this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at five. prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time about his friendship with the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says he was wrong to stay at epstein‘s house — and admits he let "the side down". i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my... tendency to be too honourable. but that's just the way it is. prince andrew said he had "no recollection" of meeting one of epstein‘s chief accusers, virginia roberts. miss roberts claims she was forced to have sex with the duke when she was 17 after being groomed by epstein. prince andrew denies any

inappropriate conduct. the education secretary asks universities to review fire safety in all their buildings after 200 firefighters spent more than nine hours tackling a fire at a student hall in bolton. leading labour and trade union figures are meeting to decide which policies will be included in the party's election manifesto. competing on green policies — the conservatives say they will plant 30 million trees a year by 2025 — but the liberal democrats say they can plant twice that. good afternoon. the duke of york has told the bbc he has "no recollection" of ever

meeting the woman who says she was made to have sex with him when she was 17. in an exclusive interview with newsnight, to be broadcast tonight, prince andrew insisted he didn't remember virginia roberts, despite the existence of a photograph showing the two of them together, said to have been taken in 2001. he also said it was wrong to stay at the home ofjeffrey epstein, after he was found guilty of child sex offences. at the time he felt it was the "right and honourable thing to do". our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. the year is 2010. prince andrew is in new york. he's videoed staying at the mansion of a convicted child sex offender called jeffrey epstein, who'd just been released from an 18—month prison sentence. andrew's presence gives rise to questions put to him by bbc newsnight‘s emily maitlis. but you were staying at the house... yes. ..of a convicted sex offender. he sighs heavily. it was a convenient place to stay.

i mean, i've gone through this in my mind so many times. at the end of the day, um, with the benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, um, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. um, but, at the time, i felt it was the honourable and right thing to do. and i...i admit fully that...that...that...that my... ..judgment was probably coloured by my... um, tendency to be too honourable, but that's just the way it is. and then, there's andrew's alleged friendship with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts, who was on epstein‘s payroll. she's alleged that andrew seduced her. she says she met you in 2001, she says she dined with you, danced with you at tramp nightclub in london. she went on to have sex with you in a house in belgravia belonging to ghislaine maxwell, your friend. your response?

i have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever. you don't remember meeting her? no. it was in 2001, according to virginia roberts, that she had sex with andrew on three occasions, including one orgy. the palace has denied that. in 2008, epstein was convicted of procuring for prostitution a girl under the age of 18. he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. it was in 2010, after epstein had been released from prison, that andrew visited him in new york and stayed at his mansion. i stayed with him. that's...that's...that's the bit that. . .that. . .that. .. ..as it were i kick myself for on a daily basis... he chuckles. ..because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family. and we try and uphold the, um, highest standards and practices, and i let the side down, simple as that. but nothing about this story is simple.

jeffrey epstein can't answer questions — he took his own life in august. as for andrew, lawyers for virginia roberts want him to make a statement under oath. the us authorities would most certainly like to hear his account of everything he witnessed. earlier i spoke to nicholas and asked him why he thought prince andrew has decided to speak out now. well, newsnight, emily maitlis, said they were in discussions for some six months. prince andrew is always keen to talk about his work but, clearly, no interview could have been done without addressing all of this. as i understand it, there were discussions over a number of months with, interestingly, andrew's office, rather than with the central royal communications, the buckingham palace press office. they have been left rather out of all this. now, whether their advice would have been to go ahead with this interview, i'm not so sure. but i think what determined it was

andrew's own determination to do... an interview. it's high risk, it's a gamble for him and his reputation. it has placed it across every front page in this country and it's getting a lot of international attention, as well. it has given legs to the allegations against him. he will be hoping, obviously, that he will be able to rebut them in an effective and credible way. and that his wish, of course, is to move on, draw a line, and move on. it's his 60th birthday quite soon and i think he wants to just be rid of this. but whether that will be the net effect of all of this is perhaps a little naive, but it is important to qualify that by saying that until we have seen and heard the entire interview... hour—long programme, i think it is... unwise to kind of prejudge what will be the outcome of this.

