a panel of experts in the united states has endorsed the pfizer biontech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. it paves the way for approval by the us food and drug administration. the us hopes to have around a0 million doses of the vaccine ready by the end of the year. britain's prime minister has issued a warning that leaving the eu's single market and customs union, without a trade deal, is now a strong possibility. borisjohnson, said the eu's current offer was unacceptable because it would keep the uk locked into its legal system. the british actress dame barbara windsor, best known for her roles in the carry on films, has died aged 83. she later successfully crossed the generational divide, and becamejust as revered for her role as peggy mitchell, the queen vic's landlady, in the bbc soap eastenders. with many theatres still closed

actors are having to come up with new ways to ensure the show does go on this christmas! one company has even started staging performances from long—running west end shows in people's front gardens, as our arts correspondent david silito has been finding out. this is normally the busiest time of year in theatreland. but this year, it's not going to be so much, "it's behind you", more, "it's on your doorstep." they're coming up the road now. hey, guys, i'm elder cunningham. we've got a surprise for you! come to the door! # there's a song in the air # bert and mary poppins are in the front garden of number 1a. meet doorstep productions.

this is the real west end, real west end performers, coming to doorsteps. that's right. i mean, look at this theatre, it's closed. the palladium. i mean, it's heartbreaking. all the shows are shut. all my friends are unemployed. some of them have lost their homes. and i thought, "hang on a minute, i could get some people some work. # supercalifragalisticexpialidoc ious! how long since you last performed in public? march 16, 2020. how's it been? it's been rough, but we're here and we're making the best of it. what does this feel like? currently, we're drenched, but it's wonderful. it's wonderful to be performing again. les miserables by the bins. it's not quite the west end, but it is work. david sillito, bbc news.

now on bbc news, veteran explorer robin hanbury—tenison, who spent weeks in a coma battling covid—19, says the healing power of nature helped to save his life. robin was one of the first covid—19 patients into derriford hospital. he may be a veteran of 30 expeditions, but surviving coronavirus would prove to be one of robinrobin hanbury—tenison‘s toughest experiences yet. every day was pretty brutal and we were pretty broken. the doctors called us to say that actually, he is deteriorating further. his chances of ever recovering have now gone down to about 5%. i opened my eyes, saw the sunshine, saw the flowers and that was the moment when my life was saved by the healing power of nature. it's a long road back from something like that. essentially, his body was failing and i think having a goal, something to work towards is vitally important because it gives you a target to aim for and that goal can be

as trivial or as ambitious as you want it to be. so this has been as big a challenge as any that i've done in my life, to get to the point where i could climb this mountain. i will make it to the top, because i believe everyone should have access to the same thing that saved my life.

it must be lovely to have all this old footage of your dad just lying around the house? it's incredible, we've got reels from pretty much every expedition he's been on from the late 50s, through tojust a couple of years ago. everything from the orinoco, the sahara and the siberian steps and everything in between. i am so lucky to have been travelling with him on a number of those expeditions. so i've been coming down here a lot recently to look through the old footage and it's really helped to feel like he's not in hospital at the moment. but he is still on the farm with us, it's incredible to see how much he has achieved throughout his life. 84—year—old robin hanbury—tenison is widely recognised as one of the world's greatest living explorers. he's crossed continents by foot, boat. ..and jeep. leading expeditions of more than 120 scientists into the heart

of remotejungles. i've been here for nearly 12 months now and the expedition has grown enormously since its original conception. what we are doing is to examine the rain forest, which is a vital and very little understood environment. probably the richest environment in the world and one which is disappearing with terrifying speed. robin has chronicled his life of adventure through a series of more than 20 books. his most recent book explores the major threats facing the world today, including pandemics. robin was one of the first covid—i9 patients into derriford hospital, having caught the virus whilst skiing prior to the lockdown. 36 hours after he was in hospital, he was heavily sedated and put

on a ventilator. so one of the ways i've been keeping in touch with the family is with a family group chat. my son says he is praying and thinking of him. i can't really read them. sounds like he's getting the best possible care and lots of attention. you are so brave as well, louella. robin is a tough, old nut. i can't really read... we know he'll pull through. being in first means he has their full attention. he is in the right place, stay strong. sending huge love, he'll pull through. we love him, etc. yeah, there's lots of wonderful messages from people and he's still deep in the woods, but at least it's not

