# so we jumped into our cars and now we're here at the 02 # it's going to be a crazy night # nojokes about my height! # the night is young #and so aml # got a gorgeous twinkle # in my eye! # don't feel dismay # we'll only stay for seven hours # a cavalcade of comic folk # each one with a differentjoke # an epic carpool karaoke # to make you happy music changes to "gangnam style" by psy # you won't believe that we all showed up # to fill your cup with red nose glee # a paradise of pros # as hilarious humour flows but we promise: # no puns, no puns, not one pun # just another night of fun

bollywood music plays. every time. give it up! who cares about awards? # just give to a good cause today # so if you've got a quid # just give it to a kid # don't be a selfish git # on this red nose day of fun # another red nose day of fun! ladies and gentlemen, this is red nose day 2017. please welcome jonathan ross and sir lenny henry. cheering and applause hang on.

red nose day 2017, make some noise! welcome to the only show in the world that needs a government health warning 7 yes, we are live, yes, we are dangerous and yes, if rehearsals are anything to go by, we are going to get in trouble with the bbc! but what the heck 7 it'll be worth the ban if we can raise a huge amount of money! are you with me? as for that opening, how annoyed would you be when you heard the traffic report? "there are severe tailbacks atjunction 11 on the ma, owing to a spillage of annoyingly upbeat musical theatre graduates here a day and already,

we've been kicked out of buildings one to five. now, lenny, i don't think anyone will disagree with me when i say that you are the daddy of red nose day, which, i suppose by default, makes me the mummy of red nose day, right? and technically, that means this lot must be our comic relief offspring. ladies and gentlemen, meet the kids, starting with... joe lycett! luisa omielan! rob beckett! greg davies! it's romesh ranganathan! sally phillips! and we give you an actor, a presenter, a writer and director. you can't put this guy in a box, because it's considered "cruel". it's warwick davis! hold on, hold on. greg. do you want to explain to everyone why you're holding a towel, a loofah and a rubber duck?

well, lenny. i was told tonight that i'd be hosting my very own portion of red nose day, which i was told would be dignified and respectful. and then they showed me my "studio". i'm hosting red nose day... on top of the 02. in a hot tub. in march. what we do for comic relief, eh? it's going to be great. go and get in position. and from one impressive package to another, here's a look at what else is in store tonight. coming up: take that and james corden on carpool karaoke. find out what happened in the return of love actually. jeremy kyle faces his

toughest guest, jeremy kyle. shut i toughest guest, jeremy kyle. shut d toughest guest, jeremy kyle. shut up! ed sheeran gets the treatment. come on, i said a little bit of the guitar. stop getting carried away. sta rs guitar. stop getting carried away. stars join guitar. stop getting carried away. starsjoin graham guitar. stop getting carried away. stars join graham norton guitar. stop getting carried away. starsjoin graham norton on his biggest ever so far. russell brand will bring you the best stand—up comedy. and noel fielding and jonathan ross guide you through comic in this sleepy sussex village where he lived in his 20s, at the local pub, he slashed a man in the face with a knife and was sent to jail. didn't have a very good reputation, definitely. i remember he was a bit of a troubled character, i think would be the way to describe it. a family friend said this was not the only time he turned violent. a chap was looking at aidy, and i were sitting at the pool table, and he took umbrage against the landlord fo looking at him like he was, the landlord was looking at him, and he flew over the bar, he got a glass, he was going to do him. masood spent time in three prisons.

lewis, waylands and ford. around ten years ago, he worked in saudi arabia. it is not clear when he converted to islam, but he started using his current surname at least 11 years ago. his mother now lives in a remote farmhouse in camarthenshire, which detectives searched yesterday. they have not been in any sort of contact with their son for well over 20 years, i understand. at the end of the day, when it comes to terrorism, unfortunately, nobody can be responsible for the action of their children. we now know he launched his terror attack after staying overnight at a hotel in brighton. he stayed in room 228. he seemed happy, staff said, i'm troubled by what he was about to do. but he was about to leave his hotel room to drive to london to kill. he was joking and smiling and friendly. he was a very, very friendly person. he was a lovely guest, i liked him, and she even put comments in the system as a nice guest. there was nothing in his conduct or demeanour which would have let me get a feeling, there was something weird about this guy. and he'sjust on his way to commit mass murder. detectives have searched the hotel and there have been more raids and more arrests. in manchester, a car was taken away by police in didsbury. two arrests described by senior officers as significant were

