and that... i'm not saying i'll never act again, but it has made me feel i don't want to do it at the moment, i don't think i can go back to... certainly not six days a week, five days a week, five in the morning until seven o'clock at night. with a big part and having to learn lines and the stress of it. bowel cancer, because it involves your bottom, it can't stop people going to the doctors because they are embarrassed or they are afraid. what would you say to them about that? your bowel is part of your digestive system. it is just what digests your food, you just have to remember that. and it's just, you've got to go and get things checked. doctors are used to bottoms, they have got one themselves! hopefully! and you can watch victoria derbyshire's full interview with damejulie walters on our website at bbc.co.uk/victoria.

time for a look at the weather, here's ben rich. thank you, and unwanted dose of rain in the last 2a hours for many parts of the uk and one or two places in cumbria have had over 100 millimetres in the last 2a hours and it has been training in the flood affected parts of wales and the welsh marches and on the radar you can see that rain which is now on the move eastwards. some heavy and intense downpours mixed in with some gusty winds but behind it, tied in with a cold front, things are turning colder and it is one of those days where it will be a colder end than first thing. through this afternoon, still some heavy rain in parts of east anglia and the south—east, gusty winds on that band. further west in parts of wales and the midlands where flooding has been a problem, it is drier and sunnier but with some showers. similar in northern england, sunshine and wintry showers, and in

northern ireland but in scotland, the showers contain some snow over a high ground but even at low levels with the winds picking up they will be blizzard conditions over some mountains. tonight we get a window of dry weather in the southern half of dry weather in the southern half of the uk, still showers further north and then from the west another band of cloud and heavy rain. the wind going south—westerly so it will turn milder through the night and most start tomorrow between four and 8 degrees. this is tomorrow's rainmaker, another area of low pressure and frontal system but the further south you are, closer to high pressure and you will not see much rain. the rain focuses on western counties of northern ireland, high ground in western scotla nd ireland, high ground in western scotland and north—west england. not as much rain to the east of the pennines and scotland but here there will be some really gusty winds, 50-60 will be some really gusty winds, 50—60 mph which could cause disruption. the further south you are, not as much rain, a fair amount

of cloud and milder, temperatures of 10-12d. on of cloud and milder, temperatures of 10—12d. on saturday, a frontal system is likely to drag its heels in the south, a bit of rain with it but further north, sunshine and showers, snow in high ground in scotla nd showers, snow in high ground in scotland and significant accumulations. very windy as well and chilly are in the north but milder further south. and chilly are in the north but milderfurther south. 0n and chilly are in the north but milder further south. on sunday, another dose of rain from this wriggling weather front and by monday it looks like a deep area of low pressure will approach the north—west of scotland and that will bring very windy and wet weather. with more rain forecast, still severe flood warnings in force in parts of the west midlands and the welsh marches and there is a danger to life so the website has all the details. thank you, that is all from us, goodbye. good afternoon, i'm gavin ramjaun. it'sjust after 1.30, and here's your latest sports news.

following a year and half out with a traumatic brain injury, great britain's alex danson has today announced her retirement from international hockey. she only returned to the side last month, after sustaining a knock to the head while on holiday, which kept her on the sidelines until this year. danson — who's won over 300 caps for england and great britain — broke the news to her team mates today, and released a message on social media. katie shanahan is here for more reaction. katie, tell us more. yes, this will have been a really difficult decision for alex danson to make, given that tokyo is only a few months away. she has been out of the game now, 18 months since suffering a concussion. it did not happen on the pitch, went on holiday with her boyfriend back in 2018. her boyfriend back in 2018. her boyfriend said a joke, and she laughed, threw her head back, and hit a concrete wall. danson has actually said that suffering from concussion is one of the biggest challenges of her life. at one point, she couldn't read. she was bedridden for 2h hours a day, and

actually said that she lost her identity through the recovery process. however, da nson identity through the recovery process. however, danson did return to the gb set up only last month, so this might be a surprise to some people. however, she said that decision was down purely to the fact that she was afraid she was running out of time for the tokyo 0lympic games. but today, the former england captain has explained in a statement why she has had to retire. she said... yes, and it really must have been tough for her to make this call. why does it leave team gb now?m tough for her to make this call. why does it leave team gb now? it is quite troubling times for gb, and upsetting news for them, as they will be without their main striker for the tokyo 0lympic will be without their main striker for the tokyo olympic games. seven of the golden girls retired from rio, with nicola white also out with concussion, so another blow for gb,

