one of the royal ballet's most recent promotions to the top level of principal ballerina, yasmine naghdi, is half belgian, half iranian. made principal at the same time, francesca hayward is half english, half kenyan. exceptional talent and long hours of preparation have helped them both reach the most senior positions in the company. they also know their backgrounds have huge symbolic value. i feel very proud that i can inspire the younger generation to strive to do what we do, and that's what this is about is inspiring younger generations. i'm really proud to be here, to show that, you know, it is literally for anyone, of any colour, any background, no matter how much money you have. as well as showcasing diverse talents at the very top of the company, the royal ballet is also working hard to plant the seed as early as possible that the ballet can be accessible, can be interesting for anyone and everyone.

one, two, three, four... turn! the company takes part in an outreach programme in a range of schools — an opportunity to try and convince children that ballet might be something they can enjoy watching or even doing, whatever their background. i like it quite a lot, especially the way it's involved with a lot of plays, stories. at first, doing ballet, i thought it would be a bit boring, but it's actually fun. for teenagers, dancers like misty copeland are also changing perceptions. she's the first black principal ballerina at the american ballet theatre and a social—media star, with more than 1.5 million instagram followers. there's still a long way to go in convincing everyone about the changing nature of ballet, but all of these are being seen as significant steps in persuading people they might be surprised in how it's transforming.

lizo mzimba, bbc news. newsnight is coming up on bbc two, with evan davis. here on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. hello and welcome to sportsday. coming up, kane leads the premier league charge for the ballon d'or. he's made it onto the 30—man list of nominees again. england have two on the list for the first women's ballon d'or. we'll catch up with the squad ahead of tomorrow night's friendly against australia. and we'll hear from the wigan and warrington camps ahead of saturday's grand final, with sam tomkins hoping to bow out with another trophy. as soon as i decided that

i was going to leave the club, you know, my focus was to win a trophy and leave the way i did in 2013, which was really special. welcome along to sportsday with me, sarah mulkerrins. more premier league players than ever before have been nominated for the prestigious title of world footballer of the year — the ballon d'or. 11 out of the 30 play in the top flight of english football. just the one english player. no surprises, it's harry kane — the second successive year he's made the shortlist. the spurs striker captained his country to the semi—finals of the world cup and finished top scorer at the tournament with six goals, winning the golden boot.

plenty of other stars, of course, from the world cup are on the list. eden hazard is there. he reached the semi—finals with belgium. also has had an excellent start to the season at chelsea, scoring eight goals so far. but he may not necessarily be staying there. he has been speaking again about his dream of playing for real madrid as he heads off to play for his country this week. another belgian on the list is kevin de bruyne, also nominated. the midfielder was key to his country's success in russia and to his club manchester city's premier league title triumph. and of course, the world cup winners france, they have a few nominees — tottenham's hugo lloris, n'golo kante of chelsea and manchester united's paul pogba are all there. antonie griezemann, karim benzema, kylian mbappe and raphael varane make up the rest of the french contingent. and this is all the premier league players who have made the list. the full 30, which also includes wales‘ gareth bale and five—time winners cristiano ronaldo

and lionel messi, is on the bbc sport website. and for the first time this year, a women's ballon d'or will be awarded. and two england stars are on the list. 15 women are named in total, including chelsea's fran kirby and lyon's lucy bronze. bronze won the bbc‘s women's footballer of the year award back in may. brazil's marta won the fifa award this year. full details on the website. both those england players should be involved against australia in anotherfriendly at craven cottage tomorrow night. jo currie has been with the squad today. the world cup is fast approaching. yesterday marked eight months until the tournament gets under way in france. but the lionesses have a few hurdles to step over before then — namely hosting australia at craven cottage tomorrow evening. it comes after an impressive victory over brazil on the weekend, but manager phil neville has warned his squad that the team

from down under will pose a much greater threat. we've not played australia for a long time, and jody taylor plays in australia and tells me all the time how physically fit they are. i actually do think they could be one of the dark horses to win the world cup. tomorrow night's match will be the lionesses‘ first game in the capital for four years. last time out, they were thrashed 3—0 by germany at wembley. but a lot‘s changed since 2014, not the least of which the training and recovery. i will let midfielderjordan knobs explained. it involves inflatable unicorns. we started off with the ducking and training, throwing about. so the unicorns are now the soul of our team. and i think to relax and take your mind off football for a bit. it just allows the team to be kids and have a few minutes of relaxation.