made there and in the west midlands. police are still trying to build a picture of the man who came here to attack westminster. they say their main aim now is to try and work out if he was acting alone, inspired by terrorist propaganda, or if they are others still out there who encouraged him, supported or even directed this attack. but it's clear there are still gaps in the police sum up on bail, some are being released in custody, no we are getting to the deliberate slow part of the investigation working through the computer data they have received. we'd know that masood's iphone or smartphone had connected with the whatsapp messaging app. it's an encrypted one, just minutes before he drove across the bridge, killing people as he went and then stabbed that police officer, causing fatal injuries. that was a significant moment. that's a lot of ha rd significant moment. that's a lot of hard labour to be done by police. i get the sense that they have an idea what the story is about what happened but all or was he working with others in this active carnage?

—— act of carnage? what about those who are still injured? there are some people who are still very seriously unwell in hospital and scotla nd seriously unwell in hospital and scotland yard is concerned about one of their officers, for example. this is still a significant part of the concern here at scotland yard, andi the concern here at scotland yard, and i think they are now hopeful that the death toll won't rise any further. but still that is something which they are worried about. daniel, for the moment, thanks. the fourth victim of the attack — who died last night — has been named as 75—year—old leslie rhodes from clapham, in south london. he was crossing westminster bridge on his way to or from a hospital visit when he was hit by masood's car. 50 people — from 12 different countries — were injured in the attack. three remain in a very serious condition in hospital. our correspondent sarah campbell reports.

as the number of tributes continues to grow, so, too, the number of people killed in the attack. friends and neighbours here in clapham are mourning the loss of 75—year—old leslie rhodes. he was a retired window cleaner. he would clean the windows, take your rubbish downstairs, he would do anything for you. to be there at that precise time, and get hit by that maniac, mean, it's unbelievable. he will be sorely missed, he was a lovely man, old school. aysha frade, who was on her way to pick up her two daughters from school, lost her life on the bridge, as did kurt cochran from the united states, in london, celebrating his wedding anniversary.

and pc keith palmer, pictured here with an american tourist in the hour before he was stabbed to death. an online appeal by the metropolitan police federation for his family has reached more than half £1 million, double its target. among the seriously injured is police constable chris davies, who was hit by the car along with two other police officers. in all, up to 50 people were injured in the attack. most have been now been discharged from hospital. some are well enough to talk about what happened. i didn't want to die, so i wasjust like, i'm going to be ok, i'm going to try to convince myself that i'm going to be ok. and that my legs were going to be ok. but i was horrified, i was scared for my life. i said, i didn't want to die. andrea cristea, the romanian woman who was pushed over the barriers by the attacker‘s car, is still unconscious but is now stable. she was in london with her boyfriend, and the country's ambassador told me

today that the fact she survived at all is a miracle. they were tourists, they were coming to london to celebrate her birthday. he intended to ask herfor marriage the same day. and this was unfortunately the destiny. prince charles, with 19—year—old student travis frain, pictured today during a visit to kings college hospital. this is one of several hospitals across london which are continuing to treat the injured. staff too are coming to terms with the magnitude of what they had to deal with. it was inspiring, the way people worked together and communicated to deal with the patient in front of them. it didn't matter how many would be coming, you knew you would just keep working. it was really quite something. today at westminster abbey, in a show of solidarity, religious leaders joined together for a minute's silence to

remember four who were killed and the many more who were injured. sarah campbell, bbc news. in belgium, prosecutors have charged a 39 year old man with attempted terrorist murder after a car was driven at high speed towards crowds in antwerp's shopping district yesterday. the suspect is a french national of north african origin identified as mohammed r. he's also been charged with possession of weapons — after several knives and an unloaded shot gun were found in the car. getting rid of so—called obamacare, the scheme to provide healthcare for millions of americans, was one of the main planks of donald trump's election campaign. but it now looks like it could fall at the first hurdle. he's demanded a make—or—break vote tonight on his troubled healthcare bill to replace it. and he's issued an ultimatum to fellow republicans saying if they don't back his reforms, they will be stuck with obamaca re. that point was enforced by the white house press secretary sean spicer at