and the hockey family in general, she is widely regarded as one of the best gb players we have ever seen. concussion may have beaten her this time around, but at least alex danson knows that she will go down in history as part of that british tea m in history as part of that british team that won that dramatic shoot out to win 0lympic team that won that dramatic shoot out to win olympic gold back in 2016. absolutely. she will have some fond memories. thank you very much, katie shanahan. 0n alex danson‘s retirement from international hockey with team gb. wales have declared dan biggarfit to face france in this weekend's six nations. the centre was taken off against ireland afterfailing a head injury assessment following a clash at the start of the second half. he has since passed all tests and been in full training. coach wayne pivac makes just two changes. flanker ross moriarty and scrum—half gareth davies are in for aaron wainwright and tomos williams. roger federer will miss the french open after knee surgery. he says he's confident of a full recovery, but it will take him beyond the second major of the season.

the expectation is that he will return for the grass court season and go for a 21st grand slam title at wimbledon. manchester united face a punishing schedule over the next three weeks. they play seven games in the next 21 days, starting with bruges in the europa league in belgium tonight. hopefully, we will get through here, so we hopefully, we will get through here, so we will get a game every few days anyway, but we have a big squad, we have travelled now with 19 and a couple of youngsters have travelled with us. so we have a rhythm and consistency in team selection, but also in players filling parts of the team, because many of these is like to play more. arsenal and wolves are all also in action, as are celtic and rangers. coverage of their games is on bbc scotland. copenhagen and celtic get underway at 5.55pm. and that's followed by rangers hosting braga. that kicks off at 8.00pm. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website.

that's bbc.co.uk/sport. see you soon. see you soon. see you soon. see you then. thank you very much. let's hear more now from dame julie walters, who has revealed her diagnosis of stage 3 bowel cancer. she's now been given the all clear, but the actress says that as a result of her illness, her perspective towards acting has completely changed. her new film, the secret garden, she says, could be her last. she gave an exclusive interview to the bbc‘s victoria derbyshire. thank you for talking to us. it is so thank you for talking to us. it is so good to see you again. you too. particularly what you have been through in the last couple of years. how have you been? very well now, but obviously 18 months ago wasn't so good. when i was diagnosed with bowel cancer, stage three, two primary tumours in my large intestine. a year before that, i had been to the gp because i had... indigestion, terrible

indigestion and a slight bit of discomfort, really slight. i saw my own gp, so she sent me to see a gastric surgeon and he said, "we have found an abnormality." i want to see you again. if it did came back. and anyway, i then went... so she went and sent me to a gastric surgeon. i saw my own gp, so she sent me to see a gastric surgeon and he said, "we have found an abnormality."

i thought, yeah... and he said, "in your intestine." right, what is it? he said, "well, i am worried it is cancer." soi so i said, right, and he showed me on the ct scan, and i could see there that this is where the appendix is. he said, we can fix this. i thought there must have been a mistake. grant came out of the car, because he had taken me. he said, it is cancer. i will never forget his face. so i was worried about him more than... but what was the effect on you, when a consultant says, iam the effect on you, when a consultant says, i am worried it is cancer? your immediate reaction was... ? shock. and then you hold on to the positive because he said, we can fix this. i went into hospital and had 30 centimetres taken out of my colon,

but the brilliant thing is it was in two of my lymph nodes as well. they were primary obviously, they were to secondaries. the brilliant thing about it was that it was in my power, and if you catch: cancer early, it is one of the best cancer is that you can have. your wonderful friend victoria wood. yeah. two years previously to you being diagnosed, she died of cancer. yeah. you must have thought about how when you got your diagnosis. yeah, ithought about how when you got your diagnosis. yeah, i thought about her loads and how frightened she must have been. at least i could have an operation. she could not. they couldn't operate where her cancer was. but the other thing i thought was, the last time i saw her was in the hospital sitting by the bed, so i saw her at home and i thought, and

