hello. this is breakfast, with naga munchetty. george michael, one of the biggest music stars of his generation, has died at the age of 53. after a string of top ten hits with wham in the 80s, he had further success as a solo artist, selling more than 100 million albums. we'll look back at his career. good morning, it's boxing day, monday the 26th of december. also today: a day of mourning in russia for the 92 people who were on board a jet which crashed into the black sea on its way to syria. we'll find out how the community in hebden bridge has recovered from boxing day floods, which left dozens of families homeless and businesses closed.

everything was floating and downstairs there was one metre high. it was about a quarter of the staircase. boxing day sales have already started online — we'll look at how changes in buying habits have affected the traditional post—christmas bargain hunt. in sport, sam allardyce takes charge of a football match for the first time since he was sacked as england manager. his new side crystal palace, will face watford in the premier league. and matt has the weather. good morning. the storm brings a wild boxing day two parts of scotland. strong winds elsewhere with frequent showers. fairto elsewhere with frequent showers. fair to say it is a different story elsewhere. the sun is out and it should be a lovely day. first, our main story. one of the biggest pop stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s, george michael, has died. he was 53, and is believed to have suffered from heart failure. he rose to fame as one half of the group, wham! but went on to have a

successful solo career. he sold 100 million albums worldwide and had 11 uk number ones. nick quraishi looks back at his life. # you put the boom boom into my heart... suntans, bleached hair and upbeat songs propelled wham to number one around the world. they even conquered china. # last christmas i gave you my heart # but the very next day you gave it away. their most famous song heard every year will now have added poignancy. born georgios kyriacos panayiotou in north london, george michael was 12 years old when he met andrew ridgeley. they left school at 16 and set up wham in 1981. # and time can never mend a careless whisper. his biggest hit, careless whisper came in 1984 but was written and produced when he wasjust 17.

three years later, his solo album, faith, marked a shift from teen idol to serious singer—songwriter. #'cause i gotta have faith. with the success came brushes with the law. an arrest for lewd behaviour in a public toilet in los angeles. a driving ban in the uk. he had a stint in prison after crashing his car into a shop. george michael announced he was gay, later revealing he had been in the closet for years to prevent his mother from worrying about aids. in 2011 he nearly died in vienna after a bout of pneumonia. but more work was in the pipeline. a collaboration with producer naughty boy and a documentary called freedom which was due for release next month. when it came to pop music, george michael had it all — looks, voice and the ability to write a string of hits that will continue to be played for years to come. george michael who has passed away

at the age of 53. colin paddison joins us now. 11 o'clock last night and that is when the news came. i rememberjust being and that is when the news came. i remember just being shocked. and that is when the news came. i rememberjust being shocked. people ofa rememberjust being shocked. people of a certain generation. part of the p0p of a certain generation. part of the pop conversation for the last 30 yea rs, pop conversation for the last 30 years, he has been, and he has been so years, he has been, and he has been so identified with christmas with two best—known christmas songs of all time. do they know it's christmas? and the song that was kept off number will one in 1984, last christmas. people love it every year. so many tributes coming in for him as well. we saw in that report he has collaborated with some massive names and massive stars. that was one of the things. he was on top of the pops, and the songs he wrote and his voice the big names of

music wanted to work with him. elton john performed a duet with him. eltonjohn asked him to be a backup singer at one point because he knew what a talented voice it had. elton john said he has lost a close friend and a generous soul. his heart goes out with family and fans. aretha franklin, just after he left wham, thatis franklin, just after he left wham, that is to he teamed up with to perform a song. that was how he pulled off what so few people do and make the transition from boy band to a credible solo artist. and a very successful one as well. says produced for us number one. and then his up following albums, there were i'io his up following albums, there were no videos for them and then he started to tackle subjects different

