with side of scotland it will be with them for quite some time. overnight lows of four or 5 degrees, for bell first,. rain will move to the north of northern ireland, one or two showers but a lot of dry and bright weather. quite chilly underneath the rain in scotland. into sunday, we will see wetter weather across england and wales. rain followed by sunshine and showers, scattered showers across scotland and northern ireland. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: there are signs that both sinn fein and the unionist dup are polling strongly in the northern ireland assembly election. ulster unionist leader mike nesbitt has resigned after a disappointing performance by his party. air accident investigators say the pilot of a vintage jet

which crashed at the shoreham airshow was flying "too low and too slow" when he started a loop. their report said the display could have been aborted. 11 people died on the ground. theresa may has accused the snp of neglecting public services in scotland — because she says it's obsessed with the issue of independence. the snp has rejected the prime minister's criticism. now on the bbc news channel we've got the first in a series of special programmes bringing you the highlights from the uk's city of culture 2017. hull's year in the spotlight began on new year's day with a huge fireworks display — and now thousands of people are flocking to the city for 12 months of art and culture. here's anne marie tasker and kofi smiles. hello and welcome to hull, the uk's city of culture for 2017. a 365 day celebration

of all things arty and culture. we are at hull truck theatre where the royal shakespeare company have upped sticks from their home in stratford—upon—avon to come here and on the world premiere of a brand—new play. called the hypocrite, about the english civil war. we will take you behind the scenes with actors caroline quentin and mark addy. we will find out why this 75 metre long turbine blade has landed in hull city centre. and take a look at the tiny footprints making a giant artwork celebrating life, birth and memory. as you can see there is already quite a buzz at hull truck theatre.

but then again it's not everyday that the rsc up sticks and move to a new home temporarily. but then again it's not a usual year for hull, we are the uk city of culture for 2017. i'm the arts and culture correspondent for the bbc in hull. and this is kofi smiles. i'm the face of hull, chosen by the bbc to tell the world about the city of culture, after i auditioned here. you can see the stage, it's just down there, round past the toilets. it's three months since kofi was over there auditioning by the toilets. but if, unlike him, you weren't here in hull for the start of 2017, here are the bits you missed. ten, nine, eight... seven, six, five... four, three, two, one. it was in with a bang onjanuary1st with three and a half tonnes

of fireworks over the humber and a spectacular light display telling the city's history. what do you think to the unbelievable display? i thought it was amazing. absolutely fabulous. i've got family in canada and they are watching it live now. i'm from london and if this was in london, i can't find the words to explain the reaction you'd get. absolutely fantastic. it's amazing. hurray! fantastic. absolutely fantastic. really moving, very emotional. yeah. i'm from brazil and spent a couple of years in copacabana and to be honest this is the same quality here. this was amazing. i'm so proud of hull. it's absolutely amazing. ijust think it will launch a really positive year. if that opening looked very much to hull's past, the next spectacle to grace the city centre looked

very much to its future. looking at hull's place in the world's industry of building offshore wind turbine blades. here's kofi to explain. despite what you're thinking, what you're looking at didn't come from outer space. since january this monumental piece of art has taken up residence in hull city centre. it's an incredible 75 metres long and to put that into perspective, i'm about six foot, so i would fit along this 41 times. that's a lot of kofi. so if the blade didn't come from outer space, how did it get here? the answer is very slowly and very carefully in the middle of the night. here, you can see it making its way through the city centre. its journey began in the siemens factory in hull's alexandra dock.