worsening. that is so encouraging, sleep well. yeah, just lots of similar sorts of messages. yeah, he'll get there. robin and louella's farm on bodmin moor, one of cornwall‘s designated areas of outstanding natural beauty, is overlooked by cornwall‘s highest peak, brown willy. their shared love of nature drew the couple to the moor over 30 years ago. this is such a special place because we come here often together. robin's travelled all his life, to the most wonderful places and of course, your favourite place has got to be home, in the woods here on our farm. and it's very comforting and reassuring to visit it and think about

being here with him. after two weeks in hospital, robin's kidneys fail. he is unconscious. the family can do nothing but wait as robin clings to life. but doctors tell them to begin to come to terms with a life without him. you never know how you are going to react when somebody you care about is so unbelievably ill and on death's door. and every day was pretty brutal and we were pretty broken. the doctor says to him, your lungs are filling up with fluid. we have two options, option one is we leave you and hope that you get better naturally, but the chances are at your age you almost certainly are going to die if we do that. option two is, we sedate you, probably for ten days, try and drain your lungs but at your age you have about a 20% chance of survival.

at this point the doctors call us and say, actually, he's deteriorating further. his lungs are still filling with fluid and they want to put a tracheotomy in. normally this is a relatively simple procedure, but because of his age there is a strong chance he'll die in surgery. the doctors want to make it really clear to us, even if he does survive that, his chances of ever recovering have now gone down to about 5%. and even if he does recover, he may well be bedbound, have severe cognitive impairment and never be the man that we knew who went into hospital about a month before. and they say we have some difficult conversations ahead of us when we may have to decide whether it's even worth continuing with treatment. i believe i'm alive. you are alive. you are definitely alive.

after five weeks in intensive care, robin was wheeled into derriford hospital's healing garden with icu nurse, kate, by his side. i remember the first times he went outside and you feel fresh air and they see sun and they see flowers and it's like they kind of start to emerge out of... ..out of this dream. you could see he was looking at things and thinking, this is real, this is tangible. i feel safe. that was a real breakthrough for him in his recovery. my name is robin hanbury—tenison. i'm an 84—year—old explorer and i survived five weeks in intensive care with coronavirus. the moment when i actually woke up and i knew i was going to live was the moment when i was wheeled out by four nurses in a big bed with tubes coming out of everywhere and i arrived in the healing garden they've got at derriford.

i opened my eyes, saw the sunshine, saw the flowers and that was the moment that my life was saved by the healing power of nature. he may be a veteran of 30 expeditions, but surviving coronavirus would prove to be one of robin hanbury—tenison's toughest experiences yet. but here he is leaving hospital to the cheers of the nhs staff who cared for him. during the darkest days of his illness, robin's family had been told, if he did survive the impact of the virus would very likely be severe and long—lasting. it was quite a shock to be told that i might never walk properly again. recovery after intensive care is like a marathon. every step feels hard and challenging and it's made up of a million different components. so even learning how to swallow again is a big journey. sitting independently is a big journey. but robin had a goal. unthinkable, perhaps, to those around him, but a goal that drove him

through his recovery. exactly five months from may the 3rd is october the 3rd. so i decided that on that day i would climb cornwall‘s highest mountain, brown willy, and try and raise £100,000 towards a garden at cornwall‘s hospital because i think every hospital in the country should have a healing garden in it, and let's start with cornwall. it was exciting to have him home but it was also quite nerve—racking as well. we were in lockdown for two weeks once he came home, so [10 one came near us. and that's quite scary, i'm not a nurse and i didn't know whether i was going to have to do major nursing or not. he was very thin and had lost about a stone and a half. so we had a lot of work to get him back on his feet again.