i had it at the same time, yeah. what do you think she would have said to you if you had told her you had it as well? i think it might have given her some hope. because you know, ithink have given her some hope. because you know, i think sometimes, talking to you, because you have suffered as well, we are both survivors, not sufferers. so it is comforting. yeah. this is the real source of public service information bit for sufferers. your symptoms were, you had a bit of stomach pain, a bit of heartburn, you had had a bit of vomiting. you hadn't had blood in your to or bleeding or anything like that. now. so you have some of the symptoms of bowel cancer but not the others. yes. i suppose the messages, just go and make sure you getjacks. my just go and make sure you getjacks. my discomfort was really slight. so you wouldn't go rushing. you certainly wouldn't go to a&e. wouldn't do anything like that. but it shouldn't be there. if there is a

bit of something, you have got to get that check. you mentioned work earlier, and perhaps your perspective on it comes to acting has changed. 0h, perspective on it comes to acting has changed. oh, my god. my perspective and everything has com pletely perspective and everything has completely changed. perspective and everything has completely changedlj perspective and everything has completely changed. i feel like the person before the operation was different to this person. person before the operation was different to this personlj person before the operation was different to this person. i am obviously the same person, but there has been a huge shift. when i was diagnosed, one of the things she asked me after was obviously shock about it, but also, there was a huge relief. it was really strange in that, i can get off this merry—go—round. it felt like i was stepping off something and it was wonderful, because i was due to do a big series, two big series, won that year and won the year afterwards, and two microfilms, and ijust didn't have to do anything. wow. so could the secret garden be your last

film? it's possible, yet. it's possible. but something might come up. buti possible. but something might come up. but i think i would approach it ina very up. but i think i would approach it in a very different way. it would have to be something i really engaged with, that didn't have a killing schedule, and i am not saying i will never act again, but i'm not saying i will do it at the moment. i don't think i could ever go back to six days a week, five days a week, 5am till 7pm, with a big part, having to learn lines, and the stress of it. i can't explain what the stress is like, but... do you sleep the night before when you are working, when you are on sat? now, i don't sleep, and my gut certainly does not work well. so all of that is not good. really. but it is so interesting to hear you say that. that you don't necessarily need it. when it has been your life for decades, all those incredible parts. i can't blame all of that on

the cancer, because i was getting a bitjaded, and the cancer, because i was getting a bit jaded, and i the cancer, because i was getting a bitjaded, and i like that because i enjoy being around everybody and doing stuff, but it did not have the excitement or drive that it used to have. if you are starting your career 110w, have. if you are starting your career now, you would have all the scrutiny of social media, the news and showbiz websites. yeah. how would you deal with that? very differently, because i have nothing to do with social media. why? it is on private enough... you are at the mercy of opinion enough without that, without any old tom, dick or harry coming and saying, you look old, or you look fat, harry coming and saying, you look old, oryou look fat, oryouracting was dreadful. don't need that, thanks! ican was dreadful. don't need that, thanks! i can question those things enough myself! so if you are slightly fragile, and you have a roar of that coming at you, it is unhealthy and makes people ill, and poor old caroline flack is a big example of that.

do you know yates? the wine lodge? now, wb yeats, the poet. no. if you change your mind... i'm the first in line... what the soup of the day, please? i'lljust go and find out... just in case the secret garden is your last film... i heard what you said, you are not retiring, you are very clear, but just said, you are not retiring, you are very clear, butjust in case it is your last film, what is the role you have loved the most? it is very hard to choose. i know, i know! i am going to make you. the two sides to it... there is the theatre side, and they are the most exciting and so, i would say all my sons at the national theatre was my favourite.

it was a wonderful thing to do. then, there are categories, i suppose, that's why. it isjust a silly it is just a silly way of trying to draw attention to myself! and i think things like playing mo mowla m and i think things like playing mo mowlam for channel 4. so... the disinhibition and the personality change... they can go back that far?! yes. 0h! personality change... they can go back that far?! yes. oh! so, good old 0... the mo that everybody loves... larger—than—life mo... that could all be because of the tumour? did you have chemotherapy? yeah, and isaid to did you have chemotherapy? yeah, and i said to grant before i went in, i will not have chemotherapy, because