a white house press conference a short time ago. in the president has made it clear that this is the train thatis made it clear that this is the train that is leaving the station and that he expects everyone... this is our opportunity. he has a lot left on the agenda but he wants to get done, whether it is immigration, taxes, the border wall, there are so many other things that he wants to get done that we are not going to sit around and figure out, this is the opportunity, this is the time for every member who has said that they wa nt to every member who has said that they want to repeal or replace obamacare to put their vote in the yes column. sean spicer. laura becker is in washington. can you remind us what is in this? when it comes to repealing the affordable care act or obamacare as it is known it is about what insurance coverage people get as part of a packet. part of the problem is, we have a republican

party who don't like doing this anyway. they fear the hand of government in something so personal as health insurance is a hand too far. they want to step back and let people choose what health insurance they get but that leaves people who cannot afford it out on a limb. under obamacare, people were required to have health insurance and the premiums for those people are kept low, the premiums for others were forced higher and that is why it's become so unpopular. so here we are with the new bill on the table. donald trump has been here all week trying to negotiate, trying to find some kind of compromise. those moderates in the republican party say its moderate, or goes too far, takes away too many peoples insurance and the conservatives in the party say it doesn't go far enough, they want more stripped out of it. the two sides cannot agree. donald trump says, i've given you

the deal, either vote on it today or i leave obamaca re the deal, either vote on it today or i leave obamacare in place. a cunning strategy but a risky one.|j understand paul ryan, the speaker of the house, has given some indication of how he thinks it will go. what does he say? he has sounded a bit more hopeful, he's been to the white house and talked to donald trump. we can only imagine the conversation. he has probably said, we don't have the votes. if you look at us media outlets what they are doing is running around trying to talk to various republicans who they know will vote no and figuring out if they have changed their mind. so far we are seeing an account of around 30. they can only afford to lose 22 votes, no one really knows what will happen. you'll have to be the best fortune—teller in the world to know what will happen within the next hour. when it comes to political drama on capitol hill, all eyes are on it. we will no doubt be back with

you later, for the moment, thank you very much. we'll keep an eye on that debate and the vote when it happens. an employment tribunal has ruled that a self—employed cycle courier for the firm excel was actually "a worker". andrew boxer argued that he was entitled to one week of holiday pay based on his work for excel. the tribunal said that the firm unlawfully failed to pay mr boxer. the ruling adds more legal weight to claims that some firms in the so—called gig economy are engaged in "bogus self—employment". the telecoms regulator is calling for automatic compensation for broadband customers waiting for repairs to beat added up. ofcom says sky and virgin media have put forward a voluntary scheme but it didn't go far enough, the plans could affect 2.5 million customers who would receive up to £185 million in new payments every year. at the moment compensation is only paid toa

paid to a small number of customers. the headlines on bbc news. it is 60 minutes past seven. the westminster attack. police make two more arrests as they try to find out of khalid masood was working alone. president trump is battling to get his new health care bill through congress. the vote is due in the next couple of hours. a bill of £50 billion to the united kingdom to leave the eu. the head of the european commission puts a price tag on brexit. next week the prime minister will trigger article 50, the official start of divorce talks with the european union. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, says the eu won't try to punish britain during the brexit talks. but on the eve of celebrations marking the eu's 60th birthday, mrjuncker insisted the british government would have to pay what it owed before leaving, a sum of about £50 billion. from brussels, here's our europe editor, katya adler. it is the eu's 60th birthday and it's rolling out promo material

and the red carpet to celebrate. eu leaders are gathering in rome for the birthday bash. the timing's a little awkward, of course, just as one of the club's most influential members — the uk — prepares to leave. jean—claudejuncker is the president of the european commission, which will be the lead eu negotiator in brexit talks. in brussels, just before leaving for rome, mrjuncker told me theresa may would be sorely missed this weekend. on saturday, there will be a celebration. the leaders of 27 member states will be there. u nfortu nately, yes. not 28, only 27. that surely is going to be the elephant in the room though, the fact that theresa may is not there. she is not an elephant. her absence... no, no. i like her as a person. i am deeply respecting the british