they make a lot of wind turbine blades are usually they end up out at sea and not in the centre of a city. i'm excited. i'm going to take my daughter who is eight years old and let her have a look at it. because we are in the unique position where we can see these blades up close and personal and even touch them, which blew my mind, which it did the first time i saw one in the factory. it takes weeks to make every single blade. the result is this incredible handmade object, somewhere between a whale bone and the wing of a giant robotic bird. but is it art? so, that's got to be 30 degrees. in that direction. that's it, that's the angle. what we are asking, by declaring it to be an art object, is to challenge and make people think about not only the values that it represents, but what it means to place this kind of production into the heart of the city. it doesn't feel like a wind turbine blade here. when you are looking at it like this, it feels like it is something organic, feels like a bone. that's how the blade was made, which brings us to the small matter of transporting it here to the very centre of hull, from a factory three

miles down the road. in one piece. it all started in the middle of the night to try and keep its arrival secret. the blade is so big no normal lorry can carry it, so a specialist haulage team used remote—controlled vehicles. one of the main roads into the city was closed and 50 pieces of street furniture, lamp post and traffic lights, had to be lifted out and then put back. as it got near the square, there was a seriously tricky 3—point turn, not easy when you are manoeuvring the equivalent of eight buses end to end. by dawn it had finally arrived in the square. and as the city woke up on the 8th of january 2017, there was just one job left to do, the very delicate task of lowering the blade into position on to two plinths. fortunately the blade did make it safely into queen victoria square in the centre of hull. what do the locals think?

let's find out. it's modern. it's something that you won't see anywhere else. it's quite big. i'm surprised there's no sign saying mind your head. would you consider it a piece of art? it is kind of a piece of art, yes. it's kind of avant—garde. out of place. everything can be art, really, it really depends on how you look at it. it is like art but then it is used for a job. so it's like art used for a job. notjust like in a frame. some people feel it's a feat of great engineering and not art. some people think it's because it's so beautiful and unique. i think it's amazing because it's getting people engaged and talking about what they consider art. but what ever you think about it, you can't deny that it grabs your attention. and walking through the city centre in any direction, you simply can't miss it. but you have to be quick if you want to see the blade because it's only going to be

here until the 18th of march. until then, it's going out the way that it came in. but is notjust about what's great in hull, this is a uk wide arts festival, showcasing the best in the world. that's right. the arrival of an italian masterpiece has caused a stir in the city centre but you are the art expert and i'm pretty sure you can tell us why. i certainly can, and this is it. hull's ferens art gallery has always prided itself on its collection of paintings and sculpture. and for 2017 it wanted to raise its game and after spending millions on refurbishment it needed a new superstar exhibit to match. and this is it. it's not the biggest work of art and it's far from the most expensive, but christ between saints paul and peter is still something special. because it's the only painting by pietro lorenzetti in the uk. not much of his work still exists in

its originalform, this is a fragment of a much larger altarpiece, but when they bought it here for more than five and pounds in 2012 it's set a world record for the artist —— £5 million. but time had not been kind to this tiny work of art, buried under varnish, dirt and clumsy repairs. so in 2013 the painting was sent to the national gallery in london to be worked on by one of the world's best restoration teams. repairs were done a long time ago using gold coloured bronze, powder, as paint, and that has discoloured enormously into a kind of slimy green and black. smears across much of the background. st peter was quite buried under layers of varnish. the fact that paul is wearing these kind of wonderful

lilac and mustard robes when he arrived, he was looking like a francesca and mike, he looked very brownie grey —— franciscan monk. francesca and mike, he looked very brownie grey -- franciscan monk. you might be thinking who is lorenzetti? he is not grow well known in this country, but one of the biggest developments in the history of art might never have happened without him. lorenzetti worked as a painter in 14th century italy and in the tuscan city of siena and was probably taught in the workshop of this late medieval master, but in a time when religion dominated art, they started to paint their spiritual figures they started to paint their spiritualfigures in a more human, more naturalistic style, with more perspective, something that paved the way for world —famous perspective, something that paved the way for world—famous artists like michelangelo, leonardo da vinci, to develop in the

