good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and jon kay. our headlines today: the brexit blame game — after cross—party talks collapse — party leaders accuse each other for the failure. the duke of cambridge urges more of us to open up about grief. up when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age, you feel pain like no other pain. australians are at the polls voting in one of the most tightly—fought elections in years. good morning from wembley on fa cup final day as manchester city try to become the first english men's team to the domestic treble, while watford hope there will be a sting in the tail from the underdog like there was in 2013.

downpours are part of the weekend weather story, but not the whole story. there will be someone sunshine as well. other details coming up. —— some warm sunshine. it's saturday the 18th of may. our top story. theresa may and jeremy corbyn are blaming divisions in each other‘s party, for the breakdown of talks aimed at ending the deadlock over brexit. the conservatives and labour have been in negotiations for six weeks — mr corbyn said they collapsed because of "weakness and instability" within the government. mrs may blamed splits in the labour party, over whether or not there should be another referendum. here's more from our deputy political editorjohn pienaar.

odd to see them talking at all about a brexit compromise, but still bad news for mrs may when they broke down. these talks have now reached what i believe to be a natural conclusion. the prime minister has announced the date she's leaving, there have been increasing noises offstage by conservative cabinet ministers and others who don't agree with much of the talks, or any of the discussion we're holding, so we are concluding the talks. so, no comfort here for a prime minister on borrowed time. helping her was hardly mr corbyn‘s priority anyway. we haven't been able to overcome the fa ct we haven't been able to overcome the fact that there isn't a common position in labour about whether they want to deliver brexit, or hold a second referendum which could reverse it. six weeks these talks went on. some concessions, but labour is spent on a new referendum, and the tories to have a new eu customs rules. they may soon be customs rules. they may soon be customs options, an attempt to pass legislation to leave. it is important that parliament takes a decision, and every mp needs to

think in their conscience that perhaps they have to accept their second or third preference to find the right compromise. if theresa may ‘s last effort to get past here ends infailure, the ‘s last effort to get past here ends in failure, the next tory leader may well ta ke in failure, the next tory leader may well take office, having promised a sharp break from the well take office, having promised a sharp breakfrom the eu. the card—carrying conservatives, sharp breakfrom the eu. the ca rd—carrying conservatives, who will choose to bet on ‘s next prime minister, are by and large brexiteers. senior conservatives are convinced that the chances of britain leaving with no deal are as high now as they have ever been. parliament might oppose that, but constitutional experts say only the government occurred at a single stroke government occurred at a single stro ke sto p government occurred at a single stroke stop it happening. we can speak now to our political correspondent jonathan blake. we have nigel evans on the safer earlier, admitting really that the party is in a bit of a mess ahead of this leadership contest, and in the meantime we have still got no

brexit. and the path to delivering brexit, which the government is going to try, is not finding too much support. certainly from key members of the shadow cabinet this morning, so keir starmer accusing the government of kicking the can down the road and trying an experiment to get parliament to vote ona experiment to get parliament to vote on a deal which doesn't exist. he is calling on the prime minister to include a further public vote. as pa rt include a further public vote. as part of the withdrawal agreement bill, is a bit of legislation mps will vote on in a couple of weeks. otherwise, labour will not support it. it is unlikely that the government is about to do a huge u—turn and do that, but nevertheless it shows the scale of opposition that theresa may is up against yet again when she tries to get her brexit deal through the house of commons in the first full week in june. that may provide an opportunity for the government to offer bits and bobs to labour mps to get them to come on board and

support it, and also for mps who maybe want a further referendum, or maybe want a further referendum, or maybe to stop the government leaving the eu without a deal, to try to do that in some form of legislation which is going through parliament. at this point, it is their only chance. jonathan, thank you. the duke of cambridge has described feeling "pain like no other pain" following the death of his mother, princess diana, when he was 15. prince william made the comments in a bbc documentary in which he discussed mental health issues and pressures with former and present footballers. i have thought about this a lot, and i have thought about this a lot, and i have tried to understand why i feel like i do, but when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age, you feel pain like no other pain. you know that in your life it is going to be very difficult to come across something that will be even worse pain than that. but it also brings you so close to all of those other people

out there who have been bereaved. the taxi app, uber, is giving its customers the option to avoid small—talk during theirjourney by selecting a "quiet preferred" option when they book. i could do with that option next to you sometimes! only joking. it's currently only available to users of the uber black service, which costs extra, but has already prompted lots of discussion on social media about the pros and cons of chatty taxi rides. lots of people have been in touch this morning saying, could you do this morning saying, could you do this with hairdressers? yes. i don't mind talking to the hairdresser. someone said they were in a taxi and the driver said, it gets a bit boring when the opening question is, busy tonight because the driver suggested asking what colour socks he has got on instead. it is getting mixed responses. iam not it is getting mixed responses. i am not surprised! slightly weird. australians have begun voting in one of the most closely fought general elections in recent years.