people, the british nation. we are not in a hostile mood when it comes to brexit. we'll negotiate in a friendly way, a fair way. fair and friendly, ok. so, what about the £50 billion the commission demands britain pays before it leaves eu, covering long—term budget commitments, for example. there will be no sanctions, no punishment, nothing of that kind but britain has to know, and i suppose that the government does know it, they have to honour the commitments, and the former commitments. to the tune of £50 billion? i don't have... i was not mentioning like that. 50 billion, 60 billion is around that. that is not the main story. we have to calculate scientifically. but before calculations

come celebrations. the eu's birthday party in rome will be resolutely upbeat, despite the many challenges ahead, of which brexit is only one. so theresa may is not an elephant, but as our director says, it would have been even better if donald tusk had said that! the overthrow of the egyptian leader hosni mubarak was perhaps the defining moment of what became known as the arab spring. but now, five years after he was found guilty of corruption, abuse of power, and involvement in the deaths of hundreds of protestors, mr mubarak is once again a free man. it follows a series of successful appeals which have now been formally upheld. his return home has left emotions across egypt running high, as yolande knell reports from cairo. thalia square, the cradle of egypt's

revolution in 2011. today, no revolution, just the roundabout. and after the autocratic president of 30 yea rs, after the autocratic president of 30 years, hosni mubarak, was overthrown, he has now been freed from detention. mubarak was the only leader put on trial as the result of the arab spring but in the end was cleared of ordering the killing of protesters. he served three years for embezzling public money. and during egypt's upheavals, many began to look back fondly on the mubarak era. one supporter said up a group called we are sorry mr president. —— set upa called we are sorry mr president. —— set up a group. translation: called we are sorry mr president. —— set up a group. translationzlj called we are sorry mr president. —— set up a group. translation: i knew from day one that he was an innocent man, because a man who once fought for the freedom of this country would never cull its youth. we won in the end. it is a great victory for a great man. on the streets of

cairo little attention is given to news that the man who millions once wa nted news that the man who millions once wanted locked up sentenced to death has been released. egyptians long for stability. and it elected in military strongman. his crackdown on pro—democracy activists. those who made sacrifices in tahrir square have found times are tough, this woman has injuries ever since she was beaten them but has continued working as a nurse in a field hospital and celebrated when mubarak was forced out. she is in despair that he has been freed. translation: i put that he has been freed. translation: iput upa that he has been freed. translation: i put up a facebook post saying, oh god, where are my rights? the rights of those killed and injured. many people sympathise. this release is a sign of the corruption in the country. six years ago i was here

during the heady days of the revolution. now many of its gains have been and done in the name of restoring order. mubarak‘s release, while many protesters remain in jail, leaves the question of whether any of those calls for reform and freedom were answered. bbc news, cairo. some breaking news regarding honours shown to two mps involved in the westminster attack aftermath, tobias ellwood, who tried to save the life of pct and palmer has been appointed to the privy council and security minister ben wallace also receives that honour and recognition of their roles in responding to that atrocity, that has just reached us from downing street. the father of the pilot who deliberately flew

a plane into the alps, killing 150 people, has marked the second anniversary of the crash by holding a news conference insisting his son is innocent. the official report into the german wings crash found that andreas lubitz may have been suicidal, and locked himself in the cockpit before flying the aircraft into the mountainside. but his father, guenther, told reporters that andreas was not depressed, and may have been overcome by fumes in the cabin. translation: we did not choose to do to hurt the families of the other victims, we chose it because we think today people will listen to us and hear that our son was not depressed at the time of the crash. with this report we are just looking for the truth. that claim has been poorly received by relatives of those who died, one of whom described it as an ‘affront to all of the parents who lost children' in the crash. a lawyer for several of the victims‘ families, said mr lubitz‘s actions were "irresponsible".