in terms of what we do know of its content at this point, what do you highlight at this stage? well, the two central areas are... i was going to say the relationship with virginia roberts, they absolutely deny there was any relationship, but what contact was there, if any, with virginia roberts? in what way does he credibly deal with her allegations of sexual contact? we will have to wait and see. it is important to say, of course, that all along, buckingham palace has absolutely categorically denied any impropriety and all of that. but we need to hear it from andrew's own mouth later on tonight. the other aspect of this is his friendship withjeffrey epstein. as he acknowledges, that's where he is caught out, there is really no mitigation that he can find for that, for visiting and continuing a friendship with a man who, by 2010, was a convicted child sex offender. now, andrew is already on the record as saying that he went to new york to see him to break off the friendship.

quite why you need to stay for several nights in his mansion in new york in order to break off a friendship is one of those questions. but we need to hearjust how authoritatively and with what sort of conviction he actually deals with these issues in the interview tonight. and the phrase "let the side down" is interesting, because it it implies the sense of looking at this through the prism of what it does to the royal family. yes, and i think he will be intensely aware of that. he's a proud man. he will know that his mother must be dismayed at the impact that this has been having and continues to have. we are told the queen approved him doing this interview. i suspect by this stage, at the age of 93, sometimes it is said he's her favourite son, or whatever, and if he comes along and says, i want to do this, i believe it is the right thing to do,

she will have said, well, if you are absolutely sure, go ahead. but i think there will be great concern within buckingham palace at the impact that this is all having on, as it were, the good name of the royal family. and they will be very anxious, obviously, to protect that. and you can see the full interview in a bbc newsnight special on bbc 2 — and here on the news channel — tonight at nine oclock and also on the iplayer. universities have been asked to review fire safety in all their buildings following a large fire at a student accommodation block in bolton last night. 200 firefighters dealt with the blaze when it was at its peak and two people were injured. witnesses described seeing the flames spreading rapidly up the ouside of the six storey building. earlier the prime minister boris johnson visited the site

of the fire and visited the university where donations had been left for the displaced students. fire safety consultant steve mackenzie said more needs to be done by the government to expand the list of cladding which is prohibited, and to ensure that it is removed from high rise buildings. this is the warning calls that myself and other independents have been giving central government from grain fell. there are other systems, high pressure laminate, for example, expanded polystyrene systems, there isa expanded polystyrene systems, there is a full range of building types that currently are compliant, and the government is trying to rewrite the government is trying to rewrite the legislation. this is a cladding system that is permissible up until we got the government to test them. we have not released any funding for the replacement. conscientious clients and property owners have replaced the more hazardous material with this material, believing it to

comply, now finding out it doesn't. we have a problem with the wrong type. we get to frequent false alarms and unwanted alarms that then puts people in a complacent position and they do not respond when there is an incident. in a moment we'll be joined by viewers on bbc one and ben brown for a full round—up of the news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. it's been a pretty chilly day up and down the country. the winds lighter, though, so not quite as cold as it has been over the last few days. we still have a low pressure with us and some weak weather fronts, one straddling central parts of the country and this one pushing into the north—west of the uk as we head through this evening and overnight, introducing more cloud and showers in parts of northern ireland, northern and western scotland. with more cloud over here overnight, not quite as cold as it was in previous nights. we'll maintain this week front

in parts of northern england, particularly parts of england down into wales in the south—west. generally speaking, a lot of cloud overnight. temperatures three to six celsius. where you have clear spells, a touch of frost. into sunday, a bright start for a few areas, particularly across scotland and northern ireland. increasing sunshine here. we also see a bit of sunshine again across the midlands and southern england. a few showers peppering the south coast, the very far south—west, parts of wales and up into northern england. heavy outbreaks of rain for the north—east. but for scotland and northern ireland, a few showers peppering north and western coasts, widespread sunshine here. light winds. it will be a cold day. through sunday evening and overnight, it stays pretty cloudy through parts of england and wales. further spells of rain and more than a breeze into the far south—east. high pressure begins to tumble in. you can see there is widespread clear skies. it will be cold and frosty here with a touch of mist and fog,

too. into the start of next week — high—pressure dominates. a fine window of weather for the country. after all the recent rain we had had. the cold, frosty start across the country. still quite busy in the south—east. one or two showers here. widespread sunshine. lighter winds. it will be cold. temperatures from three to 8 celsius in the south. as we move beyond tuesday into wednesday, and eventually towards the end of the week, this area of the pressure really comes into play. outbreaks of rain. particularly in western areas and winds will be coming from the south. you'll notice, although it will turn a bit more unsettled, those temperatures will be raising a little bit. feeling less cold across the country by friday.