someone who will not be making a splash tomorrow isjill scott. the manchester city midfielder has been ruled out of the match with an ankle problem, but neville says he's not too concerned about losing one of his most experienced players, especially when he has farah williams poised to make her 170th cap. she's got experience. she is fantastic around the camp. and the girls have so much respect for her. when she walks into the room and speaks, they listen. the lionesses are only expected to play once more in 2018, sweden lined up in november. it means players are under more pressure than ever before to impress tomorrow night. jo currie, bbc news, london. leicester's ben chilwell has been called into the england men's squad after luke shaw withdrew because of injury. chilwell made his debut in last month's friendly against switzerland and will provide cover at left back for the nations league games against croatia and spain. the fa are investigating comments

made byjose mourinho at the end of manchester united's match on saturday. united came from two down to win 3—2 at home to newcastle. mourinho appears to have sworn in portuguese and made a gesture to the camera as he walked off after the final whistle at old trafford. british number one kyle edmund has reached a career—high of 14th in the world tennis rankings. he made it to the semi—finals of the china open last week and he's moved up two places, but more impressively, he's risen from 50th at the start of the year. edmund has been british number one since march, when he passed andy murray, who's now number 262 in the world. the former australia opener matthew hayden has thanked hospital staff for looking after him after he suffered a fractured neck while surfing. he posted this picture after the accident in queensland in which he broke a bone in his neck. hayden — now 46 — retired in 2009 after scoring over 8000 runs for australia, with 30 centuries from 103 tests.

the build up to super league's grand final gathered pace today. warrington wolves and wigan warriors players spoke to the media ahead of saturday's showpiece at old trafford. wigan are aiming for their third win over warrington in recent finals. but of course, the wolves will be desperate to put that right this time. richard askam reports. music. for warrington and wigan, it has all come down to one game. jack hughes ducks and scores! it's pretty hard to keep it, you know, calm. but, yeah, just looking forward to it. leuluai has scored here! if i won a grand final, it would be... i don't know. someone would have to wake me up, cos it'd be a dream. for both sides, this will be a final with an extra emotional edge. several wigan warriors players will wear the famous

cherry and white for the last time, including this man. and tomkins puts the skids on, and over he goes! it's huge. as soon as i decided that i was going to leave the club, you know, my focus was to win a trophy and leave the way i did in 2013, which was really special. you know, it's a dream come true, and if i could do it this year, you know, it'd be even more special. and for shaun wane, a lifetime with his hometown club as player and coach will come to an end after the final, and what he hopes will be a third super league title. it'd be perfect. it'd be perfection. it would be my dream. and i'd walk out a very, very happy man. i don't think about losing. it doesn't enter me head. and for warrington — beaten challenge cup finalist — there's the burning desire to make sure they don't lose this one. what happened this year's gone. you know what i mean? we've got to take all the emotion out of it. they'll be high in emotional with, obviously, shaun leaving

and a few of the players leaving, but we've got to take all that emotion out of it and just concentrate on ourselves and bring a 80—minute performance, like we did last week. down that right—hand side. and tommy lineham is over! it's a magnificient stadium here at the theatre of dreams, and, you know, we'll enjoy the week for what it is and be ready to go come saturday. the warriors have got the better of the wolves in two recent grand finals, but both sides know that is likely to count for little when they battle it out for the big prize once again at old trafford on saturday. richard askam, bbc news. now finally, have a look at this. i think you would call it extreme penalty taking. some players may get nervous, might want to play it safe. or you might to back flip! that is the rubin kazan youth team player norik avdalyan. let's have another look because it

is so good. phenomenal! to have the nerve to be able to do as you dig a penalty. that's all from sportsday. coming up in a moment, the papers. bye— bye. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me this evening are liam halligan, the chief economics commentator at the daily telegraph, and dawn foster, who's a columnist for the guardian. we will be speaking to them in just a little while. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. let's ta ke let's take you through them. the daily telegraph says the uk

is attempting to block the return of at least nine britons held in syria over links to so—called islamic state. the express tomorrow claims just six of britain's police forces have officers on their front desks, despite soaring violent crime. the metro carries the story of the 42—year—old mother of eight, who's been named as the second person who died from a suspected allergic reaction after eating a sandwich bought from pret a manger. the daily mail tomorrow claim that pret a manger‘s fresh baguettes are actually made in a french factory and can keep for up to a year. the guardian says the investigative website bellingcat has identified the second suspect responsible for poisoning sergei skripal as alexander mishkin. they say he's a doctor, working for russia's gru military spy agency. the i has news of a £40 dna test that can predict risk of heart attack from an early age. more.

according to the daily mirror, strictly‘s seann walsh has been dumped by his girlfriend rebecca humphries following photos of his kiss with pro partner katya jones. let's ta ke let's take a little bit of a more in—depth look at then. do you want to kick us off, liam? before we get onto strictly come dancing... we're going to see a lot of this on the 29th of october. this is a story about a lack of money for the police. i'm sure we'll see the defence ministry, thejustice ministry, roll out their concerns too. only six police forces in england and wales now have staff on the front desks. there have been 700 fewer staff ava ila ble the front desks. there have been 700 fewer staff available for that front desk duty given up the paperwork and wait policing is changed. 600 police stations, we learned, have closed since 2010, which as you say, is

during a period when violent crime has been going up. i had of the budget, this is, these figures are coming into the public domain the way they do for his papers at the right time for police to make their case in england and wales that they need more cash. and this will resonate with a lot of people, wanted? boly 71 for a long time now they do not have the money. —— absolutely. for a long time. what do we see straightaway? what the police office rs we see straightaway? what the police officers warning they don't have enough money, another staff there. this will also resonate with a lot of people at home. regardless of what people say when they see police tackle crime... people want is a police. if you've only got six police. if you've only got six police force note people in front desks, when several