to what he started with, jesus to a child tackled the death of a former lover to aids. thank you very much. russia is holding a day of national mourning for the 92 people who were killed when a military plane crashed in the black sea. authorities in russia say they've located the site where the plane came down yesterday, soon after it took off from sochi, heading to syria. 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg reports. 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. president putin offered his condolences to the families of the victims and promised

them his full support. 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'd been due to give a concert at the russian airbase in syria. translation: we loved the ensemble. we valued them. they are our brothers, friends, colleagues, may they rest in peace. also killed in the crash, a prominent medic known to millions of russians as doctor liza. throughout the day muscovites brought flowers to the headquarters of the russian army choir. this disaster has left russia stunned and silent. the uk should leave the european single market when it exits the eu, the former governor of the bank

of england has said. mervyn king told radio 4's today programme that trading under the same conditions as countries on the continent could stop britain from taking full advantage of the opportunities of brexit. i don't think it makes sense for us to pretend that we should remain in a single market and i think there are real questions about whether it makes sense to stay in the customs union. clearly if we do that we can make our own trade deals clearly if we do that we can not make our own trade deals with other countries. 50,000 thousand people in england at risk of type—2 diabetes could be helped by an nhs programme that's being extended from today. the advice on better nutrition and exercise had already helped 20,000 people. it forms part of a package of new measures to curb type—2 diabetes — including funding for more specialist nurses. japan's prime minister is set to visit pearl harbour, 75 years after the deadly attack that drew the united states into the second world war. shinzo abe is travelling to hawaii, where he will visit the naval base that was targeted by japanese bombers in december 1941.

more than 2,000 americans, mainly military personnel, were killed in the raids. an adviser to mr abe said he was not planning to offer an apology for the attack. train travellers will face significant disruption this week, as 200 sets of engineering works are planned by network rail. with so many trains cancelled or suspended, lots of people will be travelling by coach instead. so breakfast‘s graham satchell is at victoria coach station in london for us this morning. good morning. it is getting quite busy behind you. it is. this is one of the only transport hub is really working properly today. a busy day for many people as they head out the south or to visit relatives, to a football match. but i love you wa nted football match. but i love you wanted a train, you will struggle. why are there no trains? train operators say there is not enough demand to make it worth their while running services. yes, there are

engineering most of the network is open. having said that, looking at the thousands of people going through the station today, owing to places all over the country, it seems odd that the only place you can go to from london gatwick, stansted, brighton, oxford. a few trains around liverpool and some in glasgow. that is it. lettuce wrap up the other travel stuff. roads and airports. there was going to be astray, wasn't there? the british airways dispute is over. no problems that i see at heathrow or any of the airports for the some problems in the north of scotland and if you are travelling by ferry, for example, to the western isles all to shetland then check before you travel because many services have been counselled. interestingly, the shadow transport secretary today accused the government of not doing enough to get rail passengers moving on boxing day. the train operators do not have to run today and with that they are

not running today. think very much. —— thank you very much. millions of shoppers are expected to hit the shops today as the traditional boxing day sales get under way. however, research suggests that pre—christmas discounts — both online and on the high street — mean fewer people now turn up at big sale events. earlier on breakfast, retail analyst diane wehrle told us retailers need to focus on attracting customers into stores rather than offering discounts. retailers are in a difficult situation. shoppers expect discounts but what they really need to be doing is focusing on offering a fantastic shopping experience to encourage people back into stores and make them want to visit. you're watching breakfast. matt will be here in around five minutes to tell us what the weather's got in store for the next few days.