good evening. prince andrew has told the bbc he categorically denies having sexual relations with virginia roberts, who says she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17 years old. in an interview with bbc‘s newsnight, he answered questions for the first time about his links with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. the duke of york said a "sense of honour" led him to continue his assocation with the disgraced financier. 0ur royal correspondent, nick witchell, reports. the year is 2010. prince andrew is in new york. he is videoed staying at the mansion

of a convicted child sex offender called jeffrey epstein, who'd just been released from an 18—month prison sentence. andrew's presence gives rise to questions, put to him by bbc newsnight‘s emily maitlis. you were staying at the house... yes. of a convicted sex offender. it was a convenient place to say. i mean, i've gone through this in my mind so many times. at the end of the day, with the benefit of all the hindsight that one could have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do but, at the time, i felt it was the honourable and right thing to do. and i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable, but that's just the way it is. and then there's andrew's alleged contact with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts,

was on epstein‘s payroll. she has alleged that andrew seduced her. that is something, andrew says in the interview, that never happened. she says she met you in 2001. she says she dined with you, danced with you at tramp nightclub in london, she went on to have sex with you in a house in belgravia belonging to ghislaine maxwell, your friend. your response? i have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever. you don't remember meeting her. no. it was in 2001, according to virginia roberts, that she had sex with andrew on three occasions, including one orgy. the palace has denied that. in 2008, epstein was convicted of procuring for prostitution a girl under the age of 18. he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. it was in 2010, after epstein had been released from prison, that andrew visited him in new york and stayed at his mansion.

i stayed with him, and that's the bit that, as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of a royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and i let the side down, simple as that. but nothing about this story is simple. jeffrey epstein can't answer questions. he took his own life in august. as for andrew, lawyers for virginia roberts want him to make a statement under oath. the us authorities would most certainly like to hear his account of everything he witnessed. nicholas witchell, bbc news. and you can see the full interview in a bbc newsnight special on bbc two, tonight at 9pm. an investigation is under way into the cause of a fire at a block of student flats in bolton.

witnesses say the blaze spread quickly to the upper floors, prompting concerns about the cladding on the block. two people were injured. from bolton, 0livia richwald reports. these videos posted on social media show an intense fire which spread rapidly, sending chunks of burning cladding and sparks to the ground. at first, some of the students ignored the alarms. this girl came running and she banged on the doors of the people on my floor, and she just started screaming, saying there was a fire, get out of here right 110w. was a fire, get out of here right now. when we were running down the stairs, it was getting higher and higher. the cladding on this building is not the same as that which has been blamed for exacerbating the fire at grenfell tower in 2017, which killed 72 people, and the students living in

the cube have been reassured it was safe, but the videos posted on social media have raised alarm bells. this isn't a grenfell cladding scenario. it's a different type of material, essentially a compressed wood or paper pulp, which is still combustible and, once it ta kes is still combustible and, once it takes fair with a fire, there is potential to impinge on the evacuation or the safety of the occu pa nts. evacuation or the safety of the occupants. this afternoon, prime minister borisjohnson visited a shelter to meet affected students, and then to the scene, where he met firefighters. the university of malton says its finding new accommodation for its students and offering them support. —— university offering them support. —— university of bolton. all my belongings, it's all gone. how are you feeling? traumatised. tonight, the fire brigade union described the videos is alarming, and they say urgent

action is needed. seniorfigures in the labour party have been meeting to finalise the party's manifesto for next month's general election. the party has already announced a number of policies, including a pa rt—nationalisation of bt to make broadband free for everyone, and extra spending on infrastructure. 0ur political correspondent, iain watson, is there. iain, how significant is this meeting likely to be? presumably very significant, because they are still meeting. it is grossly overrunning but, taken together, you mention some policies already announced, what is important is that different wings of the labour movement, the unions and mps, get together to decide labour's direction of travel, and that suggests a future labour government would envisage a much bigger role for the estate in the economy, they would say championing consumers over the vested interests of corporate concerns. some of the policies already out, some more unlikely to