they're just 4 years old, but twins samuel and roman sharma managed to help save their mother's life when she collapsed at their home. roman found her iphone and used his mother's thumbprint to open it so that he could ring the emergency services. duncan kennedy has been speaking to the twins and their mother. when it comes to ingenuity, this boisterous pair don't do things by halves. four—year—old twins roman and samuel sharma saw their mum claudia faint on the floor. what did they do? panic, cry? oh, no. first, samuel picked up his mum's and to place her thumb on her iphone to unlock it and then they did this.

siri, call daddy. they used siri, the phone's voice recognition system to call, not dad but 999. what is your emergency? lam roman. the boys knew about siri by watching their mum and dad. i said, siri, 999. what happened ? the police and the doctor came. eventually mum was taken to hospital. as a parent you tell things and you hope things sink in but you do not expect it ever to happen or for them to remember what you said. they thought smartphones work, while smart. this is clearly a life changing piece of four—year—old philosophy.

ed sheeran, kylie minogue, eddie redmayne, simon cowell — just some of the celebrities taking part in this year's comic relief. and there's a mini—sequel to the film love actually which will premiere on bbc one tonight. lizo mzimba reports. # some things that happen for the first time...# 1a years on from hit romantic comedy love actually, its stars are back for a special short film sequel. like the original, it's been written and directed by richard curtis, who co—founded comic relief with lenny henry. it'll be shown during an evening that will be mostly comedy, but that will address other, more serious, issues. of course, it's been a difficult week with the events in westminster. will that be reflected in tonight's show? i think we all feel that tonight is about saving lives, and about people coming together, and about partnerships. so in itself, red nose day is a statement about how people do reach out to each other, help each other, and try to save and change each other‘s lives. so lenny will be talking

about it at some point. poor little baldy you. as always, some of comedy‘s biggest names will be appearing. shut up! david walliams has hosted a jeremy kyle special. shut up. infinity and no return. several famous faces will be auditioning to be the new voice of physicist stephen hawking's voice synthesiser, including actress and comedienne rebel wilson. i'm reading for the role of stefan hawking — the greatest enemy to knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. inevitably, much of the focus is on the celebrities and the red nose day studio. but comic relief‘s continuing success is really down to viewers at home and members of the public fundraising around the country. like in snaith, in east yorkshire, where a main road was closed down so that local children, and a few others, could perform a money—raising

song and dance number. # we'll be loving you till we're 70. all those taking part know that tonight is really about raising money. and celebrities like ed sheeran will be shown visiting some of the areas where comic relief‘s work makes a real difference and places where the charity's help is most needed. lizo mzimba bbc news now the weather with tomasz a chilly night on the way, some frost around tomorrow morning, here's the high pressure that will stick around all weekend, in the centre of the high, it is windlass,

calm conditions, starry, starry skies and missed forming in some spots like the vale of york. there will be frost so outside of town, first thing on saturday morning could be as low as minus four degrees in one or two areas. for most of us saturday begins on a beautiful old, a lot of sunshine, hazy in some areas and then we are infora hazy in some areas and then we are in for a cracking day with a lot of sun around, still some breeze around the south—east, feeling chilly closer to the coast, some areas on saturday could warm up to around 16 celsius, on sunday, fairly similar, western areas, the best of the sunshine, to the east, variable amounts of cloud. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: a huge investigation is underway into westminster attacker khalid masood, who had used multiple aliases. police have made arrests in the west midlands and the north west. he went to school in tunbridge wells — one former classmate has expressed his shock.

he was genuinely a nice guy. and i was upset today to think that he would have turned the way he has and upset to think what he's done to these poor families. in the us, president trump is battling to get his new healthcare bill through congress. rebel republicans are threatening to block the replacement for obamacare. the eu won't try to punish britain over brexit says the head of the european commission — but he warns there will be a bill to pay for leaving. can you go to your mummy and shake her for me. she's not waking up. the 999 call by these four—year—old twins who saved their mother's life — after they work out how to unlock their mum's phone. laughter and what happened next in the hit film love actually — all will be revealed on comic relief tonight.