i know i willjust get really ill, andi i know i willjust get really ill, and i will not feel great. i came out going, i'd better have it, hadn't i? when he said, yeah, i would have it. i said, hadn't i? when he said, yeah, i would have it. isaid, 0k. hadn't i? when he said, yeah, i would have it. isaid, ok. i hadn't i? when he said, yeah, i would have it. isaid, 0k. iwill never remember taking the first lot. this was tablets, not an infusion? yeah. my hand was shaking. i felt like i was killing myself. it was fine, except my tongue swelled up, andi fine, except my tongue swelled up, and i was doing a voice—over. i didn't lose my hair either. and how are you now? i'm really well! touching wood. i havejust are you now? i'm really well! touching wood. i have just had a scan on monday, and i know that that is clear, so that is a bit of a whoop—de—doo kind of moment. you don't know how anxious you have before those things. bowel cancer, because it involves your bottom, it can stop people going to the doctors, because they are embarrassed or afraid. what do you say to that? your bowel is part of your digestive system. that is all

it is, it is what ijust your face. i think you have to remember that. and you have got to go and get these things checked. and doctors are used to bottoms. they have got one themselves. hopefully! everybody has got a bottom... julie walters there, with victoria derbyshire, and if you have been affected by cancer, our derbyshire, and if you have been affected by cancer, our website derbyshire, and if you have been affected by cancer, our website is on the screen... if you need help,, lots of organisations are listed there who can help you. the 27—year—old man who murdered british backpacker grace millane in new zealand will be sentenced in new zealand tomorrow morning. that's late tonight uk time. grace, who was from essex, met her murderer on a dating app in december of 2018, the night before her 22nd birthday. her body was found in a suitcase near auckland a week later. ahead of the sentencing, graham satchell has been speaking exclusively to grace's cousin hannah about the impact of her death on the family, and the charity

they have set up in her memory. grace was a fun—loving, carefree individual. the youngest of my cousins, she enjoyed travelling and wanted to travel from the age of 11. and she had big plans, did she, for herfuture? of course, yeah, she'd just graduated from university, the world's your oyster. grace millane was following her dream — travelling the world — when she was murdered in new zealand in 2018. cctv pictures show her last moments. she met a man through a dating app, they had cocktails and ended up at his apartment, where he strangled her. the murder sent shock waves through new zealand and led to this response from the prime minister. on behalf of new zealand, i want to apologise to grace's family. your daughter should have been safe here and she wasn't and i'm

sorry for that. the new zealanders have taken grace to her heart. she is one of them, you know, a lot of new zealanders come here to england to travel and backpack, a lot of us go to new zealand. they took her to their heart because she was doing what we do, she was travelling. and they followed the story with interest and felt ashamed somewhat that it took place in their country. after the trial, grace's parents spoke of their grief. this will be with us for the rest of our lives. grace was a beautiful, loving, talented daughter. grace was our sunshine and she will be missed forever. back in essex, grace's family wanted to do something positive as a tribute. they started a remarkable project. they asked people to donate handbags, toiletries and make—up. they're distributing the bags to women's refuges. women can often leave violent relationships in a moment of crisis with nothing. what better than to give someone a bit of luxury? you know, some necessities but also

some luxuries that are in those bags as well to make these ladies feel like they're worth something? so i think that's really fitting tribute. this has become a real family affair. grace's mum gillian is also pouring her heart into the project. it's allowed her to express her grief and allowed her to — to do something useful, to do something to help others. because sometimes when things like this happen, you do feel useless. you can't change it, so, let's make some positives out of our negative and let's remind women that they do matter, there is more out there. and if we can give them something to help, you know, it might give them a bit more confidence to escape situations and to empower them slightly. the love grace project is now operating in america, canada and new zealand. and here in britain, the family have distributed more than 1,000 bags

in just a few months. they've been overwhelmed by the generosity of people donating handbags and the response of women who receive them. we did not expect the ladies to get in touch with us and share their stories with us and offer us messages of condolence. some ladies have never received handbags before. 0ne lady couldn't remember the last time she was given a present. yeah. very heartbreaking, very emotional to read other people's stories and to know the problem is much bigger than we realised. before this happened to grace, we did not realise the scale of the problem that we have in the uk. the man who strangled grace still can't be identified for legal reasons. after he killed her, he left grace in his flat and went on another tinder date the next night. after searching ‘how to dispose of a corpse', he moved grace's body in a suitcase and buried her in a shallow grave. in court, he claimed it was "rough sex gone wrong". the jury didn't believe him and he'll be sentenced later tonight. it's a big week, this week, with the sentencing. is it a chapter ending?