he could hardly walk a few yards when he got home ona zimmerframe. it just takes a bossy woman and a certain amount of threats and he would do what i had told him. so we borrowed and mobility scooter, we borrowed an exercise bike and we have done a lot of exercises and short walks. it hasjust been really amazing watching his strength come back, his muscle come back. he was very thin and a bag of bones when he got home. he gets very breathless still and even though his lungs are clear, i am not sure everyone quite gets back to where they were after this, but he is fantastic and he is strong and determined and he has worked hard. what would you say to any other patient who is having to fight off this infection from

the outset because they are quite literally climbing a mountain when it comes to the impact this infection is having on the lungs or the oxygen content of their blood and the overall impact physically of this infection. everybody has to have a goal when they are rehabilitating and when they are recovering. the journey that robin is going through at the moment in terms of his recovery following on from an infection like this is going to be no different to the journey that many patients across the country, indeed across the world, are going to be making at the moment.

we are ecstatic to have him home and it is great to see him getting stronger and stronger. the weather is getting worse and he is a bit weaker than he was before and we are worried he might have bitten off a bit more than he can chew. my wife louella has been marvellous at encouraging me to do my exercises. and now that i am pretty well done with physio, we are concentrating walking long distances every day. throughout his life, robin has set himself tough challenges. for his 80th birthday, he ran his first marathon. but the charity he is most proud of is international which he established 30 years ago. the organisation fights for the rights of these once voiceless people. anywhere in the world where a new damp, high road of vast mining operation is planned and the blueprints cover land occupied for centuries by tribal people, commerce comes before conscience and the indians are swept aside in

the name of progress. survival international exist to temper that race for progress with patience and understanding. his friend and contemporary, sir ranulph fiennes, is proud of what he has achieved. in my opinion, robin is one of the greatest explorers alive today and his legacy is one that does more for conservation and human rights. in addition to the volume of his great adventures is his far—reaching successes for various forms of conservation, includes sterling work for the preservation of threatened rainforests. i am truly proud to have known my friend robin down the long years, and i seize this opportunity to thank him for all his great works. it is the day of the climb.

robin and the family are getting themselves ready for the journey from their home to the base of the highest point in cornwall, 1,378 feet above sea level. get these boots on. absolutely, what a weather forecast. it's going to be quite a day. the ascent to the top of brown willy is a seven—mile round trip and the terrain is difficult on the best of days. he is always pretty relaxed about this kind of thing and when the stakes are higher, he just gets more excited. so, a number of people have been phoning up saying, perhaps it shouldn't do it and he should postpone because of this storm alex that is coming in. the met office have issued amber weather warnings that will come into force later. the met office reminds us how

wet it was on the 3rd of october, that was the wettest on record, records going back to 1891. it is making me quite nervous and i am going to make sure that we're well and lizzie and i will make sure we will take survival gear we didn't consider taking before, so we will have exposure blankets, warm kit, hot drink and snacks. so if the weather does turn on the top, then we can get him warm and dry and get him off the mountain very, very quickly. over the hills we could see as much as 120 millimetres, so a very wet spell of weather. we are likely to see some flooding building in through the weekend across these areas. here we are at the base of brown willy, the weather is horrible. my family is with me and of course we're going to make it. well, it has been a roller—coaster ride and with covid recovery it is a difficult thing for people to get over.

they feel very tired and breathless and he does feel tired and breathless still. well, storm alex has definitely come in and look at it — the weather is blowing and the rain is heavy but it is as good as we thought —— well, storm alex has definitely come in and look atit— the weather is blowing and the rain is heavy but it is as good as we thought it might be. he is already heading up the hill like a schoolboy. he has raced ahead of me. he is full of beans and very excited. but obviously, we are taking it sensibly, because the weather is making this even trickier. when i first started exploring, it was all about showing off, about going further and more bravely than other people. and a lot of explorers today still do just that. but i was lucky enough

to discover causes, tribal people and rainforests. and i now realise it is much more important for adventurers, people doing exciting things, to have a purpose which helps to save the world. make it a better place, because we haven't got time to do anything else. it is quite steep, steeper than i expected, there's been quite a lot of rain and wind. we have had to shelter occasionally. we are getting near the top now and all my training is being taxed to the limit now. but i think i will make it. robin and his family have now passed the halfway point and have reached the step as part of the climb. robin's training so far has never been further than a few miles at a time and never more than a stone's throw away from home.