emerge. i told there will be the offer of more help for women who feel they have been adversely affected by the increase in the state pension age from 60 to 66, and there will be a new retail offer, as they say in politics, as well as free prescriptions for people in england and free dental checks. there have been arguments, too, especially over the issue of freedom of movement. the party grassroots at conference wanted the rights of workers to free movement to be extended, but many felt here that perhaps that would not appeal to voters concerned about immigration, so voters concerned about immigration, so there will be new policies emerging to regulate the employment market and try and reassure people they will not be undercut by migrant labourer. thank you, iain watson. elsewhere, the conservatives and the liberal democrats are both promising to plant millions of trees to tackle climate change, if they win the election. liberal democrat leaderjo swinson says the party would plant 60 million trees every year across the uk by 2025, while the tories are pledging to plant 30 million.

more than 70 flood warnings are still in place across england and wales as water levels start to subside after recent heavy rain. there are still dangerously high water levels along parts of the river severn and river avon in the midlands. and the environment agency has warned that some areas there will remain at risk of flooding until monday. french police have been using water cannon and firing tear gas in paris against anti—government protestors. today marks the first anniversary of the yellow vest demonstrations. protestors tried to block the main ring road around the city and barricades were erected in the south of the city. police say 33 people have been arrested. football, and scotland have held on for a morale—boosting euro 2020 qualifying win over cyprus. john mcginn got the winner in their 2—1 victory in nicosia, but the scots have missed out on automatic qualification for next summer's tournament and are relying

on the nations league play—offs. in rugby, the champions cup has seen international rugby stars back in action for their clubs. there were wins for glasgow and exeter, and things went down to the wire as bath hosted ulster. patrick gearey reports. the life of an international rugby player is relentless. you barely get time to do your world cup laundry, then you are back to work. six of those who started in bath were injapan. ulster‘s john cooney wished he had been. he was left out of ireland's world cup squad, but perhaps this try proves his luck is changing. bath kicked their way back. at the break, these two were separated by little, but lyttle is important. out on the ulster wing, rob lyttle playing his first european game for the club he'd always supported. a try he'll never forget. bath had their own new boy, his name gabriel hamer—webb, and two minutes after coming on england's jonathan joseph picked him out. what a start! now, what a finish.

bath edged ahead, so pressure on this kick by cooney. that seemed to be crucial but, with the final move of the match, bath were in. there to spoil it was ulster‘s jacob stockdale. what an end to that contest! back from the world cup, just in the nick of time. patrick gearey, bbc news. we're back with the late news at ten. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye.

good evening. a busy saturday of sport. we're starting with football and scotland held on for a narrow win over cyprus in their penultimate euro 2020 qualifying game. the result is meaningless in terms of group qualification as they were already having to rely on the nations league play—offs but it will go some way to boost morale as craig templeton reports. in november this meant some autumn sewn for the tartan army and for the tea m sewn for the tartan army and for the team a chance to restore some pride. because it is been a poor qualification campaign for scotland and they were looking not to go behind early on. following dundee player did everything right but with no goal line technology there was no goal. scotland made the most of the good fortune. brian chrissy was

allowed time to run and then strike. not a bad way to score your first international goal. cyprus started the second half innocent were fashion to the first the difference being it resulted in goal. this time there was no room for debate. but once more, the scottish response was swift. john mcginnis making a habit of scoring for country. his fifth in the last five games. cyprus were inches away from an equaliser but scotla nd inches away from an equaliser but scotland held on, a rare away win and they can now build momentum for the playoffs. craig templeton, bbc news. unlike scotland, wales do still have a chance to automatically qualify for next summer's european championships. they're fourth in their group but if they win their final two games and other results go their way they'd be through. well the latest score from their match tonight in azerbajan is 1—0. 26 minutes on the clock. kieffer moore the scorer. wales have gareth bale back and aaron ramsey on the bench. northern ireland kick off against the netherlands at 7.45pm.

