harris. james patterson is the world's biggest selling author. he is best—known for his thrillers, but he has written science—fiction, young fiction and nonfiction. he has published over 140 books which are sold more than 350 million copies around the world. and he is also the most borrowed author at uk

libraries. but that is not enough for him, he now wants an even bigger audience, by selling books to those who he thinks have abandoned reading. his solution is called the shots. —— book shops. welcome, james patterson. what book shops? hopefully, they are a revolution in reading and in the way we look at books. at the least they will be a revolution they are under 150 pages, relatively inexpensive and hopefully impossible to put down. it is like one of my regular books except at 145 pages, very tired. with the book shot, you can go to work, get on the train and

you've read one, so you can accomplish something. so the slogan is all villanova thriller. —— all filler no thriller. there is no fact, just all story. hopefully you will have good characters. but it just hopefully you will have good characters. but itjust happens so quickly. in england, we are going to start with six of them, so it's kind ofa start with six of them, so it's kind of a category. there's one about the royals, which is kind of fun. there's one about a diamond heist. recently, i was interviewed in my office and then pulled out these eight very deep drawers and i have 107 of these book shots that are either finished 107 of these book shots that are eitherfinished or in process. another 107, i would say 80 of those

stories i created, so it is like, oh, my god. in fact, stories i created, so it is like, oh, my god. infact, the stories i created, so it is like, oh, my god. in fact, the person who interviewed me over there said this is insane, this is crazy. i said i agreed. but for readers, this will bea agreed. but for readers, this will be a real boon. because they are addictive. you've written some of them, but like your full—length novel, you employ a team of co—writers. telus cup bit about how that works. i wrote 2000 pages of our lines last year. they are always three orfour our lines last year. they are always three or four drafts, an our lines last year. they are always three orfour drafts, an insane amount of writing. what i do when i co—write a book is i write an outline. so it's 30 or so pages and the goods by chapter. and what i will do with the co—writer is give them the outline and say please contribute to this. because it is useful and it also gets the

co—writer feeling involved useful and it also gets the co—writerfeeling involved in the process. the template for the book shots is that every single chapter moves both the characterisation and the story forward and turns on the movie project in our heads. that is not happening, meaning that you can't see, you cockfield, you can't taste the come you can't smell it if it is not moving forward or if you are not it is not moving forward or if you a re not interested it is not moving forward or if you are not interested in the character. in that case, i will say we have lost something here. i will make suggestions and occasionally is because i didn't figure out the outline correctly, more often, it is because the co—writer is... you know. if you look at them, they are smaller, obviously, thinner, too. so hopefully on all the trains and planes you will see people reading this kind of smaller book. i've read that you work seven days a week, 52

weeks of the year. is that true? do you not take christmas day off? christmas would be a very light day. they generally, seven days a week. you are lucky to find something you like to do and it is a miracle if someone will pay you to do it, and thatis someone will pay you to do it, and that is my situation. with doing these book shots, this has been the most fun year of my life. really? because i love to tell stories. i was kind of blocked with the current books i was working on, we didn't need any more hard bike, so there was no place for me to let my imagination go and now there is. i will have more content and marvel by the end of this year. it is little wonder that you won another busy smiling publisher, not just wonder that you won another busy smiling publisher, notjust because of the number of books you are writing, but also the time and money you spend on championing literacy. why is that so important to you? the

most important thing for me is getting kids reading. because if our kids do not become lee's confidence readers, especially kids who are at risk, how will they getjobs and go through school? if they are ten or 11 and they are not competent, it they are going to be a drag on society and on all of us and they will make for a much harder life. the thing about it is as individuals, i can't do much to solve global warming or health care crisis or whatever. but as an individual, we can all want, get the kids in our home is reading, we can help the local school, we can help the local library. libraries are a big issue right now and how they are funded in england. ijust hope that people will stand up and say our libraries are important so we need the money for our libraries. how

much does your interest stemmed from the fact you had a son who was a relu cta nt the fact you had a son who was a reluctant reader? jack is a bright quy- reluctant reader? jack is a bright guy. when he was eight, that summer, we said you are going to read every day and it do i have two? and we said, yes, unless she wants to live in the garage, because we reading house. and we said if this is going to be difficult, we will find books that you really like. so we got him a percy jackson and that you really like. so we got him a perchackson and a dozen other books and by the end of the summer, he had read a dozen books and his reading skills went up dramatically and ultimately, they have sats scores in america and he was a perfect reader. he is going to couege perfect reader. he is going to college next year. in terms of what can happen, if you take charge with your children or your child and making a responsibility... there is