we knew it would be hard to get up here today because it has been windy, cold and wet and it's not been an easy climb for him and the fact that he is 84 is pretty incredible. as robin is the final push, he starts to feel the effects of the climb. one of the ironies of having my life saved by waking up in the healing garden in derriford hospital, is that i have spent most of my life campaigning, fighting for rainforests and other wilderness areas

in the world, because i believe they were important in their own right. but in the end it was the healing garden that saved my life. exactly five months after robin was released from hospital with coronavirus, he completed his challenge of climbing brown willy in aid of nhs healing gardens. it is very, very important achievement for him. it is a challenge, but well worth giving him and he has done it. i am so pleased, i am so proud of him. i am feeling fantastic because we've made it. thanks to louella dragging me up and the weather pushing me, i've done it. couldn't have done it without everyone.

it is all in a wonderful cause for the healing garden, which saved my life. it is massive for robin completing this and here at the hospital. we'll raise money for healing gardens across the south—west. these gardens make a massive difference to patients in intensive care in every hospital every day. it isjust phenomenal. when you take people outside after they have been in intensive care for a long time, even for a short length of time, you show them a blue sky or a grey sky or even let them feel drizzle on their hands, it often is incredibly moving. it is moving because it shows people that life is going to go on and there is life waiting for them outside intensive care and outside the hospital bed. it is anything you want it to be from a gym to where somebody spends their last hours of life, to a place where a married couple of 40 years can hold hands for the last time, to a place somebody can bring their dog in, where somebody can play basketball, staff can relax and talk about everything that is going on. it really isjust a space

for people to be themselves. since the climb, robin has turned his attention towards helping his son in rewilding theirfarm in bodmin. since the climb, robin has turned his attention towards helping his son in rewilding theirfarm in bodmin. kate was awarded a queen's birthday honour for her contributions and dedication to the nhs. completely overwhelmed.

hello again. although skies across the uk on thursday were almost uniformly grey and drab, skies like these overhead in llangollen were pretty commonplace across the country. there were, however, big temperature contrasts from place to place. in the west, we had some milder atlantic air moving in. whereas across central and eastern england along with the whole of scotland, we had much colder continental air. in the west, temperatures reached double figures, it was actually quite mild, 10—11 celsius. but across central and eastern england and scotland, temperatures were more typically around 5—6 celsius. we only managed to get 4 in dalwhinnie in the highlands of scotland. so, there were some big contrasts. those contrasts were driven, really,

by this weather front that's been bringing rain eastwards over recent houi’s. and it's, as well, been one of those nights where the milder air has been pushing in. temperatures for some have actually been rising throughout the night as well. so, for most of us, friday will get off to a relatively mild note but across eastern england, eastern scotland, there will still be some rain around. in fact, the rain will linger in aberdeenshire pretty much all day, bringing a risk of some localised flooding. but i suspect there will for a time in the morning be some low cloud for north east england and eastern scotland with some hill fog patches around. now, the skies do try to brighten up from the west but there will be plenty of showers coming through later on in the day. now, that sunshine isn't going to hang around too long because the ridge is going to move away to be replaced by the second half of this weekend by low pressure.

that low pressure will be bringing south—westerly winds. so, again, we should see some milder air sloshing its way in across the uk. now, sunday promises to be quite a windy day. we may well even have gales for a time around some of our western coasts. there will certainly be a lot of rain around as well, and even as the rain clears, showers will follow on. temperatures though on the mild side, reaching a high towards the south west of 13 celsius. that's your latest weather.

welcome to bbc news, i'm james reynolds, our top stories: a panel of us experts recommends that the szier covid—19 vaccine be given approvalfor use. the fda normally follows their advice. a stark warning from britain's prime minister. borisjohnson says there's a ‘strong possibility‘ that the uk will fail to strike a post—brexit trade deal with the european union. i stand ready to talk to anybody, our friends and partners in the eu, whenever they want. at the moment, i have to tell you, in all candour, the treaty is not there yet. pushing the poorest further into poverty. how coronavirus is hitting those who are already struggling, and making a hard situation even worse. and, the british actress, barbara windsor, best known