elections have just closed along the east coast. the country could see the six planets are in as many yea rs. the six planets are in as many years. —— sixth prime minister. final opinion polls put the opposition labour party slightly ahead of the liberal—national coalition, who have held power since 2013. voting is compulsory in australia — and a record 16 and a half million voters will take part. our correspondent hywell griffith joins us now from sydney. what colour socks have you got on? no. what are we looking at in these election results. important stuff. there's the election, then my socks. we expect, i suppose, given that the opinion polls have been pretty consistent, it may be a narrow labour wind. it could come down to some key marginal seats where independent candidates have mixed things up and made it less predictable. but labour is on course

to claim power, and as you said, give australia its sixth prime minister in six years. bill shorten will be the new name people internationally have to learn. to a nswer internationally have to learn. to answer your previous question, a very boring pair of black reporter socks. a versatile chap! just tell us socks. a versatile chap! just tell us quickly about democracy sausages. what do they taste like? well, one important australian culinary tip is that the sausages are always beef. if you asked for a sausage here, it is beef and not pork. on voting day when you turn up at the polling booth, there is that smell of slightly burnt sizzling beef because voting is compulsory, so why not get that captive audience to sell them a sausage that captive audience to sell them a sausage to raise the money for charity? or maybe some cake? it is pa rt charity? or maybe some cake? it is part of the experience here. it is fairto part of the experience here. it is fair to say that people find the democracy sausage a bit more

palatable than some of their politicians. there is a level of dissatisfaction with politicians here at the moment, and people have been reminded of an australian great, bob hawke, in the last few days with his death at 89 on thursday, which reminded them of a time when politicians could be genuinely popular. it is not something the current crop can talk about. thank you. i wonder if democracy sausages would increase turnout here. he is an established journalist, and he comes on this programme to talk to us about the australian elections, and we talk about how the sausages taste and what colour socks he has got on! asa he has got on! as a serious journalist, we need to tell you about grumpy cat. this is sad news, she has died at the tender age of seven.

this is when grumpy cat visited us. maybe she was happy. grumpy went viral in 2012 after photos of her sour expression, caused by feline dwarfism, emerged online. she travelled the world making television appearances and in 2016 she even hung out with our very own carol during her weather report. iam i am really sad about it. i loved grumpy cat. sorry. a sad day. what should you do if you are pursued for a debt that isn't yours? it could be tempting to throw the letter away and assume you have no liability. but that could be a big mistake. paul lewis from radio 4's moneybox can tell us why. morning, paul. hello. this is interesting. you would think it is not for you, chuck it away. but that is not the end of

it. no, the firm that sent it thinks you do owe them money so they will carry on pursuing it. knowing it is not your debt is not the same as getting that debt sorted out. you really have to take all the usual steps, you know. you complain, you escalate your complaint if necessary , escalate your complaint if necessary, you threaten to go to an ombudsman, and there is an alternate dispute resolution for most things, because if you don't it can leave a bad mark on your credit record, and ultimately you may even be taken to court. if you try that letter away and don't turn up, judgment will be found against you. do you have got to deal with it. is this common? there are no figures, but i mentioned it in a tweet last night and more than 20 people have told me it has happened to them. a couple of collea g u es it has happened to them. a couple of colleagues in the office have both said yes, that happened to them. so i think it is fairly common. in some cases, you can perhaps understand what is going on. if you are a

tenant, for example, there is always going to be a gap between one tenant moving out and the next one living in. who pays the energy bill during that time customer it should be the landlord, but energy companies may think one tenant or the other, said they will charge you for money that you do not owe. so i think there are occasions when it does happen, addresses are mixed up, and an ati will speak to later was getting an energy bill forfour will speak to later was getting an energy bill for four years, will speak to later was getting an energy bill forfour years, being pursued for four years for a bill that wasn't hers. she lived in leeds and the energy firm was in southampton and it took a long time to sort it out. briefly, if you feel you need help, where should you go? citizens advice has a special helpline for this kind of thing, to do with energy certainly. you can go to the local law centre if there is one, or you can use an online service which takes you through the whole process. there kinds of things

will always help. good to see you, more later at midday. a woman whose daughter was murdered 30 years ago has moved a step closer in her battle for a new law, which could prevent killers being released from prison if they refuse to reveal where the victim's body is. helen mccourt was 22 when she was murdered by ian simms. her remains have never been found. simms was jailed for life in 1989, but allowed out on temporary release in march this year. now the justice secretary david gauke has confirmed the government's preparing legislation for a so—called helen's law. helen's mum marie mccourt joins us now. good morning. good morning. tell us about helen. well, helen was my