nothing more important than a mother or father nothing more important than a mother orfather or nothing more important than a mother or father or a grandparent to nothing more important than a mother orfather or a grandparent to do than make sure your kids read. it is good to get them out and exercise, but they've got to be able to read. you are hugely successful, a writer of commercial, mainstream fiction. do you hanker after writing the great american novel?|j do you hanker after writing the great american novel? i have! they arejust commercial. great american novel? i have! they are just commercial. i great american novel? i have! they arejust commercial. i love great american novel? i have! they are just commercial. i love what i do, it serves a purpose. my gravestone, it will say james do, it serves a purpose. my gravestone, it will sayjames kept do, it serves a purpose. my gravestone, it will say james kept a lot of people up late at night. and book shots will be one of the reasons. they are a revolution. this is going to change the way people read. for her latest novel, different class, john harris is back in school, the grammar school where she set two previous books. although she set two previous books. although she say she deems it is comical, it is quite dark for one of our most read authors, chocolate was a

memorable novel and film. the story of sexual jealousy and hates, deception and violence, also an exploration of some of the most troubling relationships between teachers and pupils and the havoc that they can sometimes wreak. it strikes me that schools attract you. iam not strikes me that schools attract you. i am not fond of schools, i taught for 15 years. they are wonderful observations of community. the observations of community. the observation here is as i said, pretty dark. it is funny, touching, but it goes to some very dark places. both in terms of the staff and their charges. it does. schools area and their charges. it does. schools are a perpetual stage for tragedy and farce and everything in between. so much can happen and it is so unpredictable. that unpredictability is not just be unpredictable. that unpredictability is notjust be setting, but the age of those involved. you're talking about the lessons going through all

sorts of crises, some imagined, some real and relationships with teachers, which are inevitably terribly delicate. i think so. it is an intense stage of life, adolescence. you feel things strongly. you can experience things for the first time and they can be so powerful they will come clearly create an upheaval in your life. i've found it an interesting scene, but it is daunting, because later, i realised, as a teacher, you can really influence somebody‘s life and they will render you and what you said, so if it is unfair, they will resent it in a way an adult would not. some bad things happen in this book. it is safe to say, i think, you are led into territory that is much more familiar to us in the last few years, allegations of sexual impropriety and misconduct and so on. also, terrible emotional trauma between staff and pupils. did you know you are getting into that? no,

i think what happened is i started off with an idea in this book and then in real life, operation eu trio unfolded and i found there was an uncomfortable unfolded and i found there was an u nco mforta ble crossover unfolded and i found there was an uncomfortable crossover in what i was writing about and it became much darker and more topical than i thought it would. you touch on the whole question of atmospheres that can develop. hysterical ones, leading to almost a witchhunts. or a territory whether false accusations and difficulties and damaged and as and difficulties and damaged and as a consequence. it is something that clearly fascinates you, the unfairness lurking under the surface. i think so. also, the past and how it affects the present and how memory is not inherently reliable. particularly when dealing with experiences of trauma and how memory can be affected by all kinds of things happening in the current present day and how therefore memory can sometimes be both unreliable and

frightening. the principal character has been a teacher for a frightening. the principal character has been a teacherfor a long time, so this has happened to him time and again. there's an interesting sense of having seen generations of pupils coming through to lead classics are not in his case. you clearly adore him? i am fond of him, were not similar, but i may have grown into him if i'd stayed at the grammar school in which i taught. he is flawed in many ways, but has a good heart. he is warm, affectionate and loves hisjob. he is aware of the consequences of the job he does and that he is affecting young lives and has a strong sense of duty. i also like the fact he is a bit subversive and he has various prejudices which is unaware off, he has favourites and he is unaware of this. he's not very go with technology and likes an occasionalfight very go with technology and likes an occasional fight outside. --