this time last year, the west yorkshire town of hebden bridge was being hit by a deluge of floodwater. homes, shops, and schools were all affected and the recovery work is still going on. breakfast'sjohn maguire reported from hebden bridge last winter, and has returned to see how residents there are coping. boxing day, 2015. torrents of water smashed through hebden bridge with no respect for who, where or what they affected, nor indeed for the time of year. 12 months on and riverside school is receiving a visit from the children's laureate chris riddell, who has helped flooded communities before. sketching as we talk, he says he is impressed with the attitude here. one comes into the community and sees how resilient they have been in the face of some very testy and trying times, and the way that often brings communities together. the head teacher has been forced to add construction project manager to her skill set. it has been a long return to normal. the heating system is running,

but not untiljust before easter. the children were fantastic. as were the parents. i emailed to ask them not to pull them out! some of the children saw damage both to their school and their home. everything was crashed and broken and we couldn't find any of our stuff and there was a massive canoe under our decking and we didn't know how that got there. it wasn't yours? no. we look downstairs and it was one metre high. it was taking up a quarter of the staircase. an essential part of the recovery is prevention. at this bookshop, a local mechanic has devised a way to keep the books high and hopefully dry. i absolutely think that we wouldn't have survived on our own. we just all pulled together, we genuinely did. hopefully it's all behind us. but it does feel like you're tempting fate to say that! whether you think flooding

is caused by global warming or overdevelopment, one thing for certain — when it impacats a community like this, it's very much a human response. it is people that drag this town back up, that gets the businesses, schools and families back on their feet. the shops either side were flooded. the pub that we are walking towards was flooded. and that sense of resilience, stoicism and community, that hebden bridge is renowned for, has been vital. the little things like none of the cash machines worked in town, so there was a regular scene of somebody saying, well, i'll drive to the next town, i'll take a bunch of people, we can go to a cash machine and get some cash. when the flood sirens sounds, everybody stops and hopes not to be hit again, but if it does happen this place will deploy its best asset in the fightback,

the town's people. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. the main stories this morning: madonna and sir eltonjohn have led tributes to the singer george michael, who has died at the age of 53. russia is beginning a day of mourning for the 92 passengers and crew who died when a military plane taking them to syria crashed into the black sea. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. it has been very mild of late. we enjoyed those christmas day walks, 01’ enjoyed those christmas day walks, or boxing day walks perhaps today? it certainly is mild. after the mild christmas day, today, for the

majority of the country, you can walk off the exodus of christmas trees. the blue skies are cooler than yesterday, but it won't be blue skies everywhere. in the northern half of the country it will be a wild and windy day. we have storm, the blame for that. it is currently to the north of shetland. —— storm conor. it is whipping up high seas. reports of 14 metre waves between orkney and shetland. under that zone we have a met office and the bee prepared warning in place. further damage and disruption could be possible. —— amber be prepared. there could be severe gales. frequent showers through the day, dropping snow over the hills. further south, any showers will fade away. a fine day in store. we could still have up to 70 mph in the far north of scotland by the end of the

afternoon. there will be showers packing in as well. it would be hard pressed to avoid them in scotland. the cold day. northern ireland has a fuchsia hours into the afternoon and sunshine to end the day. some showers in the far north of england. the rest of england and wales, a great day to get a walk in. the winds easing the rout, even if it is substantially cooler than it was yesterday afternoon. with the cooler day a cooler night will follow. still showers in scotland. dating back to spots of rain in orkney and shetland later, loosely becoming dry. —— feeding back. a widespread frost developing in england and wales. temperatures in the south midlands getting as low as —6 or seven. frost in parts of ireland. isolated in central and eastern parts of scotland. this is where we have sunshine for tuesday. a couple of showers. most have a dry day on

tuesday after the crisp and frosty start. another great day for a walk. plenty of sunshine around and temperatures on the fresh side, at about 6—7 degrees. high pressure still in charge into wednesday. in southern eastern areas, with the winds light, and a frost there will be dense patches of fog. that will hamper some of the roads and airports in eastern england. most will have a dry day, a bit of cloud in scotland and northern ireland. sunniest of all to the south and west. certainly after a stormy christmas spell it is set to turn quieterfor christmas spell it is set to turn quieter for the christmas spell it is set to turn quieterfor the rest of christmas spell it is set to turn quieter for the rest of the week and the leader of the new year. —— lead up. still hat and scarf weather. definitely! isn't it, mike? did you get any for christmas? i a lwa ys did you get any for christmas? i always do. so all of those times you are going