first child, a much wanted child. and shejust grew first child, a much wanted child. and she just grew up, i couldn't have asked for a better child. she was very sensitive, she was caring, and she had friends. even now, all these years on, her friends still keepin these years on, her friends still keep in touch with me. school friends. when i have spoken to me, they have said how helen was one of they have said how helen was one of the nicest girls in our class. when her life was taken by this man, he refused to say where her remains were. well, he totally denied he was the killer. unfortunately for me, the killer. unfortunately for me, the police responded very quickly on the police responded very quickly on the night that she didn't arrive home from work —— unfortunately.

within 2a hours, they knew she had completed her journey, she within 2a hours, they knew she had completed herjourney, she had arrived in the village where we left, and the last site was of her walking towards home. she had to pass his pub, and she was never seen again. of course, police were able to gather evidence very quickly because they acted quickly, and it was taken through and he was found guilty. what has the impact been on you, not knowing where helen ‘s body is? the impact on me, just that night when she didn't come home, because she was always on time. if she was late she would ring me and say i will only be 15 minutes, i just miss dead. she was so thoughtful. —— just missed it. the impact of losing her notjust shattered me, but my whole family. and the friends in the village, her

friends. not to be able to give her that last little bit of dignity to her life to have a funeral, and to have her buried in our local church, is horrific. you are in pain, do you wa nt to is horrific. you are in pain, do you want to continue? yes. the hurt is a lwa ys want to continue? yes. the hurt is always there. 31 years on, i talk about her all the time, i can talk and laugh about her, but when i think of her not having... she was denied her life. ialways think of her not having... she was denied her life. i always hoped that she would be married and have a nice family, but it wasn't to be. but not only that, she is buried somewhere where, as thejudge only that, she is buried somewhere where, as the judge at the trial said, where the rats run. and you still go out looking for where that

might be. oh, yes. things change, land changes, things like that. we have covered so many areas. we went quite far out as well, looking to see where he could have got to, how he could have travelled to somewhere away from the village. but even now, with publicity, people are still ringing the local press and radio stations and saying, i have heard about this and i am sorry, maybe i should have come forward with this. or, idid should have come forward with this. or, i did tell police, but i don't think they checked the area. you still have hope? we still look at these places, yes. you put a lot of effort into your campaign to get the law change that if somebody doesn't say where they put a body, they will

never get released from prison. did it get a sense that that will happen? that the politicians will pursue that? i think they have too. up pursue that? i think they have too. up to now, they are doing that. i was surprised, i only ever asked for an amendment bill to the license, but they have decided that it is going to be an actual law, and it will be called helens law. that is an accumulation of years of work and meetings. the ministry ofjustice has said, "not knowing the whereabouts of a loved one causes tremendous additional pain", as you have so eloquently shown as today. they have immense sympathy. the justice secretary recently had a positive meeting and they look forward to working on this important issue. they first talked about this change in the law three years ago. you know, it seems to have gone quiet. have you had a bit of hope

now, after this meeting? 0h, quiet. have you had a bit of hope now, after this meeting? oh, yes, very much so. i will be honest and say that going to london that day, i thought why am i wasting my time? i really did. i thought nothing is happening, it had been 12 months since i had had the first meeting with david gauke, and he was very nice and i trusted him, but as time went by, i kept thinking i'm not hearing anything. one of the things that people say, and this has been discussed by mps, it was suggested that it could create a perverse incentive for murderers, that they would lie about the burial places. just in order to get parole. well, they can try that, but for instance with the moors murders over keith

bennett's body, that kind of thing was happening, so if they say something like that, or even say they don't know, somebody else hid they don't know, somebody else hid the body, i committed the crime but somebody else hid the body, well the whole wording of helens law is that they have to cooperate if they want to be released. to cooperate, they have to say, so if they come out with that they didn't hide the body somebody else did, and they don't know where it is, that is no excuse. they then have to say who that person is. if i can't say that, they can't go anywhere. it looks like you will get a change in the law. that is one part of what you want. what you probably want most of all is to find helen. what would it mean to you to find her, and do you just keep looking? you don't give up hope. well, you can't give up hope.