renaissance. lorenzetti along with a few others stands at the beginning of this new movement which developed since the renaissance which is so important for the development of art throughout europe so we're looking ata art throughout europe so we're looking at a art tulisa —— piece of art which is at the start of this approach, which is concerned with natural appearances and human psychology. something that already is talking to us in a language we can understand. but restoring the painting was a huge task, the scientists had to remove a virtually insoluble crust of the same mineral founding gallstones to try to get the lorenzetti back to how the painting himself would have seen it. i think we are closer, but the picture has changed colours and faded and things have happened which can't be reversed, but there is less between you and lorenzetti then there was. in january this year,

after i'm told hours of work, the lore nzetti after i'm told hours of work, the lorenzetti came home to hull and was on failed to great fanfare. on show alongside loans on the national gallery, the 700—year—old artwork was seen by around 60,000 people in the first month alone. lorenzetti has been a big draw for people because it is so different to what we have in the collection, it is amazing to have this seven —— 700 year artwork here, people are intrigued to see how it has survived and made it here to the gallery. intrigued to see how it has survived and made it here to the gallerym might be small but this painting has become a mighty attraction. and a treasure for the nation. still to come on britain's city of culture, alex posted look behind the scenes of the rsc show the hypocrite —— our explosive look. and we look

at the giant artwork which is reflecting life, birth and memory in hull in 2017. but first this is my guide to the best of the rest and some highlights to look forward to. the installation of coloured lights was the first series of 60 committee based projects. i think it is brilliant. it makes you feel really good that you are part of the city of culture. hollywood icons has taken the city by storm. the artist photographed members of the public re—enacting their favourite film posesin re—enacting their favourite film poses in different parts of the city. humber street gallery is a brand—new arts —based near hull marina, home to contemporary art including the provocative and challenging transmission exhibition. hot lot was exactly what it said on the ticket, audiences paid £5 but did not know what they would see on the event started. anything from

spoken word to film. these tracks, these unbelievable streets. i'm not 100% on spoken word, but some of the a cts 100% on spoken word, but some of the acts have been unbelievable. so engaging and funny. potluck. fantastic. still to come, flood, an ethics during which includes a word performance, online elements and a bbc broadcast —— an epic. and a circus show taking place in the general cemetery, and the royal ballet will help reopen a theatre after a transformation with a special gala performance. the actors are about to go on stage for the opening weekend of the hypocrite.

it's a play that brings together the welsh expect company and hull's playwright richard bean who is best known for one man, to governors. playwright richard bean who is best known for one man, to governorsm isa known for one man, to governorsm is a swashbuckling farce about the dish civil war. we have been looking at the rehearsals from the start. in january the royal shakespeare company found a new temporary home in hull, a disused church on a housing estate. the english civil war starts now. who will make the first advance ? war starts now. who will make the first advance? it's a play which is hull through and through, written by a playwright from hull, it is being produced here and is based on a key moment in hull's past. this is a very historic spot for hull. the inspiration for your play. in 1642

hull was a town, very secure fortress town, and sirjohn holland stood on the beverly gave low wall and he spoke directly to the king and he spoke directly to the king and he spoke directly to the king and he refused him entry at that moment. he became treacherous and a moment. he became treacherous and a moment and would be executed. the writer richard bean started researching his lead character more than two years ago. but rather than a historical drama he has turned the events of 1642 into a comedy. a historical drama he has turned the events of 1642 into a comedylj thought events of 1642 into a comedy.” thought i would be doing the politics, but when i started reading all of this, these original papers, it's like reading a farce, a french farce. that final thing where the governor of the town is running on his own chaste, i'm not going to say benny hill. i could see that in your eyes. richard bean had found his central character. and being claimed

another yorkshireman. tv and film store mark addy. i've spent the last couple of days running around inside a cardboard box which represents a commode. for reasons that are too complex to explain, but yes, farce is ultimately a physical form. richard bean's probably our best comedy writer at the moment. especially in terms of farce. he can ride a farce like nobody else. be more careful next time. while the actors rehearse, work started on the project of building the sets. the largest they have ever made at this bitter. backstage they are even converting offices into dressing rooms to make stage for the 21