very go with technology and likes an occasionalfight outside. -- a sneaky fag. you have various characters inhabiting different worlds in the same school? they have the benefit to be an environment for long enough to pick up voices are remembered away teenagers talked and away older of staff talked and so i have borrowed from colleagues and pupils who now ex—peoples and who watched the process with joy from twitter and facebook. —— ex—pupils. do you use social media?” twitter and facebook. —— ex—pupils. do you use social media? i like twitter. many people said their remember things, like books. they turned up to readings and they all think i'm writing about them which isn't quite true, but there it certainly little vignettes. though

it isa certainly little vignettes. though it is a dark story, you're clearly having fun and are an immensely successful author, very widely read. are you irritated when people say you are the shocker la woman. it was such a successful book and i know you're not irritated by success, but as it sometimes hang around your neck? a little. i'm gratefulfor as it sometimes hang around your neck? a little. i'm grateful for the response to chocolat and i'm still writing about the characters. what i find irksome is the assumption i will always do the same thing. most of my readers do not make this assumption, because they have learned long ago i can go in any direction and have done. i'm lucky in that sense. you are. i do take the authorial responsibility seriously. you speak up for us recently talked about not going to one nameless literary festival, because they were expecting all kinds of things, exclusive contracts underfeeble fee. kinds of things, exclusive contracts under feeble fee. authors deserve to be treated better. it is notjust

about me wanting money or special treatment, completely the opposite. i want people to see writing as a job. it is a profession and to treat professionally. it is particularly important for young authors who have a difficulty in getting to festivals because of what it will cost them. they do not make much money, contrary to public opinion. absolutely, the average salary is 11 grand a year according to the society of authors. few of us get to write for a living can make a reasonable living out of it. one of the yukon former, i think to one of the yukon former, i think to one of the wonderful stereotypes, you will work ina the wonderful stereotypes, you will work in a shed at the bottom of the garden. i do, yes. my shed world is a specific space and a think it psychologically important for an author to have a work space, particularly someone like me who was ona particularly someone like me who was on a timetable for such a long time. it is difficult to manage time, difficult to get into the

psychological headspace of writing asi psychological headspace of writing as i think it is important to create as i think it is important to create a place where you work and nothing else happens. whether it is a shed, desk... when i started out i didn't have a desk, i had to micro—objects i would put in front my laptop when i wanted to write and i created my work space, wherever it was. sometimes i work on two at once. i have books i write on sunny days and books on dark days, of which different class as one. was this a dark day book? yes, though there are some glimpses of sunshine. dark day book? yes, though there are some glimpses of sunshinelj dark day book? yes, though there are some glimpses of sunshine. i should say it is fun as well. joanne harris, thank you. hello. and a happy christmas. for the first time in almost 30

years, the queen has missed the christmas day church service at sandringham. buckingham palace say she's still recovering from a heavy cold. later today, in a pre—recorded christmas broadcast, she will speak of drawing strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. morning service at sandringham — part of the royal family's christmas day routine. but with one significant absentee this year — the queen. while other members of her family, including the duke of edinburgh, gathered at the church, the queen remained at sandringham house, continuing to recover from what buckingham palace described as a heavy cold. in a short statement, the palace said she would take part in the family's celebrations. her absence from the church service, the first time in many years she hasn't attended, is understood to be a precautionary measure. there is no sense of undue concern. also absent from sandringham were the duchess and duke of cambridge and their children, george and charlotte. they attended church in the berkshire village of bucklebury,

where they are spending christmas day with the duchess's family, the middletons. in her christmas day broadcast, recorded at buckingham palace several weeks ago, the queen talks about inspiration. she reflects on the achievements of olympic and paralympic athletes from britain and the commonwealth, many of whom she met at a palace reception in october. and in this year, when the queen has marked her 90th birthday, she will refer to the inspirational work of the many charities with which she has been associated during her reign. she will also talk about the work of the many unsung heroes she meets around the country — carers, community leaders and good neighbours. ordinary people, as she puts it, doing extraordinary things. backin back in sandringham, the family left church to return to sandringham for christmas lunch and then settle down to watch the queen's broadcast. a russian military plane with more