more now on our main story. police are appealing for anyone who knew the man who carried out the westminster attack on wednesday to come forward with any information. ten people are being questioned in connection with the attack in which four people were killed. two of the arrests — in birmingham and manchester — are described as significant. the metropolitan police are trying to discover whether khalid masood — who had spent several spells in prison — acted alone. our correspondent ben brown spent today at the scene of the attack in westminster. he's been walking around the area at carriage gates outside the houses of parliament — where the attacker crashed his car and was able to get several metres into the parliament grounds. ben sent us this report. you can see armed police officers inside, the gates are closed, but the armed police officers are in there right now. on wednesday afternoon this is where the attacker khalid masood ran in after driving

across westminster bridge, he stabbed keith palmer who was on duty here, you stabbed him and he later died of his injuries. —— he stabbed him. he was given this is an agent by amongst others the foreign office minister tobias ellwood. the attacker was shot dead by one of the defence secretary's personal officers who was armed and nearby at the time, but there are questions about security here at carriage gate. some security experts have said this, for too long, has been a wea k said this, for too long, has been a weak link said this, for too long, has been a weaklink in the said this, for too long, has been a weak link in the security around the palace of westminster, and that the gates are open to long and vans come in and out making deliveries into the palace of westminster. as part ofa the palace of westminster. as part of a security review where the carriage gates should be looked at, as having been to vulnerable, but for now they are closed and you can see along here the tributes have been left for the fallen police

officer keith palmer. ben brown reporting from westminster. we arejust reading we are just reading that the house in the united states is now in recess, but they are meant to be voting on a replacement to obamacare before the health care bill which barack obama spent many years trying to get into law, and the republicans are trying to roll it back and they we re are trying to roll it back and they were supposed to be a vote tonight ona make were supposed to be a vote tonight on a make or break basis, but we are hearing that that vote has now been postponed and the house is in recess, and we don't know if they are going to bring it back this evening. whether they are going to put that on ice for another time, we don't know. we will try to find out. british scientists say they have made a major breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis. using genome sequencing they are able to isolate different strains of tb much more quickly, which means patients have a greater chance of recovery. our correspondent phil mackie reports.

the x—ray on the left shows a healthy chest, on the right the latter stages of tuberculosis. 100 years ago recuperation meant rest and fresh air, then as technology advanced came more breakthroughs. archive: the latest scientific step towards the detection of tuberculous is x—ray photography. by the 1970's tb rates in the uk were at an all—time low but as drug resistance grew the killer disease came back. now scientists in oxford and here in birmingham have made a major new breakthrough — in a world first, they've used genome sequencing to give a more precise diagnosis far more quickly. this is the machine where all the interesting science takes place, 15 samples go in here, for the next 25 hours it works out the dna sequence for each of those samples. patients ultimately will get better treatment because it means that the doctors will get those results and know the individual strains of tb much quicker. we are now using one single test that gives us all the information on the identity of the organism or something, is it tb or is it

another micro bacteria, what are the drug resistance mutations, what treatment can we use and this is related to other strains and should we be looking for a transmission never to intervene and prevent further spread? genome sequencing could be used to treat other diseases with massive indications or the nhs. most importantly it will save lives and if we can show that using the most modern technology can help reduce the time it takes to identify who's got tb, get them onto a treatment programme, then we can move closer to what we all want which is to eradicate tb from the shores of the country. the uk has some of the highest tb rates in western europe, birmingham is one of the areas worst affected. this clinic has been here for more than 80 years, the patients have an even better chance of a full recovery. if we can start people in the treatment they need to have quicker, they will have less long damage and they will be cured quicker, back to work quicker and it will be better for them.