he went to a shop and lost your child, you wouldn't say after looking around the shop i can't find her, so i'm going home. it is no different. to the day i die, i will carry on. i may never be able to give helen a burial, but what this does for me in her name is that all these other families, and there are a lot of them, because killers and now i places to hide the body because they know dna alone will locate them as the killer, and so in all of this, we have two, i will be so all of this, we have two, i will be so relieved that other families will not have to go through all of this painforso not have to go through all of this pain for so long. you know, hopefully when these killers are caught, they have an appeal, that is turned down, and they are given the option to cooperate, or stay in

prison for a very long time, if not for the rest of your life. let them start thinking up here, i don't want to die in prison, so i am going to have to cooperate. thank you so much for coming in and sharing your story with us this morning. i know it is not easy, but thank you. can i say, iam very not easy, but thank you. can i say, i am very grateful to david gauke, because he has put a lot of work into this. it is going forward, and hopefully it will go through and it will be a law without waiting too much longer. thank you. here's ben with a look at this morning's weather. good morning. many parts of the uk are beginning the day with a lot of cloud. grey skies overhead for this

weather watcher in shropshire. some missed out there as well. much of that will tend to break up across england and wales we will see some sunshine and also a scattering of showers? this satellite picture shows what is happening at the moment. the raider shows where it is raining, and it is particularly wet to start the day across parts of scotland. some of this rain drenching into northern ireland. across this northern half of the uk you can expect things to stay mainly cloudy through the day with outbreaks of rain at times. further south, the cloud breaking up to get some sunshine, but also some hit and miss showers, some of which could be heavy. this afternoon, across scotla nd heavy. this afternoon, across scotland the rain should ease a bit as the day wears on. still some rather damp weather, and quite breezy. 11 celsius in aberdeen. generally cloudy for northern ireland, and across england and wales, you can see a mixture of sunny spells and showers. the showers will be hit and miss. some

places will stay dry with warm sunshine. at wembley for the fa cup final, i would sunshine. at wembley for the fa cup final, iwould not sunshine. at wembley for the fa cup final, i would not want to rule out a shower. sunny spells at times, temperatures around 17 celsius. through this evening and overnight, the showers will tend to fade in most areas. we will keep one or two across parts of scotland and northern ireland. turning quite murky once again. the air is humid, say some fog patches developing to parts of yorkshire, lincolnshire and east anglia on what won't be a particularly cold night. tomorrow, no pressure driving the weather at the moment. the centre of the low across the middle of europe. not many isobars, which means the wind will stay light. that is part of the reason we will start the day with some murky conditions. even once had cleared and we see some sunshine, some showers will break out once again, light winds, slow moving showers. other places will stay dry.

the best of the sunshine lifting phase temperatures up to 20 degrees. looking ahead to monday, another day of sunny spells and showers, especially across eastern and northern areas where some could be heavy and sundry. once again, temperatures of 17—20d. in the sunshine it will feel fairly warm. thank you. next is his word of the day. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. time now for a look at the papers. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. margaret doyle, a financial analyst with deloitte is here to tell us what's caught her eye. good morning. let's start with this story. lots of parents, teachers and schoolchildren will be interested in this. should phones be banned entirely in school? according to this group of head teachers yes,

they should be. the reason they make this argument is they think mobile phones are a complete distraction in school, and there has been evidence from a study done by lse which says if you take things away, people spent do a lot better in tests. there is a 6% boost in test results will stop although one of the directors also said it is good for mental health to keep kids away from social media. you know when you sometimes forget your phone? you know, and you are in a bit of a panic, and actually it feels like freedom. i wonder whether we should be teaching children to get used to disciplining themselves. we have got full stories to get through. this is all about toxic air pollution and how it affects the body. i think the real question aboutair body. i think the real question

about air pollution is this the tobacco moment for air pollution? in other words, i'll be at a moment where we are realising, because deaths from air pollution are now higher than from tobacco, are we about to realise... ? higher than from tobacco, are we about to realise...? my eyebrows shot up! yes, i have not realised it was that bad. we are just realising how bad air pollution is, and what is surprising here is they are saying they know about the heart and lungs, but they are saying it is the whole body. it could affect the brain, dementia, intelligence, fertility, liver, kidneys. basically, the entire body. and they are now saying with all this evidence, the politicians have to act. yes, and in london we have an ultra low emissions zone. this is the start. breathing of a different kind.