out, you need to wrap up warm. crystal palace versus watford today. a big game. sam allardyce back in management, a few months after having to leave the england job. but he has this reputation for keeping teams up. that's what they have hired him for, the midas touch, avoiding relegation. sam allardyce will take charge of his first premier league match as crystal palace manager at watford this afternoon. the former england boss took over at selhurst park last friday, just a day after alan pardew was sacked. he's already got his eye on the january transfer window and wants to keep his best players, as well as adding to the squad. rumours that may float around, that people might be interested in our players, is also of great concern when you are manager, because that is very disruptive and can put a player off his game. we don't want any of that. we are trying to recruit and make the squad a bit bigger,

with more strength and depth. that would be a key area for me, but i think the players here are good enough. but also if we can add to that, let's try and do it. chelsea, who have a six—point lead at the top of the premier league, are at home to bournemouth. they'll set a new club record, if they make it 12 straight league wins against bournemouth, although they'll have to do it without n'golo ka nte and diego costa, who are suspended. they are working very well this week to try to find the solution to play good football, to continue to win, to take the two points. we all know that it won't be easy against bournemouth because they are a very good team, with great organisation. it's been nearly five years since arsenal lost three games in a row in the premier league. they're faced with that prospect today.

defeats to everton and manchester city have seen them slip nine points behind chelsea at the top and manager arsene wenger is determined to stop the rot at home to west brom this afternoon. we are ready for a fight and we want to respond. i think in 20 games we lost the last two, but our quality has been consistent since the start of the season and we want to respond in a strong way and in a determined way. i think everybody is focused to do that. david moyes will make his first return to old trafford as a manager this afternoon, when his struggling sunderland side take on manchester united. moyes replaced sir alex ferguson in 2013. he was proclaimed the ‘chosen one', but lasted only ten months, as united struggled under his stewardship. the current united boss, ‘the special one', has sympathy for his opposite number. i don't feel it as a person, i feel a great history of the club. only positive things and not negative things.

in a certain period, when probably david come, the situation was not so easy, it was not so easy to go in that direction. at the same time, and i think this is even more important, the premier league was changing. elsewhere, burnley take on middlesbrough. leicester are at home to everton and relegation—threatened swansea are at home to west ham. you can keep right up to date with the action on final score on the red button, as well as on five live and the bbc sport website. the first day of the second test between australia and pakistan in melbourne has been abandoned due to rain. pakistan were 142—4. look at them! play will resume on day two at 11pm, ourtime. them! play will resume on day two at 11pm, our time. remember australia on the first test. and its one of the highlights of the racing calendar — steeple chasing's mid—season

championship, the king george the sixth chase, at kempton. the big showdown. last year's winner, cue card, one of the sport's long—term stars, faces his up and coming stablemate thistlecrack for the first time. that is such a good name! thistlecrack, it sparkles off the name. you couldn't say it if you were a bit tired. it doesn't work. thistlecrack! well said, keeping me up. time now for a look at the newspapers. the broadcaster rob mccloughlin is here to tell us what's caught his eye. good morning. good morning, merry christmas. happy boxing day. we will ta ke christmas. happy boxing day. we will take a look at the stories you've picked out, but let's have a look at the front pages first. the news that george michael has died came late last night, so the second edition shows this in the daily mirror,

george michael dead at 53. the front page of the times as well has the news that... the first part of his career in wham!. it's as he died peacefully. the sun says george michael has died at the age of 53 suspected heart failure. the daily telegraph has a look at the greed of foreign aid groups to be exposed. the picture it has on its front page is of prince george. and the express has a look at the queen —— lee's state of health, saying she was too ill to attend the christmas service in sandringham. it is understood she has a cold. george michael's death. it's a real shame, a tragedy. 53 yea rs it's a real shame, a tragedy. 53 years old. i suppose one of the interesting thing is, as you said,

