this is bbc news. the headlines... what is it like living in the jungle? well, it's... it's rather dull and boring, really. the actress dame june whitfield — best known for her roles in the sitcoms terry and june and absolutely fabulous — has died at the age of 93. the uk's immigration minister defends the government's handling of the increase in migrants crossing the channel. he is on his way back and he will be at his desk on monday, but yes, he has taken control of the situation. i'm in regular contact with him and we had a conference call yesterday. one person has died and 23 people have been taken to hospital after a minibus overturned in the scottish borders. more than £100 million is to be spent chartering

extra ferries to bring in vital supplies in the event of a no deal brexit. also in the next hour — more than 1,000 people are named in the new year honours list. they include the british divers who rescued a boys football team from a cave in thailand, twiggy, who is made a dame — and michael palin, who receives a knighthood. and at 10:30 and again at 11:30 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, the independent‘s chief political commentator, john rentoul, and lucy fisher, defence correspondent at the times. the comedy actress, damejune whitfield, has died. she was 93.

best known for her roles in the bbc sitcoms terry and june and absolutely fabulous, june whitfield started acting at the age of three before going on to study at rada. sarah campbell looks back on her life in entertainment. kiss me, kiss me, bite me! i can't — i'm a vegetarian! in a career spanning seven decades, june whitfield played alongside some of british comedy‘s greatest talents. what's it like, living in the jungle? well, it's... drums play it's rather dull and boring, really. i realised very early on that i was never going to play the glamorous, you know, leading lady roles. and serious roles, i always thought oh, i'd better not do that —

they might laugh at me. and laugh they did. as a comedy performer she first found fame on the radio in the 1950s, appearing in take it from here opposite jimmy edwards. she was soon featuring on television foilfor she was soon featuring on television foil for comics she was soon featuring on television foilfor comics like she was soon featuring on television foil for comics like benny she was soon featuring on television foilfor comics like benny hill and frankie howard. in the 1970s she teamed up with her regular comedy partner, terry scott, in terry and june. hello, darling, i'm having awful trouble deciding what to give you tonight. well, you can start on an explanation. i'm talking about food, what about eating out? what about the garage? 0h, i'd much prefera restaurant! it was gentle undermining comedy, hugely popular and it ran for eight yea rs. hugely popular and it ran for eight years. —— under demanding.

but to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab. inside of me there's a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? and even in old age she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. and, in a statement, shane allen, the controller of bbc comedy paid tribute to the actress saying june whitfield was the north star of british comedy. let's speak now to the comedian, barry cryer — who was friends

withjune whitfield and had spoken to her recently. we heard about the range of roles she played, what was the secret of her huge success? amazing versatility. the command of the voices and a complete lack of ego, shejust voices and a complete lack of ego, she just wanted to be part of the tea m she just wanted to be part of the team and do what was required. she was amazingly versatile.|j team and do what was required. she was amazingly versatile. i know you spoke to her very recently. she had continued her career right into her 90s. yes. absolutely fabulous, as was mentioned, she never stopped, and it was quite amazing. roy hard told a marvellous story, he did a radio programme and the actors

playing margaret thatcher was leaving and playing playing margaret thatcher was leaving and - roy playing playing margaret thatcher was leaving and - roy in aying playing margaret thatcher was leaving an: and | roy in aying playing margaret thatcher was leaving an: and june in aying playing margaret thatcher was leaving an: and june let iying playing margaret thatcher was leaving an: and june let slipj playing margaret thatcher was leaving an: and june let slip she about this, and june let slip she would love to play margaret thatcher. roy admitted, could you really do that? in the scene that night in the pantomime, as the fairy queen, she played it as margaret thatcher. he said, you've got the part. and is there a particular role that you remember with particular fondness? yes, take it from here, that was mentioned. that was my first introduction to june that was mentioned. that was my first introduction tojune and one of my firstjobs when she was pretty young, when she really got noticed, of course. so many different roles

but always somehow she was a woman with whom so many people felt they could identify. yes. as i said, i can't think of any other comedy performer who had such a range. she could do any voice required. she could do any voice required. she could play any part required. people knew this. the number of people she worked with. every comedy start she had worked with at some point, she was amazing. —— comedy star. had worked with at some point, she was amazing. -- comedy star. when she started out she was really forging a role in an acting industry where there were not many female comedy performers. that's right. she was really coming through as a formidable woman performer in that