no. every week's going to be a big week. we've lost grace. this isn't — the sentence will not change the fact grace is gone. that was graham satchell speaking to grace millane's cousin, hannah. people in a seaside town in somerset are rallying together to help their local school's entry into a national poetry contest by learning and reciting poems themselves. they come from all walks of life and hope to influence younger generations to learn poems by heart. john maguire has been to burnham—on—sea in search of poetic inspiration. i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky. and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. i like to make things and practice my skills. it helps me earn money

to pay all my bills. i've been doing it that long, i'm losing my hair. so please be patient with me, i'm only the mayor. burnham—0n—sea is blessed with many poets, and they know it. christopher robin had weasels and sneezles. they bundled him into his bed. they gave him what goes with a cold in the nose and some for a cold in the head. the fountains mingle with the river, the rivers with the ocean. the winds of heaven mix forever with a sweet emotion. in xanadu did kubla khan, a stately pleasure—dome decree, where alph, the sacred river, ran, through caverns measureless to man, down to a sunless sea. so why so many rhymes here? it's out of season and at low tide the sea is but a pool. for the reason, well, let's ask the school. when i said to people in the community who were a little bit older, they could remember poems they did when they were at school, 20, sometimes even 30 years ago, and i thought, how lovely it must be

to be able to carry a poem around with you, never lose it, it's always in your heart. so the children have learned poems, they have done a fantasticjob and it's been wonderful that so many people in burnham and highbridge have also learned poems to really support the children in their learning. sister river, brother river, mother river, father river. 0h, life giver, oh, life taker, oh, friend river, what have you in store for a poor fisherman today? and yet by heaven i think my love is rare. in flanders field, the poppies blow. between the crosses, row on row. that mark our place, and in the sky, the larks still bravely sing and fly. i met a traveller from an antique land, who said, "two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert... near them on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command." the school's entering a national competition called poetry by heart, so what do they think, i ask, in an artistic car park? poetry, rap and songs, and like all of these things have

this ability to bring people together, and to help them express themselves. to see kids here at this age already, kind of ingesting this and being able to express themselves in this way, is really inspiring. there is a boy called simon mccoy, and he is up next. how there is a boy called simon mccoy, and he is up next. that?! first, the weather. with ben. good afternoon. over the last 2a hours, we have had another dose of heavy rain in parts of the uk that could really do without it. in fact, one or two places in cumbria has recorded more than 100 millimetres of rain. the wet weather now on the move eastwards, some very heavy downpours accompanied by some really poorly, gusty winds. squally, gusty winds. and behind that rain band,

the air started to turn colder, so we may even see a little bit of sleetiness mixing in at over high ground as this weather system slides towards the south—east corner with those strong and gusty winds. but further west, through the south—west of england, wales, the west midlands, it is drier for this afternoon and that is good news for these areas. they will be some showers though. some of them wintry, some of those showers into northern england, northern ireland and scotland. suddenly over the high ground in scotland, we could see quite a lot of snow piling up and with very strong winds here, blizzard conditions likely over some of the mountains. so as we go through into the evening, we lose that rain from the south—east corner. the southern half of the uk will be dry, with clear spells for much of the night. further north, some showers will continue and then later we will see more cloud rolling in, the wind turning south—westerly and we will see some ad of rain and by the end of the night, temperatures will

some rain getting into northern england. the heaviest rain ever high ground. not too much rain to the east, but to the east of the pennines in south—east scotland, likely to be very windy. gusty winds, 60 miles an hour, which could cause some disruption. windy elsewhere as well, but we are back to milder weather through friday, and temperatures through 10 degrees. into saturday, it looks like we will have a weather front dragging its heels down towards the south at this stage. patchy rain with that. further north, sunny spells, some of which could be heavy. wintry across high ground in scotland. some of us will have another dose of rain and southern parts on sunday from a wriggling weather front. southern parts on sunday from a wriggling weatherfront. from monday, a deep area of low pressure look set to approach the north of the uk, bringing very strong winds and yet more rain, and with severe flood warnings in place, that is not good news. the weather website has all the details.

hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2pm. nine people are killed when a suspected far right extremist in germany attacks two shisha smoking bars. he and his mother are later found shot dead. i heard a loud shooting. bang, bang, bang! everybody scream and much panic. oi, oi, oi! whoohoo! relief for passengers leaving the cruise ship hit by coronavrius. 70 britons are told they'll be flown home tomorrow. the heroes who rescued a woman stranded on the roof of a car in flood waters in south wales. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with 0lly foster.

good afternoon. a bit of a concussion theme to today's sports news,