that also a crucial match for them. england are of course already qualified, butjordan henderson and joe gomez will both miss their final euro 2020 qualifier in kosovo tomorrow. gomez has a knee injury, while henderson is suffering with a viral infection. the rest of the squad trained today ahead of that match, comfortable in the knowldege they're already through following thursday's 7—0 win against montenegro. raheem sterling is expected to be recalled to the side after missing that match as punishment for his altercation with gomez earlier in the week. there's been a shock at the world tour finals where the six—time champion roger federer has been knocked—out by stefanos tsitsipas in straight sets. federer succombed to the young greek 6—3, 6—4 in the semi—finals in london. austin halewood reports. if beating rough and adult yesterday impressive enough, for stefanos tsitsipas it was only the warm up. next up, roger federer the man who

has done it all before perhaps the greatest of all time but even the greats still feel the pressure. after a near three hour battle with nadal, anyone would be forgiven for feeling the strain buts —— stefanos tsitsipas was on top his game. the greek as powerful critical best and eventually after the seventh time of asking he took the set. when federer w011 asking he took the set. when federer won his first glance and title, stefa nos won his first glance and title, stefanos tsitsipas hadn't started school. at 17 years between them the greek quick to use age to his advantage forcing federer around the court and forcing the mistake. the frustration clear to see. he was ahead by a double break at one point but still federer fought back holding his servant when it mattered most. but by then, the damage was already done. match pennington taken at the first time of asking. that's at the first time of asking. that's a brilliant performance. federer heading home. stefanos tsitsipas

couldn't quite believe it. as a kid... asa couldn't quite believe it. as a kid... as a kid watching here's wishing i could step on the court and facing. and now i'm living a dream. for me, i can never picture myself standing here but it did happen and dreams do come true. last year stefa nos happen and dreams do come true. last year stefanos tsitsipas won the next generation tourfinals. it year stefanos tsitsipas won the next generation tour finals. it was one for the future. now, generation tour finals. it was one forthe future. now, he generation tour finals. it was one for the future. now, he is right at the top of the sport. austin halewood, bbc news. there was more disappointment for great britain's rugby league lions — as they suffered another defeat whilst on tour. this time, they lost 28—10 to papau new guinea — meaning they head home having lost all four test matches. michael redford was watching. # god save the queen... a final test for the rugby week liens that make a final chance and to find a roar. three defeats from three matches have led to coach wade bennett being criticised pre—match but his team provided a perfect early response.

blake austen swearing their first try before josh blake austen swearing their first try beforejosh went over soon after. the lions to coach wade bennett being criticised pre—match but his team provided a perfect early response. blake austin swearing their first try before josh went over soon after. the lions ten millup. went over soon after. the lions ten mill up. the home fans needed something to south —— above. and he provided in some style. a stunning so provided in some style. a stunning so effort right before half—time. it was a sign of to come. too quick for the lions defence this time passing to breeding the site level ten office and for being pegged back, they were soon behind. papa new guinea scoring. they were now rampantand on guinea scoring. they were now rampant and on the attack at every opportunity. when alexjohnston went overin opportunity. when alexjohnston went over in the corner, the y ends pride disappeared. still time for one more moment to forget. johnny lomax won't wa nt to moment to forget. johnny lomax won't want to see this again. he might though as he rounded out the victory. five tribes in a five star performers for papa new guinea and a first win against great britain in

29 years for some we let everybody down, and it's the disappointment... but we are proud men. if you lose, you have to wear it for a while and try to figure out where you go next. it was supposed be a chore that showed off the lions rediscovering their role. instead papa new guinea flying high in paradise. michael redford, bbc news. much better news for the england women's rugby union side who've had successive wins over france in their autumn internationals. after an error strewn first half, lydia thompson scored a dramatic late try to seal the 17—15 victory in exeter‘s sandy park. it's the opening weekend of the european champions cup and ulster got off to a winning start beating bath away but onlyjust. this try from john cooney gave ulster a 7—6 lead at half—time. and they extended that advantage through robert little midway through the second half. bath scored a try of their own moments later but ulster hung on for a 17—16 win.