male dominated world. in an era when 110w male dominated world. in an era when now so many actors male dominated world. in an era when now so many actors and actresses say they struggle to find roles as they get older, she seemed to be struggling with so many offers. they never stopped. jennifer saunders, of course, knew that and had her back obviously, and that was quite a few yea rs, obviously, and that was quite a few years, butjune obviously, and that was quite a few years, but june was obviously, and that was quite a few years, butjune was still there.|j know you were a close friend of hers, what are your personal memories? just how natural she was. com plete memories? just how natural she was. complete lack of ego. just talking to her. if people didn't no, they wouldn't have known what she did for a living, she was completely natural and delightful. barry, thanks for

joining us, thanks for sharing your memories of dame june joining us, thanks for sharing your memories of damejune whitfield who has died at the age of 93. the national news is coming up shortly. the government defends its handling of the rise in migrants crossing the channel after calls for more patrol boats off dover. with more than 200 people arriving in the past two months, the immigration minister blames organised crime gangs trading in human misery. a man's dead and 23 people are in hospital after a minibus overturns in the scottish borders. after the christmas chaos at gatwick — sussex police say some of the drones seen over the airport may have belonged to their own force. it was completely out of the blue, a shock. but the nicest shock in the world. who wouldn't want to be dame twiggy?! the former model is recognised with a new year honour alongside

michael palin and hundreds of members of the public. i'm having full trouble deciding what to give you tonight... and after more than seven decades in showbusiness, the actress damejune whitfield has died. good evening. the government has insisted that it's working "very effectively" with france to tackle an increase in the number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. more than 200 people have arrived since the start of november and there have been calls for more patrol boats off dover. today the immigration minister, caroline noakes, held talks with border force officials. richard lister reports. you're iranian? you have to be desperate

to make this journey. these migrants were picked up crossing the channel earlier this month. 0thers arrived yesterday — part of a growing number using ill—equipped boats to flee war zones, persecution and poverty. in dover today, the immigration minister met border force officials to consider their response. the home secretary, sajid javid, cut short his christmas holiday to tackle what he is declared a major incident. the government says french cooperation is vital. what we want to make sure is that we continue to work with the french so that people are prevented from leaving beaches in northern france, to make sure that we are providing joint operations both in terms of intelligence and policing. the number of migrants heading for these shores is minuscule compared to the million or so who tried to cross the mediterranean three years ago. but the figure is rising — up from about a dozen or so who successfully crossed the channel last year

to the more than 220 who made the crossing since the beginning of november alone. so why the sudden surge? in the autumn, french police intensified efforts to clear migrant camps around dunkirk and calais, leaving large numbers of people looking for ways to leave france. secret filming by the bbc a few weeks ago revealed that people smugglers have now become increasingly organised in helping migrants cross the channel. translation: a boat, it will cost you £3000 to £11000. it is border force vessels like this one that have to intercept them. there's only one on active patrol here at the moment and some say there should be more. there is no resilience within border force. we've got no spare capacity to increase and put resources into trying to stop this, trying to deal with these large numbers as they arrive. we are stripped to our bare bones. there is nothing more the border force has got to give.

the government is weighing up whether deploying more patrol boats would deter migrants and save lives. or if it would give these desperate people more of an incentive to make the crossing. richard lister, bbc news, dover. more than 1000 people — including monty python star michael palin, the model twiggy and the england football captain harry kane — have been recognised in the new year honours list. and hundreds of members of the public have been honoured for their service and bravery — including a father who campaigns against knife crime after his teenage son was killed. 0ur correspondent, lizo mzimba, has more. you want me to do what? i'm going to go round the world. michael palin says he's immensely grateful to receive a knighthood for services to travel, culture and geography. i've done lots of things in my life, none of which i felt were totally worthy of such recognition. but maybe the cumulative effect is one of some kind of achievement. the world's top

fashion cover girl... leading fashion figure leslie lawson, better known as twiggy, has been honoured for her work in the arts, charity and fashion. i didn't expect it, it was completely out of the blue, a shock. but the nicest shock in the world. who wouldn't want to be dame twiggy?! in the world of entertainment, westworld and line of duty actress thandie newton becomes an 0be. as does downton abbey star, jim carter. and here must be the happiest englishman in the british isles tonight... in the world of sport, former england rugby captain bill beaumont has received a knighthood. i got a letter in the post and i opened it up and thought, crikey! absolutely delighted, surprised. and really pleased. welsh tour de france winner geraint thomas is made an 0be. also becoming an 0be, england football manager gareth southgate, while captain, harry kane, is made an mbe. the majority of honours have gone to people who aren't in the public

eye and who never expected this time of recognition. kiyan prince was murdered when he was 15. his father set up a foundation which educates young people about the dangers of knife culture. we have a platform now. we have influence with the 0be. so this is something that we can actually make happen. we can have a real impact on knife crime with this platform. and then we can get the premises, we can create the opportunities for young people, build the role models we need. this is awesome, man. britain's longest—serving lollipop lady — beryl quantrill from cleethorpes — has also been honoured with the british empire medal. it was my birthday. when i got my letter i was over the moon. i couldn't wait to tell my son when he came in. i never thought i'd get an award, anything. i just thought they would say goodbye to me and that was it! just one of the often unsung heroes being honoured. lizo mzimba, bbc news.