it is difficult for the papers because it happened so late last night. some of the papers, including the daily mail, carry some of the tributes, mainly drawn from social media. eltonjohn, tributes, mainly drawn from social media. elton john, who tributes, mainly drawn from social media. eltonjohn, who was very close to him. but they did have a difficult relationship and they did fallout when elton john was difficult relationship and they did fallout when eltonjohn was seen to be giving him particular advice about drugs and the misuse of drugs. at eltonjohn about drugs and the misuse of drugs. at elton john commented about drugs and the misuse of drugs. at eltonjohn commented last night that he is heartbroken and his thoughts go out to the family and his friends. george michael was also, earlier this year, his friends. george michael was also, earlierthis year, it his friends. george michael was also, earlier this year, it was announced he was going to make a new documentary, take part in a new documentary, take part in a new documentary, the channel 4, taking back on his —— looking back on his life. it has been such a dreadful year. we are at that age, when people of a certain generation are getting to a certain age. it is a day of mourning in russia. 92 people tragically died in a plane crash, a

plane that was bound for syria. russia is now saying the investigation has begun, but it is refusing to rule out terrorism. lot of the papers today spent yesterday going through the tragic stories of individuals who died. there are remarkable stories. it seems there's always a story the person who actually avoided the tragedy and there is a story about a soldier who woke up and discovered that it was announced he was dead and infact that it was announced he was dead and in fact he couldn't make it onto the plane because his passport was out of date, so he didn't go on it. he was one of the survivors. there are other stories about other family members, young parents who have been killed, so it's a terrible tragedy for the family. and you are right, the russians, because the plane was en route to syria, they aren't ruling out the possibility that terrorism is involved in this. although the likelihood, especially

in reports carried overnight by reuters, indicate that this is possibly more likely to be mechanicalfailure. possibly more likely to be mechanical failure. as i possibly more likely to be mechanicalfailure. as i said, that investigation is under way at the moment. we were taking a look at the christmas messages were coming through from the archbishop of canterbury yesterday, the queen's christmas message. nigel farage has taken umbrage. i thought the rule was that politicians would stay away from christmas day? we had one from theresa may. that they would make m essa 9 es theresa may. that they would make messages in the lead up, but allow faith leaders to stand by and make their messages on christmas day. but nigel farage has tweeted, saying the archbishop of canterbury was far too negative and that we should ignore his message. his message yesterday was of course about 2016 being a period of creating at the end of 2016 period great uncertainty and on predictability, which was picked up in some of the messages that were also carried by the pope and other people. —— unpredictability. but

nigel farage has told the archbishop of canterbury, stop it and start talking positively about britain. would you hit the shops today? we we re would you hit the shops today? we were talking about the boxing day sales. but we have had so many sales in the run—up to it, i wonder why you need the boxing day sales. yes, the papers are quoting that yesterday we spend something like £386 million online. why won't people watching strictly and dr who instead ? people watching strictly and dr who instead? today the papers predict that we might break all records, with £4 billion worth of tills ringing. you are right. some of the stories today suggest that computer shops are reducing prices by as much as 50%, leading department stores by as 50%, leading department stores by as much as 80%. is there anything unique —— you need that you will get out and buy? nothing. i will not be shopping today. i got a credit card deliberately. did you grow smack

with will chat later! —— did you? we will chat later. still to come on breakfast... we will be remembering george michael, has died at the age of 53. later we will speak to a producer who filmed documentary about the pop star, as we look at that his life. hello, this is breakfast on boxing day with naga munchetty. now, a summary of this morning's main news. george michael, one of the biggest pop stars of the 80s and 90s, has died. he was 53, and is believed to have suffered from heart failure. he rose to fame as one half of the group wham alongside andrew ridgeley, who has paid tribute to his co—star saying he would be forever loved. george michael went on to have an incredibly successful career both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians, including aretha franklin and sir eltonjohn. he sold 100 million albums and had 11 uk number ones.