strong cast. the play is filled with tricks and illusions. from a sword through the neck to mark addy being beheaded on stage. the man in charge of pulling it off work on behalf of potter play in london, and he says this show is proving just as tough. you have people watching from three different sides so where are sometimes you can do things with magic and you don't want people to be able to see from the size, with this, you have got to think about those things because everyone is up close and they are closer than in a conventional theatre. at one point there is a sword which goes through a neck. this is a solid thing. that is quite a feat. that is the challenge. solid sword through a neck, but we are doing it. tell us how. i can't, it's magic. big stars and a big cast and a big—name theatre company, creating the biggest theatrical moment of 2017 so

far. and one other stars caroline quentin. best known for tv show member having badly but alighted to be taken to the stage for this play. apart from paying the bills, why did you want to take this role?” apart from paying the bills, why did you want to take this role? i was sent the script by richard bean and eve ryo ne sent the script by richard bean and everyone knows he's a great playwright and i had worked with him ona playwright and i had worked with him on a workshop years ago and i really liked him as a man and then i went to see one man, to governors, and i thought, yes, he relies what he's doing. my agent said you have been sent a play, i read five pages, i was with my husband, and i said, i've got to do this play. i couldn't bear the thought of somebody else playing lady sarah before i did. i really glad i'm doing it first. even though it means living away from home for three months.”

though it means living away from home for three months. i am a long way from home. i live in devon. if you live in london or manchester is not such a hugejodie, but it is a long way from the south west to hear. —— huge journey. long way from the south west to hear. —— hugejourney. the really great piece of work like this, they don't come along very often, they genuinely don't. it has been an amazing response, the tickets have been the fastest selling in the history of this theatre in as karen location. do you feel any pressure knowing that so many people are going to be watching? brilliantly for me, it was sold out before i was connected with it. ifeel for me, it was sold out before i was connected with it. i feel no pressure at all, but actually the people of hull, and i know it will have a longer life, this play, but the people of hull are going to love this play. member having badly is what you are best known for and given a cold feet as had a revival, has anyone asked you to do that ain? has anyone asked you to do that again? not yet. there is always talk

about that coming back, it is one of the most asked questions, really. i've never heard of there being a revival. but with cold feet coming back, i've worked with mark, as well. anything is possible. you just don't know in this game. you vydra don't know in this game. you vydra don't know in this game. you vydra don't know what you're going be doing next. that's what's great about it —— you really. doing next. that's what's great about it -- you really. how much are you looking forward to opening night? it is very nerve-racking. it gets worse. the older you get. you don't remember lines as well. it's nerve—racking. it is nerve—racking. but i'm really looking forward to the people of hull seeing this play. because they will, there's so much great stuff in it, they... some of

thejokes, great stuff in it, they... some of the jokes, they are so deeply entrenched in the culture here. they will love it. they will love it. caroline quentin might be one of the big names coming to the city of culture, but at the heart of this is the notion that art can transform lives and give something back to a community. as part that the city of culture had given at 60 to community groups, orto culture had given at 60 to community groups, or to anyone who has had a good idea, really, and one of those people was a midwife from the maternity hospital. kate has been to meet her and some of the newest arrivals in hull in 2017. at hull women and children's hospital thousands of babies are born every year and for those born in 2017 there's a chance to be part of a very special art project. it is time

to do the baby's footprint. it doesn't hurt the baby but it does make them cry. this morning at four hours old, baby lana is making her mark on history. there we go. i'm very proud. it makes it more exciting and more magical. something to look back on, definitely. it's all the idea of midwife sally ward. when i found out hull was going to be the city of culture i thought, what better idea than to start right at the beginning of life. babies will be born into the city of culture and that is how we came up with the name of the project, it would be lovely to celebrate birth and do something special for the hospital. on an average between 15 and 20 babies born in this hospital every day, 400 footprints being taken by these midwives every month, and by the end of 2017 they expect to have a collection of more than