congratulations to all of them. sussex police have acknowledged that some of the sightings of drones over gatwick airport which grounded flights and left tens of thousands of passengers stranded before christmas may have been reports of devices belonging to the force. the chief constable, giles york, said police had not yet identified the drone that originally caused the chaos — but he was certain it did exist. 0ur correspondent, andy moore, has been following the story and joins me now. exactly what did he say? you may remember that last weekend police said they found damaged drone near the perimeter of gatwick and they thought this might well be the drone that caused so much problems for around 140,000 people. today giles york said that two drones had been found near the airport but he was ruling both of them out of police enquiries. last week and a senior officer from the force said there

was a possibility there were no drones over gatwick and mr yorke said today this was not the case, he said today this was not the case, he saidi said today this was not the case, he said i am certain there was a drone flying throughout the period the airport was closed. he also said for the first time that police drones we re the first time that police drones were launched to survey the area and look for suspects and he said they could have caused some confusion. 115 sightings of this rogue drone and at least 93 of incredible, say police, but no video footage. thank you. a man has died and 23 people have been taken to hospital after a minibus overturned in the scottish borders. the accident happened between carr—fraymill and gordon the accident happened between carfraemill and gordon 0ur scotland correspondent, catriona renton, sent this report from the scene. this was the scene facing emergency crews responding to reports of a minibus that overturned. it happened just before 11 o'clock this morning. the minibus had been travelling from newtongrange to kelso, with 23 adult passengers on board plus the driver.

it's believed they were on an annual day out to the races. the minibus overturned on this stretch of road between the tiny villages of carfraemill and gordon. one man was pronounced dead at the scene. his next of kin have now been informed. the other passengers and the driver were taken to various hospitals for treatment. police initially declared the collision a major incident. as evening fell, the minibus was lowered onto a recovery truck. officers have asked for anyone concerned about loved ones to get in touch. an horrific accident, just days after christmas, what should have been one of the happiest times of the year. catriona renton, bbc news, in the scottish borders. a woman has appeared in court accused of murdering her toddler twins. the children, a boy and a girl who were almost two years old, were discovered at their home in margate early on thursday morning. samantha ford, who's 37, appeared at canterbury magistrates‘ court. she's been remanded in custody until monday.

more than £100 million has been spent on extra capacity on ferries to ensure the delivery of critical goods in the event of a no deal brexit. the ships have been chartered by the department for transport to ease congestion at dover and allow more lorries through other ports. here's our business correspondent, joe miller. it might not look like much now, but if the uk leaves the eu in march without an agreement and dover turns into a parking lot, this port will play a vital role in getting emergency medicine to british shores. in the run—up to christmas the department for transport quietly awarded three shipping groups lucrative contracts to provide up to half a million tonnes a month of additional freight capacity. the french firm brittany ferries and danish company dfds got the bulk of the money with deals worth around £47 million each while a small british start—up got £14 million. five uk ports, including plymouth,

poole and felixstowe, will benefit from additional traffic, as will portsmouth. in offering this safety net we will be helping to provide the essential goods and services that people in the uk relay on. so, yes, it is very good news for us but it's also good news for the uk. this is the no—deal brexit contingency plan — predominantly french and danish vessels making dozens of additional trips across the channel each week and taking thousands of lorries with them. but the shipping industry is already saying that extra capacity along the english coast won't help solve the problem of delays to critical goods because of new customs checks. anti—brexit campaigners say public money is being wasted on an entirely preventable scenario. the whole purpose of brexit is supposed to be to bring back control to britain and then we have an imaginary national emergency and the government's got to turn to european companies

to sort out their problems for them. the department for transport says it has other no—deal preparations in the offing. but insists the government hopes the day it needs to use them never arrives. joe miller, bbc news, portsmouth. the death has been announced of the actress damejune whitfield. in a career spanning seven decades, the 93—year—old starred with many comedy greats and made her name in the bbc sitcoms terry and june and absolutely fabulous. sarah campbell looks back at her life. kiss me, kiss me, bite me! i can't — i'm a vegetarian! in a career spanning seven decades, june whitfield played alongside some of british comedy‘s greatest talents. what's it like, living in the jungle? well, it's... drums play. it's rather dull and boring, really. i realised very early on that

i was never going to play the glamorous, you know, leading lady roles. and serious roles, i always thought i'd better not do tha — they might laugh at me. and laugh they did. as a comedy performer she first found fame on the radio in the 1950s, appearing in take it from here opposite jimmy edwards. in the 1970s she teamed up with her regular comedy partner, terry scott, in terry and june. hello, darling, i'm having awful trouble deciding what to give you tonight. well, you can start on an explanation. i'm talking about food, what about eating out? what about the garage? 0h, i'd much prefera restaurant! but to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab. inside of me there's a thin person just screaming to get out.