breathing of a different kind. breathing life into the dying high street. we talked about this yesterday. the various attempts being made on individual high streets to find new ways. £62 million, not a streets to find new ways. £62 million, nota huge streets to find new ways. £62 million, not a huge sum of money, but it is being targeted at heritage high street, with an emphasis on coventry. it has been uk city of culture in 2021. so it will receive a boost of money, £2 million injection. coventry was badly bombed during the second world war. the cathedral was bombed, so it will get some money for some of its historic shopping centre. so i think it is a good idea, but it is an uphill struggle. shopping habits have changed, and there is a lot of retail space that is obsolete now. we spoke tojohn simpson yesterday. we spoke tojohn simpson yesterday. we have got 30 seconds. the birth certificate of the new royal baby has been photographed and put in the

newspaper. yes, meghan markle 's job title is princess of the united kingdom. is that a title, or a job title?! well, harry 's is prince of the united kingdom. it is interesting that they are saying this is a job, to represent the uk. also interesting that they did not put the birth certificate out through buckingham palace, but of course it is a public document. births, marriages and deaths are a matter of public record, that is the law whether you are a royal baby or the most humble baby in the land, your pet has got to be registered by law. to prove you exist. —— birth. to be princess of the united kingdom. yes, she is trying to reinvent the role and be an activist

using the platform of being part of the royal family. using the platform of being part of the royalfamily. thank you. it is nearly 9:30am. it is that point in the morning, three hours then, i am hungry. my porridge is wearing off. we talked about the princess of the united kingdom. we need to check—in to be king of the saturday kitchen. i prefer king of the kitchen rather than princess. it is a saturday eurovision party. we have former eurovision party. we have former eurovision contestants. we have balloons and everything. we have our euro stocked drinks

cupboard. we will be talking to scott mills and ryle and clark live in tel aviv. there is a live shot. but space will be facing their food heaven or awful tale. see you at ten o'clock. see you at ten o'clock. it looks very chirpy over there. it is a good atmosphere there this morning. essentially, we're going to have a party. we are going to start drinking at10:15am! have a party. we are going to start drinking at 10:15am! headlines in just a second.

headlines in just a second. hello, this is breakfast withjon kay and naga munchetty. first, a summary of this morning's main news: theresa may and jeremy corbyn are blaming divisions in each other‘s parties for the breakdown of talks aimed at ending the deadlock over brexit. mr corbyn said they collapsed because of "weakness and instability" within the government, whilst the prime minister blamed splits in the labour party over another referendum. the conservative mp nigel evans likened the prime minister's plans to bring back her deal to a sinking ship. well, it's a bit like, it's failed three times and you can watch the movie titanic 100 times, but i'm afraid the ship sinks every time. so if you're going to bring back this deal and it's still got the backstop in it, then the dup aren't going to support it and now an increasing number of conservative mps, even those who voted for it the second and third time,

are saying enough is enough. the duke of cambridge has described feeling "pain like no other pain" following the death of his mother, princess diana, when he was 15. prince william made the comments in a bbc documentary in which he discussed mental health issues and pressures with former and present footballers. i...i've thought about this a lot and i've tried to understand why i feel like i do, but i think when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age — i can resonate closely to that — you feel pain like no other pain and you know that in your life it's going to be very difficult to come across something that's going to be even worse pain than that, but it also brings you so close to all those other people out there. to all those other people out there who have been bereaved. the polls have just closed along australia's east coast in a general election that could install the country's sixth prime minister in as many years. final opinion polls put the opposition labour party slightly ahead of the liberal—national coalition, who have

held power since 2013. voting is compulsory in australia and a record 16.5 million voters will take part. the governor of the us state of missouri, mike parson, says he will sign a bill which limits women's access to abortion. it would prevent almost all terminations after eight weeks of pregnancy. it comes just days after alabama introduced a near—total ban on abortion, prompting country wide protests from pro—choice supporters. the taxi app uber is giving its customers the option to avoid small talk during theirjourney by selecting a 'quiet preferred' option when they book. it's currently only available to users of the 'uber black service', which costs extra, but has already prompted lots of discussion on social media about the pros

and cons of chatty taxi rides. certainly, it is an interesting debate. i like the tweet from steve. . . debate. i like the tweet from steve... he said that the taxi driver said to him can you just not ask me if i've been busy, try a different opening line. he suggested, what colour are your socks. it's a really good opening line! it's a really good opening line! the final preparations are underway for tonight's eurovision song contest final in tel aviv. acts from 26 countries, including the uk, will take to the stage in front of a global tv audience of around 200 million. all contestants have been warned to keep the competition politics free at a time of renewed political tension on the border with gaza.