glasgow also enjoyed a narrow win in their opening match. dth van der merwe with their only try as glasgow beat sale 13—7. no problems for exeter in their opening match. they beat la rochelle 31—12 in france. england's henry slade scoring one of theirfour tries. elsewhere, leinster beat benetton. there was a great finish in the day's big jumps race the betvictor gold cup at cheltenham. the 16—1 priced happy diva held—off a late challenge to become the first mare to win it for nearly 20 years. happy diva is trained by kerrie lee who's only the third female trainer to win the race. qualifying for tomorrow's brazilian grand prix starts in around half an hour, but earlier lewis hamilton was fastest in final practise. the newly crowned world champion for a sixth time must be enjoying having the pressure taken off and clocked the best lap 200ths of a second quicker

than red bull's max verstappen in sao paolo. whales are still 1—0 up in that euro 2020 game. and just some news about cardiff city in this afternoon. neil harris is their new manager. that's all the sport for now. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. hello, and welcome to this look back at some of our recent adventures here on the travel show. it's been a busy few months, so here's a taste of what's coming up. it's so hot! i'm melting. totally worth it.

look at this atmosphere! 0h, here we go again. oh, wow! this is beautiful. yes. there is all that and more to come, so, let's kick off with carmen's recent trip to osaka, japan. she went to get a bird's—eye view of the anicent burial mounds constructed thousands of years ago, but now located in a very modern city. we start this week in osaka, a modern city, totally rebuilt after the devastation of the second world war. but among these street crossings and skyscrapers, you can still find artefacts from its past. you might not be able to spot them from the ground. oh, i made it to the top. it's a little bit of

a view, it's not bad. a lot of trees here. not really that much to see. but to get the best view of these historical wonders, you really have to take to the sky. oh, my gosh. we are taking off. so exciting. dotted across the city there are nearly 50 grassy hills, some of them built in a distinctive keyhole—shape. the japanese call them kofun, burial mounds built over 1,500 years ago. these man—made structures hold the remains of some of ancient 0sa ka's most powerful figures. and this summer, these memorials will were recognised as the city's first unesco

world heritage site. yoshizawa—san has been studying the tombs for decades and was involved in the successful unesco bid. the size and shape of the burial mounds depends on the person's status. the sites were decorated with haniwa, clay figurines that were used in the funeral ceremony.

carmen exploring japan's past. now, rembrandt has to be one of the most famous painters in the world, and this year marks the 350th anniversary of his death. a while back, adi added back to amsterdam — where rembrandt worked and lived for most of his life — to discover a project that is restoring one of his most famous paintings. adi: in1631, he made this city his home. and it's here that he painted his most famous masterpieces. and you can see many of them on display at the rijksmuseum. but what i've come here to see is very special. and involves a painting that rembrandt is best known for, one of the most famous works of art

in the world, the night watch. the painting is almost four centuries old, and over the years there have been various restoration attempts. but now the museum is undertaking the most sophisticated one ever. using high—tech methods to carry out a forensic examination of how rembrandt actually painted the picture before restoration can begin. and it's all been carried out in one of their galleries in full view of the public and live streamed online. the machine you see there is an x—ray fluorescence scanner. and this way we get an idea of the elements present in this painting. but this is a painting which is for us to admire. why is it so important for you to know about the elements? we need to figure out — we want to know how rembrandt painted it, what his ideas

were when he was painting it, how did he make this nice composition. was it all ok on the canvas or did he change his mind and change more things, or did he change the composition? those things we would like to know. so, you're getting a real idea of what it was like to be a painter in rembrandt‘s time? yeah, we're basically on rembrandt‘s shoulder and watching him while he's painting his paintings. so, we're going to photograph the painting in daylight, but we're not going to do it like one snapshot, but we're going to do a lot of photos next to each other. i think, from the top of my head, it's 11,000 photos. wow. so then we get a really high resolution. it's like you're looking through a microscope. 0ne pixel in that photo is like a blood cell, or basically it's smaller than a human hair. all of this scrutiny in all of this

work for one artist — what do you think rembrandt would make of it if he was around today? i would personally think that he would think we are crazy. yeah, yeah. adi there in amsterdam. now it's time for a slice of living history. the fete des vignerons is a huge wine festival that's been taking place in switzerland since 1797. usually, it's once every 25 years, and this year lucy went along to take part. lucy: as well as being home to unesco—protected lavaux vineyards, vevey is known for its living tradition — the fete des vignerons. a three—week long celebration