just the one, dear? and even in old age she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. dame june whitfield, who has died at the age of 93. with all the sport now, here's reshmin chowdhury at the bbc sport centre. thanks, kate. good evening. rangers have moved level on points with celtic at the top of the scottish premiership heading into the winter break. their 1—0 win at ibrox was their first old firm league victory in six years — and they were in control throughout, as david 0rnstein reports. aurora worthy of greeting one of football ‘s great rivalries. and with the sides more evenly matched than at any time in recent years, the old firm carried a renewed sense

of anticipation. seeking a first league win against celtic since 2012, rangers set about ending the drought. they were denied by the visiting keeper and then his post. before ryan jack find a visiting keeper and then his post. before ryanjack find a way past them both to the delight of a raucous ibrox. wearing the same number eight as his manager did with distinction as a player, his goal but steven gerrard on course for the biggest result of his debut season in the dugout. celtic were hanging on and even when it appeared they had equalised, the offside flag came to the rescue of rangers. they played with style but substance and the reward was three precious points. gerrard getting the better of his former boss, brendan rodgers. rangers are back in the title race is on. david 0rnstein, bbc news. elsewhere, hibernian say they will do everything they can to identify a supporter who appeared to racially abuse hearts‘ french player clevid dikamona during their 1—0 edinburgh derby defeat at easter road.

match of the day follows this programme, so if you'd rather wait for today's premier league scores, you know what to do. liverpool have moved nine points clear at the top this evening after a 5—1 hammering of arsenal at anfield. the visitors had led briefly, before goals from mohammed salah, sadio mane and a hat—trick from roberto firmino. earlier, second—placed tottenham missed the chance to close the gap as wolves scored three in 18 minutes to come from behind and win at wembley. at the other end, there were potentially priceless late victories for fulham and cardiff. in rugby union's pro14, cardiff upset scarlets in west wales while edinburgh did the same at glasgow. and in england's premiership, harlequins hooker dave ward could face disciplinary action after appearing to spit at wasps‘ thomas young. harlequins won 20—13 at a sell—out match at twickenham, thanks tojoe marchant‘s decisive try. ruth strauss, the wife of the former england captain and director of cricket, andrew strauss, has died at the age of 46 after suffering from a rare form of lung cancer.

in a statement, andrew strauss said it gave his family "huge comfort" that ruth had died in her native australia. there‘s more on the bbc sport website — including a new year‘s knighthood for former england captain alastair cook. kate. an army officer has become the first briton to trek unaided across antarctica. it took captain lou rudd 56 days to cover the 921 mile journey. the father—of—three, who‘s from hereford, said it had been tough but that he was in good health. he was inspired to undertake the expedition in memory of his close friend and explorer henry worsley, who died attempting the same journey. you can see more on all of today‘s stories on the bbc news channel. that‘s all from me. goodnight. we will hang on to the cloudy

but mild conditions. there will be variations on the theme but in most places it will be drier, temperatures above—average. it will be wet and windy at times. that was the case through the day today. we saw a weather front from the north—west, introducing blustery conditions for parts of scotland, into the pennines and peak district. with the jet stream above us we are in the milder area and it is fairly settled with high pressure being in the driving seat. sunday, a lot of cloud. outbreaks of rain clearing east. temperatures doing well, the best brightness favouring eastern areas and we are looking

at double—digit temperatures. new year‘s eve, a similar setup. spot the difference. the wind will be stronger in parts of scotland and in western areas we will see rain which will turn more persistent through the day. away from that a lot of fine and dry weather and once again, temperatures doing well. if you have outdoor plans on new year‘s eve it looks like it will be mostly dry, away from scotland and northern ireland. cloudy but not too cold. high—pressure holding onto the south. gradually as we head towards new year‘s day, the wind will become more north—westerly as the high pressure is centred over the uk. that will make a change to things because as the wind starts to work its way down it will introduce drier, cooler air. less cloud, less moisture and as a result, although it will feel fresher, many of us will see brightness on new year‘s day. still high—pressure in the driving seat as we head towards the middle part of the week. still got the north—westerly flow once again.

a good deal of brightness. more cloud may work its way in along the north sea coast but mostly dry. notice the temperatures.