it is all about politics, in a way, the voting, isn't it? we need to get away from it and get to the world of sport. mike has his microphone. this one isn't plugged in yet. this is one isn't plugged in yet. this is one of the bbc commentator‘s microphones. this is what they will be commentating on, and this is the view they will have. guy mowbray is getting ready for the big match. before we hear about the prospects of the two teams, we can go to the

etihad stadium. a shortjourney to wembley for the watford fans, around 10 miles, so they'll be setting off later. much further though for the city fans — around 200 miles to travel — so an early start for them. this is how it looks at the etihad stadium this morning as the fans set off south. the players have sponsored these coaches, each coach has the name of the player that has sponsored it. what a journey that will be, full of songs, banter. it will pass very quickly. manchester city are strong favourites today. it's fa cup final day and manchester city are one game away from an unprecented treble. they've already won the league cup and the premier league and nowjust watford stand in their way of becoming the first men's team to win the domestic treble. john watson has this report. serial winners, record—breakers — another slice of history could be city's today. with the premier league and league cup in the can, common sense suggests

more's to come. the win is so addictive, so when you prove it and you taste it, you say, "i want more". it's something like, you know, you win, you go to take a shower, "i want to win the next one". but football rarely follows logic, as this competition so often proves. on the brink of a semi—final exit, from 2—0 down, watford bounced back to force extra time and knock out wolves. and 35 years after their last cup final appearance, some faces may have changed, they'll hope the result does too. they suffered defeat to everton back in 1984. oh, and sherwood didn't collect and the goal is given! they'll play the part of underdog in 2019. 35 years since the last time watford was in a final. we've never won a cup, so it's a massive achievement, a, to get there, but, b, you're on the cusp of doing something unbelievable.

city have won the game's oldest cup competition five times. this season, they've been and their unstoppable best. but as the last few weeks have proved, in football, anything is possible. let's run you through some of the morning's other sports stories. england have wrapped up the one—day series against pakistan with a game to spare. they were set 341 to win at trent bridge and looked to be heading to that total pretty easily as jason roy hit a quickfire century. they then had a slight wobble, losing four wickerts for just 15 runs. but ben stokes steadied the ship with an unbeaten 71 to see england over the line and reiterate just why they're favourites to win this summer's world cup. brookes koepka got the lowest score

after two rounds in major history at the us pga championships in new york. he's now seven shots ahead of the field. tiger woods, though, is out — he missed the cut. it's a big day on the clay forjohanna konta. she plays in the semi—finals of the italian open after beating marketa vondrousova in the quarters on what was her 28th birthday. bianca walkden won a third world taekwondo title in controversial circumstances in manchester. she beat the olympic champion, shuyin zheng, from china in the final, but was booed after forcing her opponent into a series of penalties when well down on the scorecards. bradley sinden has become the first british man to win a world title.

back to the cup final. what a position they say is, so high up. you can see the people mowing the pitch, you can see how far away they are. you can't really see the numbers if they were players, you need to look at the movement. guy mowbray is here. all the monitors, the microphones. you can reply on the microphones. you can reply on the numbers, do you? they are established players, you are used to seeing them. they have little idiosyncrasies in movement. you just get used to it. you can get a better view than this. what are your first fa cup memories? it goes back to childhood. the one i first remember as 1979. arsenal beaten manchester

united 3—2. alan sunderland. from dawn till dusk, wall—to—wall coverage of what is still my favourite day of the year. this is your faith fa cup favourite day of the year. this is yourfaith fa cup final commentating? it is. it must be an unparalleled day as a commentator. do you still get nervous?” unparalleled day as a commentator. do you still get nervous? i woke up ata do you still get nervous? i woke up at a quarter to six this morning and the brain started ticking over. just pure excitement. it is notjust another game. there is something special about it. wembley for watford, they have not been through too many times before. and still is too many times before. and still is to get out of the tube station and they see the arch, it looms large, they see the arch, it looms large, they will get a little flutter. for manchester city fans, a bit more of the day at the office, but still pretty special. the chance to become

history makers for manchester city. the fact that we have four english teams in european finals, what manchester city have done this season has been unfairly overlooked. this has never been done before. bob paisley‘s liverpool never did it, alex ferguson's manchester united didn't do it. this would be a remarkable achievement if manchester city pulled it off. some might say it's the greatest achievement in english football. give watford some hope, though. they have got closer to manchester city in the league this season. they can draw on what wigan did in 2013. they can. and not just wigan. we have wigan, wimbledon in1988, just wigan. we have wigan, wimbledon in 1988, west ham in 1980. the last three teams starting with the w caused massive upsets. that is a

possibility. sterling, sergio, and the two silver players, let see what they can do. i suppose you cant rehearse the phrases that come out. no, you can't. you don't know what is going to happen. your fifth final, good luck. i hope it goes well. i hope watford get a goal to make it more exciting. if watford lose, eltonjohn make it more exciting. if watford lose, elton john is make it more exciting. if watford lose, eltonjohn is in cup and he cani lose, eltonjohn is in cup and he can i guess that's why they called them the sky blues, if manchester city win. i really hope that he doesn't get to change the words to that. watford at wembley winners, i think that is