of wine that transforms the town. and while switzerland might not spring to mind when you think of wine, they actually produce 100 million litres of wine per year, only exporting 2% of it. it's said that during the fete des vignerons visitors unsuspectingly work their way through — are you ready? over half a million bottles of wine. and the festival itself began as a one—day fee is hosted by an ancient brotherhood as a way to reward the best winemaker in the region. and it clearly takes the locals a while to recover as the festival only takes place once every 20—25 years. the fete des vignerons began in 1797 as a small parade through the streets of vevey. but because of unrest in the region over the next couple of decades, the next event wasn't organised for another 22 years. a cycle that has

remained ever since. today the climax of the celebration is a daily show that takes place in a specially—booked stadium and features over 5,000 volunteers. and this year, the show‘s been created by the man behind cirque du soleil. i'm loving the vibe back here, themed costumes, props everywhere. so, with 5,000 people in your show, do you think you got room for one more? do this with your hands, dance with your hands. laughter. i mean, talk me through what i'm going to be doing? you are going to be a dancer, a starling dancer. the idea is that your upper body is completely separated from your lower body, and your arms feel like wings that you can fly with. you make that look really easy. so, i've got my moves,

now it's time to get my costume. these are huge. how do i look? i like it. you're amazing. laughter. then, the three—hour extravaganza began. the sun is blazing, it's so hot! i'm melting. totally worth it. look at this atmosphere! applause. the choreography wasn't so important in the end, there is always freestyling. it looked really good. what an honour to take part in something that only happens once every 20 years. i'm not can it be this number in 20 yea rs, i'm not can it be this number in 20 years, ican i'm not can it be this number in 20 years, i can tell you now!

lucy and about 30,000 other people in the stadium in switzerland back in august. stay with us. coming up... every year groups of very lucky people get to go aboard and actually blow like ancient athenians did. we get a break. "caution: a high degree of physical fitness is required past this point." they weren'tjoking. well, we're always up for a challenge here on the travel show, but mike raised the bar recently when he went to malaysia and tackled a climb that was a real test of endurance. but the reward was spectacular views. i'm in gunung mulu national park in malaysia's biggest state, sarawak. it's home to some of the world's

largest caves, formed from limestone and shaped by millions of years of ground and rainwater. this process also created a bizarre collection of stone spires above the ground. at almost 50 metres tall, the pinnacles are an imposing spectacle. but to get there, sightseers face a long, brutal track through the rainforest. "caution. "a high degree of physical fitness is required past this point. "eight hours' round trip." lead the way! you weren'tjoking.

how is it? steep! we've onlyjust started and i'm already pretty exhausted. it's another kilometre before i reach the most treacherous stage. this is the first ladder. 0k. right, helmets on? all right. and who's first? after me. 0k, one down, 17 more to go. beautiful limestone cliffs are sharp, but at least there's lots of places to grab onto. looks like it is raining down there. you think it's going to rain? yeah, it will be heavy rains.

500 metres to go. 100 metres to go. hope we get there before rain. what ladder‘s this? last ladder. the last ladder? this looks like the summit. is it? yeah, the summit is here. we are here, guys. oh, wow! yeah! and there's so many of them. this is beautiful. yep. just daggersjutting out

of the forest canopy. yeah, it really is spectacular, right? yep. mike taking on the pinnacles there in malaysia. now, rwanda might be one of africa's smallest nations, but it is becoming increasingly well known for its wildlife, especially its gorillas. recently, lucy headed there hoping to meet some of these magnificent creatures. lucy: the walk is pretty tough, i'm not going to lie. the higher we get, the higher the altitude. my breath is getting shorter. three hours and 4,000 metres above sea level,

and i was beginning to fear i might not everfind a gorilla. i look scared, but they are so big! i grabbed francis like my life depended on it. we have really lucked out here. you have got a mother cradling her baby. and we've got the mother of all gorillas, the silverback there. he's just watching us. watching him. i can't believe we are this close.