instead of spending months in hospital, patients with complex drug resistant cases of tb have been sent home afterjust a week with a much better chance of long—term survival. phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. a quick line from washington, regarding the replacement of the obamacare bill and we understand paul ryan will hold a press conference in about 20 minutes. and 110w conference in about 20 minutes. and now it is time for meet the author. who doesn't enjoy a story which delves into the supernatural? the new novel the doll funeral delves into a strange place, and a strange kind of solace with ghosts, an

adopted child's life is wound together in another world where we can't be sure what is real and what is emerging. welcome. —— what is imagined. i read that you were moved and horrified as a child by grimms fairy tale and there is so much of that spirit in here. i had a very old edition of grimms fairy tales, from around the turn of the 19th, 20th century, and they definitely were not sugar—coated in that version. in some ways i feel the original fairy stories are crime stories to a great

extent. and i was steeped in that from quite an early age. they are horror stories, about lost children and children being eaten and fees walls coming out of the forest. —— fees walls. but our imaginations are stirred by these things —— cs course. they speak to fundamental truths within ourselves, and that is something which i've never shaken off, definitely. especially in this book. it begins with the revelation toa book. it begins with the revelation to a young girl, 13, that she was adopted and she's not the natural child of the parents that she is living with and she is confronted by the unknown right at the beginning, which is what we are talking about. definitely. she finds out on her 13th birthday that she is adopted and her reaction to this is that she

i’u ns and her reaction to this is that she runs out into the garden. she is delighted and she sings the joy, she looks at the sky and she sings for joy, looks at the sky and she sings for joy, but there is a reason for this because her life has been so brutish until that point. but that was a very strong central image, starting image for the book, i think. over a girl just bursting out image for the book, i think. over a girljust bursting out the back door, almost like a camera was following behind her. it was the jumping off point for the whole book. what she then does is to immerse herself in an alternative world, in the darkness of the forest of dean, dark in every sense, physically dark but also dark because there is evidence of the supernatural and there are strange people living different lives. in that sense it is a journey into the unknown. very much. fairy tales again come in here because a lot of

them, the forest is so important in fairy tales, it is about maybe straying off the path and goodness knows what is going to happen if you do. it could be dangerous. it is often people looking for turner tips, as well, to the world for them path —— alternatives. that is what ruby does in the forest. it is a dark place, and there is a very strong supernatural element to this story which i won't go into in detail, but it will spoil it for the reader. she finds that the division between the real world and the past world and the world of her imagination, is a division that she can get rid of is the. she slips between them quite come to be. -- get rid of easily. the book is about

how the past in axe its present on the present and it is kind of, can you break away from that? it's the past resonating with the present, and ruby is trying to escape that. she goes through trials, through fire and ice, all sorts of things, and it is the question, can we escape oui’ and it is the question, can we escape our past? can we make a new future? with a different outcome. can we find a different part in the forest. it isa it is a story that we all know. it is an interesting age, you are on the threshold and the cusp of so many things, and it is an age where

things happen for you and also can go badly wrong quite easily. the girl in the red coat made a big reputation for you. like that but, this book is written in a way that grabs you from the first page, are you one of those writers who thinks that really in the end everything is in the first 11—5 paragraphs? that really in the end everything is in the first 4-5 paragraphs? that is interesting. the way i write, i write the beginning, may be the first two chapters, something like that, and then very quickly move on and write the last paragraph, definitely the last line which doesn't seem to change. that suggests that they are related. yes. that is very interesting, because there are people who head off into there are people who head off into the white blue yonder and say, where will this idea take me. you are not one of these. no. there can be

various ways and things can crop up, in there. things develop. did beat supernatural element grow in your hands once you had got your teeth into the story? i think it did. there is a character called shadow, quite a tricky dark little character. little input. his presence was much lighter in the first draft, but i found, and this is what i find more than anything, it is the characters that kind of target on your sleeve and he was one of those. do you find yourself susceptible to the idea of occurrences which are inexplicable? i have not experienced it but i know people who have, and it is fascinating. the supernatural thing is the mind, fundamentally. and

actually the mind can do anything. it plays tricks we can't understand. exactly. to go back to where we began, this takes us into the world of the fairy tale because that kind of the fairy tale because that kind of story, the gothic gloom and the simon of some of those old fairy tales, —— and the power of some of those old fairy tales, it never fades, does it. there is something about these folktales, these old stories, that just go about these folktales, these old stories, thatjust go very deep. about these folktales, these old stories, that just go very deep.“ you picked up the battered old copy of the grimms fairy tales you would know what the pitch was going to be before you turned each page. —— picture. that is so true, and the use “— picture. that is so true, and the use —— the illustrations are so familiar. kate