perfect. i spotted an insect on the steps, it was a dragonfly can watford colours. surely that has to bea watford colours. surely that has to be a sign. they are all signs! everything is a sign. enjoy it there. rejection is something alice feeney knows too well. for ten years, she tried and failed to catch a break in the literary world before exploding on to the scene with a bestseller that has gripped readers on both sides of the atlantic. and now, the former bbcjournalist‘s debut novel, 'sometimes i lie', is being made into a tv series starring sarah michelle gellar, no less. alice, that's quite a journey. due to have worked together. it was like a due to have worked together. it was likea mini due to have worked together. it was like a mini reunion when you came

in. i'm just like a mini reunion when you came in. i'mjust glad like a mini reunion when you came in. i'm just glad to still talk to me. who are you again? the last time we worked together was in a bakery in manchester. i bet you can believe this is gone as well as that has.|j feel like i'm dreaming. i have bruises all over my arms from pinching myself to see if it is real. almost ten years of rejections then suddenly everything changed. what clicked? just one publisher saw the light, so to speak?|j what clicked? just one publisher saw the light, so to speak? ijust got really lucky. everything changed when i wrote sometimes i lie, and 15 agents wanted to read the manuscript. my dream agent got in touch, that was one of the best magical moments ever. when you get the publishing deal, you just think, is this really happening to me? it

has just carried is this really happening to me? it hasjust carried on, it's is this really happening to me? it has just carried on, it's amazing. this book has the kind of twisty, edgy feel about it. what is your inspiration for that, how long does it take you to get it from here down onto paper. all of my books are quite dark and twisty. i sometimes limit on stephen cain because i read a lot of his novels when i was a child, perhaps younger than i should have been. i like dark and twisty novels myself. i love thrillers. agatha christie route 12 pretty good thrillers, they are not new! what is your process, then? oh, there is my book! i was at the printers. i struggle to believe that any of this is happening to me. this is the first time i felt that book two was

a real thing. they handed it to me hot off the press. it is an amazing feeling. i did cry. to that to actually believe this was happening? yes. you were at the station when you saw an advert up? we had publication date two days ago, it was magical. i had a lovely lunch with my publishers and it took to victoria station, and he said, look up. ona victoria station, and he said, look up. on a big screen. after ten years of rejections, i thought i would never be a published author. never in my wildest dreams did i expect to see my book up on a big screen. you have done book number three. can you tell us anything? no, my publisher is here, she would hit me with a book! it is another thriller, who people enjoy it. a lot of people probably look at you, you have this

burning desire to do this, how did you fit it all in with the shifts that we work? i didn't tell people i was writing in my spare time. i would rights my commute, my lunch break, at weekends. if there is somebody watching this he is also a writer, if they have a dream, if you just keep going, just keep trying, with a bit of luck and hard work, fingers crossed one day somebody might say yes. your personal story is the story that everybody in the shared writing would love to happen, but it can happen to many people. shared writing would love to happen, but it can happen to many peoplelj have been pretty lucky. i have an amazing agent, the best literary agent in the known universe. i get to work with the best publishers. if you have those people around you

supporting you, it makes all the difference. what about the pressure? the first one was successful. did you get a choice in choosing sarah michelle geller? i had a phone call from my agent saying sarah michelle geller would like to talk to you. i just said, do you mean buffy the vampire is? we had a long chat on the phone, me and buffy. then i found out that alan wanted to produce tissue with warner brothers. it isa produce tissue with warner brothers. it is a dream come true. you with your first it is a dream come true. you with yourfirst names! it is a dream come true. you with your first names! alan it is a dream come true. you with yourfirst names! alan and buffy! congratulations. it is inspiring to all of us, it makes you think, just go for it. alice's books are called 'sometimes i lie' and 'i know who you are' you would swap it all to go back to

that bakery to work with me again, wouldn't you ? here's ben with a look at this morning's weather. not a particularly inspiring start this morning, lots of grey skies overhead. in some places today the sun will break through. in the sunshine it will feel warm, but there are also some showers in the forecast and some of them will be heavy. this is what it has happened so far today. there is a lot of cloud here, but some break starting to appear in the cloud, also some rain, particularly in scotland. quite breezy, as well. some of the cloud and patchy rain into northern ireland. in england and wales, the cloud should continue to break up and we will see spells of sunshine, but also the showers getting going.