my mind is just absolutely blown, they are so beautiful. and when you think we share 98% of our dna with these great apes, you understand why they too are curious about us. rwanda, in collaboration with international conservation partners, has achieved remarkable success in not only protecting, but growing the mountain gorilla population. in fact, there is now 1,000 mountain gorillas here in the wild, up from 200 just two decades ago, when they were on the brink of extension. this is primarily down to the decrease in poaching gorillas were hunted for meat. but in an effort to protect the gorillas, poachers were trained to become mountain guides and porters here, further supporting tourism. so, talk to me about the poaching here? no problem, but there is no problem because we keep avoiding it

happening by involving them in the community. you cannot say it is done. we keep on. but of course, more gorillas means they need more space. the government has now pledged to expand the forest by 23%, adding almost 4,000 hectares to its current 16,000. you just hear little grunts, just in the distance. at the moment, i think it is quite hard to tell if it is aggressive or playful grunts. how did you feel when the gorilla came out of nowhere and jumped at you? scared! just being able to watch them eating, interacting and even communicating with us in their natural habitat is hands down one of the best experiences that i've ever had the pleasure of having while being on my travels.

i highly recommend it. lucy there in rwanda in what must have been an incredible trip. and as for me, well, the powers that be at the travel show decided i had a different kind of experience in store — a boat trip up the coast of greece. sounds dreamy and relaxing, but as i discovered, not so much. i have come a short distance outside of the athens city centre to what has become known as the athens riviera. there are plenty of cool cafes, ritzy new hotels and, of course, plenty of luxury yachts. moored close to the modern yachts, a different kind of ship is ready to go out to sea. the trireme 0lympias, the only life—size replica in the world of the athenian battleships, which dominated naval wars from the fifth century bc

until early christian times. this amazing looking galley belongs to the greek navy, and every year, groups of lucky people get to go aboard and actually rowjust like ancient athenians did. this year i'm one of those lucky people, so i'd better get ready. i think it is going to be quite hard work. well, my fellow rowers are starting to arrive now, so i've picked a plum spot right in the middle of the action. ready for ramming speed. reaching speeds of about nine knots, or 17km/h, this boat was considered pretty quick in its time.

coxswain speaks in greek. and its manoeuvrability one athens some decisive victories at sea. the bronze ram served as the main weapon to puncture the holes of enemy ships and to sink them. coxswain speaks in greek. we get a break every so often. here we go again! coxswain speaks in greek.

looking around, it is almost impossible to imagine what this must have been like for the people who originally rowed these kinds of boats. i mean, to be in battle, three layers of different people all sweating and trying to ram another boat in the open sea, i mean, it is unimaginable, given how pleasant and lovely this is today. fortunately, this trireme is now being used for less ferocious purposes. for now, the 0lympias is going back to the port for some pampering. it will spend the winter there before being spruced up for a new set of visitors in 2020. well, that's all we have time for on this week's programme, but don't forget to sign up to our social media feeds. you can see what we're up to and share your travel stories with us and the rest of the world. for now, from me, christa larwood, and the rest of the travel show

team, it's goodbye. hello there. it's been rather cloudy across much of the country today. we've seen some glimmers of sunshine here and there but as we head through this evening and overnight, i think we will hold onto a lot of cloud. this weather front bringing increasing showers and clouds in scotland and northern ireland. so, not quite as cold here as it was the previous night. and we will continue to have this week weather front bringing patchy rain to central and northern england and into wales into the far south—west. where you hold onto the clouds, temperatures no lower than 3—6 degrees. head on into sunday, it's a similar sort of picture. we'll still have this weather front across parts of northern england into wales. could see some heavier bursts of rain across the north—east. so, quite wet here through the day.

glimmers of brightness across the midlands in the south, and some widespread sunshine developing across scotland and northern ireland. but it's going to be another chilly day. and then, this area of high pressure really builds in for monday and tuesday across the uk. so, we'll see a nice window of fine weather with plenty of sunshine albeit very cold and frosty mornings but fro midweek onwards, it starts to get more unsettled again with increasing cloud and strengthening winds from the south. —— from midweek onwards.

this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at six... prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time about his friendship with the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says he was wrong to stay at epstein‘s house — and admits he let "the side down". i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my... tendency to be too honourable. but that's just the way it is. prince andrew said he had "no recollection" of meeting one of epstein‘s chief accusers, virginia roberts. miss roberts claims she was forced to have sex with the duke when she was 17 after being groomed by epstein. prince andrew denies any inappropriate conduct. the education secretary orders universities to review fire safety