than 90 people on board has crashed into the black sea. russian president vladimir putin has declared a day of mourning tomorrow. the plane was carrying 64 members of the renowned red army choir and was heading from sochi to latakia in syria. from moscow, steve rosenberg sent this report. this is one of the final images of the tupolev—154 jet. it was taken by a journalist before he boarded the plane. the flight would end in tragedy. the aircraft crashed into the black sea. the russians scrambled helicopters and ships but the search became a recovery operation. there were no survivors. the plane had taken off from a military airfield near moscow. it flew south, stopping in sochi to refuel. the final destination was syria, and russia's airbase near latakia, but minutes after leaving sochi, it crashed. at the russian defence ministry, a spokesman said that more than 90 people were on board the plane. he said the recovery

operation was continuing. on board were more than 60 members of the russian army's famous song and dance ensemble, once known as the red army choir. they had been due to give a concert at the russian airbase in syria. most civilian airlines have stopped using the tupolev—154, once the workhorse of the russian aviation industry. in 2010, a tupolev—154 carrying the polish president crashed in russia, while trying to land. the following year, a similar plane caught fire in siberia before take—off. this disaster has left russia stunned and silent. the kremlin has promised a thorough investigation into this tragedy. it has also declared tomorrow a day of national mourning. there has been an

earthquake in southern chile with a magnitude of 7.7. so far, there are no details of damage or casualties. the archbishop of canterbury said the world has been left with fear and division. and pope francis has called for an end to the fighting in syria. the entering canterbury cathedral in time—honoured fashion, justin welby focused is christmas day sermon on the uncertainty and division that has marked both domestic and international politics over the last year. the end of 2016 finds us all in a different kind of

world. one less predictable and certain and which feels more awash with fear and division. he went on to suggest our anxiety is a clear sign that placing our trust in material prosperity has failed. the uncertainty of a world and our feelings tells us that our values are in the wrong place. in rome, where additional security was in place following the berlin attack, pope francis focused on the plight of children, pleading with all parties to end the conflict in syria. translation: it is time for weapons to be still at forever and the international community to actively seek a negotiated solution so that civil coexistence can be restored in the country. pope francis concluded by appealing for christians to stand

out as people of compassion and self—sacrifice. that is all from me for now, i will be back with the main news at 11:30pm. from everybody here, enjoy your christmas afternoon. goodbye. good afternoon. it is very mild outside so hang on in there. this was the scene early on the north yorkshire coast and this is the scene early on the western coast of scotland. what a contrast. it is all to do with this weather front which has brought cloud and rain into

western scotland and northern ireland but that will carry on through to the north west of england and wales, too. following behind, having had temperatures and 15 degrees would you believe towards aberdeenshire, it will fall away quite smartly behind this weather fronts, because cold air is on the way. ahead of it, if you are going out for the last couple of hours of today, 12—14d across the south. breezy, but south—westerly. a little bit of rain were the cloud is thick enough across parts of england and wales. the weather fronts comes down to in the evening with kirsty winds. —— gusty winds. watch out for those. things turn colder and consequently, showers ever wintry. on boxing day, a lot of cloud across scotland. the

winds here could be pushing towards 80 miles per hour. very disruptive and damaging, and nota day for 80 miles per hour. very disruptive and damaging, and not a day for the high ground in scotland. don't even think about it. the showers and the strength of that wind or a very u nfortu nate strength of that wind or a very unfortunate combination. northern ireland, england, wales, lovely. it will be five, six, seven, eight, 9 degrees. a lot of sport or shopping to be done, i'm sure you can fill the day. it will be quite gorgeous. tuesday and wednesday, high pressure the dominant feature. watch out, it will be colder and bright. tuesday isa will be colder and bright. tuesday is a very sunny day for many parts, but watch out for frost overnight and first thing in the morning. fog

will be an issue as well as the wind drops out. the queen this is bbc news. the queen the headlines... the queen misses the christmas day church service at sandringham, with a heavy cold, but will still celebrate with her family. meanwhile, the duke and duchess of cambridge are spending christmas with kate's family, the middletons, in berkshire. president putin declares a day of mourning tomorrow in russia after a military plane crashes killing all 92 people on board. a powerful earthquake strikes off the coast of chile, triggering is the coast of chile, triggering is the nominee warning. —— a tsunami warning. also in the next hour, in his christmas day sermon the archbishop of canterbury says the last year has left the world "awash with division and fear". while at the vatican, pope francis uses his christmas