some places will avoid the showers and stay dry, other places could get and stay dry, other places could get a real deluge. this is the afternoon in more detail. the rain turning a little lighter and patch here in scotland. from northern ireland, cloudy and damp. for england and wales, it is the mixture of sunny spells and showers. the showers will be slow—moving because the winds will be lights. that could be a shower at the fa cup final, equally some spells of sunshine. it will feel warm in the sunshine with highs of 17 or 18 degrees. through this evening and overnight, many of the showers will fade. some clear spells. it will stay damp across parts of scotland and northern ireland and there will be fog patches in yorkshire, lincolnshire and on into east anglia. not a cold night, temperatures between six and 11 degrees. into some day, low pressure is still with us for the second half of the weekend. the

centre of the loo is quite a long way away, but we do feel the effects of it with some showers drifting through. the wind will be very light. we start tomorrow with areas of cloud, mrand light. we start tomorrow with areas of cloud, mr and mark and fog patches that were left unclear. scotla nd patches that were left unclear. scotland having a brighter day than today. northern ireland will hang on today. northern ireland will hang on to the cloud. some people will get a real drenching because of the showers. a similar sort of day on monday, sunny spells and showers, the showers especially in eastern and northern portions of the uk. temperatures could get up to 20 degrees in the south—east. heading deeper into the coming week, it stays pretty mixed. there will be some rain at times, but in any sunshine it will feel fairly warm. it isa sunshine it will feel fairly warm. it is a pretty mixed picture this

weekend. it's one of the world's longest—running tv talent shows and certainly the biggest. tonight, 200 million people will tune in to watch the 64th eurovision contest, an annual extravaganza of song and dance. our arts correspondent, david sillito has more. welcome to the eurovision song contest 2019. israel, and the week—long eurovision party is now in full swing. live from tel aviv, israel. but remember, all this is happening against a background of considerable political tension on the border with gaza, which raises issues of security. will there be protests and also, will people turn up? as you can see, the crowds are here, but even among some of the entrants, there are questions.

we are told is we have reached a limit about talking about politics. let's speak now to pauljordan, who is a eurovision commentator and has just returned from tel aviv, where he watched the semi finals. you couldn't stand the heat, sue g watch the semifinals and came back here to watch the finals? couldn't stand the heat. tel aviv is a party city and the eurovision party is well under way in tel aviv. let's start with the british entry. he has a good voice, he is doing a good job for us. i don't think the song is

strong enough. this is michael rice. this is him performing earlier. it is called bigger than us.|j this is him performing earlier. it is called bigger than us. i wonder how it feels if you know you are not going to win? it is an opportunity for him, it is a big platform. he will never have such a big audience. he is taking it all in his stride. expectations are zulu for the uk after the last few years. the uk is judged slightly differently, because we have such a big record industry, europe expects more from us. perhaps we should think about doing something different in future. he has handled the pressure really well. we wish him all the best. something names have graced the stage, tonight we have madonna. that's right. i wonder if she makes any political statements. she doesn't shy away from controversy, doesn't shy away from controversy,

does she? is it an odd move, having somebody as big as madonna doing eurovision? they will be delighted. it isa eurovision? they will be delighted. it is a big platform for her, though. hundreds of millions of people watching. justin timberla ke did back in 2016. people will watch it regardless of whether she is there or not. she has a tour coming up there or not. she has a tour coming up as well, i think. she is not representing any country. she is the interval act. what should we be looking at, which country? my money is on about seven countries! australia is one to watch out for. the work is performed is incredible. it is called zero gravity. it sounds like something out of the musical wicked. icelanders want to look out for, they have a heavy metal number, a very strange performance. the performance is so important, as

well. if you think about how you win eurovision, win by standing out. maybe it is time for the uk to do something different, you said. next year, if you put you in charge, what kind of song would you choose? year, if you put you in charge, what kind of song would you choose ?|j wouldn't want to be in charge of it because there is always a critic, myself included. just a good modern p0p myself included. just a good modern pop song. enter a song that was ahead already. as long as the song has been published after the 1st of september, they can be entered. it showed the hypocrisy of different music scene when it comes to eurovision. what is your favourite? it has to be buck's fizz. but surveys a re it has to be buck's fizz. but surveys are on saturday kitchen in a moment. there is a huge eurovision party going on there.

the eurovision grand final gets underway at 8.00pm tonight on bbc one. that's all from us today. breakfast is back tomorrow from 6.00am. have a good day.

this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 10am: the shadow brexit secretary keir starmer says to break the bank imp as the government must include a public vote in any withdrawal agreement. australians wait to find out whether they will get that six new prime minister in as many years. prince william opens up over the pain he suffered after the death of his mother, princess diana, in a bbc documentary about mental health. when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age, you feel pain like no other pain. final preparations are being made for the 64th eurovision song contest in tel aviv, with michael rice flying the flag for the uk.