five and a half thousand footprints. the idea is that we scanned these feet and this is all of january. 281. each scan is based on a piece of artwork and this is generated here, and we go on to build up the piece of artwork. some are bigger than others? yes, there are a couple of spikes in babies being born, one around march and one around september, i've been told. you might think why that might be. what were people doing minos before. yes, say, at christmas. the size of the footprints vary from large babies to the tiny prince of those which haven't survived. we felt it was important that it was not just a celebration of both, but also remembrance, and we want all babies to be included for 2017, so mums have a choice if they want their babies to be included, and even if they have been stillborn we will

still do that footprint and that will go on the artwork. we are going to stump this on the piece of paper. back at the hospital baby theo is the latest to join the born in the city of culture project. conceived through ivf and born prematurely he is now thriving and his parents kate and becky say they are thrilled he is taking part. he has such big feet, as well. he is absolutely beautiful. they could not wish for anything better. it is great that he was born in 2017 and the little footprint is a great idea. it will bea footprint is a great idea. it will be a gorgeous tribute to him and a lovely tribute to the staff, as well. that's all from the whole truck theatre and the city of culture. plenty to come, next time we will be speaking to battling barbra, she was the world's first women's boxing champion. and we'll

be looking at the symphony forward macro, composed by sir karljenkins. if you can't hold out until the spin, head over to the website, for hull 2017. goodbye. see you soon. good evening, there is a disturbed look to the weather in the next few days. we will see a fair share of rain and many have seen rain so far today, big puddles on the front garden in barnsley. through the weekend, expect more of the same. we will see more rain at some stage this weekend. a bit of sunshine in the mixture. the best of the sunshine in northern scotland, but

thatis sunshine in northern scotland, but that is the rain working its way north and there is more to come. across eastern areas and scotland, the rain on the eastern side, that will be with you for some time, pretty miserable night in northern ireland. wet and windy. plenty going on overnight and maybe snow on the high ground of scotland. 3—4 in glasgow, 7—8 in cardiff and london. tomorrow morning will be miserable in the eastern side of scotland, wet and windy. cold, as well. snow on the high ground. wet through the morning. northern ireland with rain into the morning. any early rain will not last long. it will clear into the north sea. parts of england will do ok in the morning, with cloud and sunshine, and mostly dry. showers waiting in the wings and they will be coming in on the breeze, the western side of wales

and england. central and western areas largely dry, the wet weather will ease away. replaced by showers. there is the wet and windy weather in the north east of scotland, easing its way north. 6—7 in scotla nd easing its way north. 6—7 in scotland in the afternoon. double figures in much of england and wiles. snow on the alps this weekend. —— wales. there is a risk of avalanches. but back here it is all about rain of avalanches. but back here it is allabout rain in of avalanches. but back here it is all about rain in the second part of the weekend, england and wales will have the wettest and windiest weather. rain followed by sunshine and showers for england and wales, and showers for england and wales, and for scotland and northern ireland they have the better of the two days with just scattered showers. monday and tuesday, some wetter weather, along the south coast of england on monday, may be affecting south wales. tuesday, bright start, clouding over, and then we have wetter and windy weather spreading from west to east,

later on on tuesday. an unsubtle glut of things. stage and for the forecast. ‘s is in the news. in iraq and apparent chemical attack on east mosul has left 12 people including children injured. as many more remain trapped in the conflict, a trapped commander of so—called islamic state says using human shields is justified. as islamic state says using human shields isjustified. as members of the northern ireland assembly are elected it seems sinn fein and the dup will remain the largest parties. police search them home of a man associated with recent threats to a number ofjewish associated with recent threats to a number of jewish centres. associated with recent threats to a number ofjewish centres. and are we there yet? this is the scene streamed live from animal adventure park in