good morning. welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and mega munchetty. our headlines today. dame barbara windsor, star of eastenders and the carry on films, has died at the age of 83. the actress was diagnosed with alzheimer's six years ago, throughout breakfast, we'll look back at her life and career. pupils at secondary schools in parts of london, kent and essex are to get covid tests in an attempt to curb a rapid rise in infections. secondary students in wales are sent home and will do classes online from monday. borisjohnson says there's now a strong possibility that the uk will not agree a post—brexit trade deal with the eu.

quarantine from the canaries. travellers returning from the spanish islands will have to isolate for m days from tomorrow, as a travel giant, tui, says it might cancel its christmas schedule. it's five out of five in the europa league, with all the british teams in action last night winning their final games before the knockout stage. tottenham among those topping their groups. and rain will not be too far away over the next few days with the wettest conditions in eastern scotla nd wettest conditions in eastern scotland but at least sunshine in the south and west. the details on brea kfast. it's friday the 11th of december. our top story. dame barbara windsor — one of the country's best—loved actresses — has died at the age of 83. her husband, scott mitchell, said she passed away peacefully from alzheimer's at a care home in london last night. he said herfinal weeks

were typical of how she lived her life — "full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end." david sillito looks back at her life. barbara giggles. that'll do, that'll do. all right, girls, get in the coach, and you get on with the loading. barbara windsor — a lift 10in national treasure. we were told to bring the minimum of clothing. now really let's see those chests come out! and fling! funny, cheeky, slightly naughty. but there was a lot more to her thanjust carry on camping. matron, take them away! barbara ann deeks began acting as a teenager. born in shoreditch, in london, the daughter of a barrow boy, it was joan littlewood at a theatre workshop who saw her star quality. she won a bafta nomination for the film sparrows can't sing. and a tony for 0h, what a lovely war! movies and cabaret introduced her to glamour and some shady friends. at one point, she dated the gangster reggie kray.

but it was the carry on films that made her a star. hi. her entrance always an excuse for something slightly saucy. sorry. have you got a larger one? have you got a large one? i've had no complaints, so far. he cackles. especially if sid james was around — a relationship that carried on off—camera. quick, before somebody comes in. you 'aven't got any soap on that bit. # up to the west end! but after those nine carry on films, there were some lean years. until she found peggy. grant! mum. i heard you were back, i was going to give you a call. then why didn't you, you useless great lump? peggy micthell in eastenders, the new landlady of the queen vic, was a role made for her. you're unfit to be a father! don't you dare turn your back on me! 22 years on albert square. get outta my pub! which ended with barbara becoming dame barbara. dame babs sounds nice, doesn't it?

my mum would have liked it to be dame barbara — she was a bit of a cockney snob, my mum. so she would be, "dame barbara." god, what would she be thinking now? what would she be thinking? however, her farewell to walford was also her farewell to acting. she had been diagnosed with alzheimer's. oh, my dear friend. you'll never leave me will you? dame barbara windsor, talent, warmth... no, sweetheart. thank you. ..and a lifetime of cheeky fun. secondary school pupils in parts of london, essex and kent will be offered mass testing in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus. it comes as secondary school students in wales prepare to take their classes online from the end of today, after a significant rise in infections there. anna o'neill has the story. out of an actual real gcse question... secondary school pupils in the classroom in wales,

but not for long. from monday until the new year, they will be doing their learning at home, online. the public health situation there is deteriorating, putting the nhs under pressure. one of the largest teaching unions in wales welcomed the news to keep students at home for now. a few days ago, there was a report by the technical advisory group, which effectively, when you boiled it down, was telling parents that if they wanted a christmas that was without self—isolation, they should take their children out of school. we have found from our members telling us that large numbers of parents were beginning to do that. cases among young people in the south—east of england are also on the rise. at last night's news conference, the health minister said he was particularly concerned about london, where rates are up in 3! out of 32 boroughs. we know from experience that a sharp rise in cases in younger people can lead to a rise amongst more vulnerable age groups later. we have seen that happen before.

so we need to do everything we can to stop the spread amongst school—aged children in london right now. in havering, there are 379 cases per 100,000 people. in waltham forest, it's 317. and 31! per 100,000 people in barking and dagenham. and so, last night, the government announced an immediate plan for testing all secondary school—aged children in the seven worst affected boroughs in london, as well as parts of essex that border it and parts of kent. the leader of barking and dagenham welcomed the news. we are looking forward to being able to use the additional resources we need to make sure we keep our young people as safe as possible. at the same time, we are also making sure that every teacher gets tested before they leave the term, which is good, and they will go home with a home test, which will allow them to test before they have to come back

at the start of the new term. there are concerns that unless the rates in london start to fall, the capital is heading for a move from tier two into tier three next week, just before the christmas relaxation relaxation of restrictions — something london's leaders are keen to avoid. anna o'neill, bbc news. in northern ireland, shops, gyms and some hospitality businesses are reopening after a two—week lockdown. restaurants, cafes and other venues serving food can resume trading, but pubs that don't serve food must remain shut. hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons can reopen but visits to them are by appointment only. some restrictions are also easing in parts of scotland today, where more than two million people have been under the country's toughest lockdown rules for three weeks. non—essential shops and gyms will reopen across much of the west of the country, including glasgow. pubs and restaurants will remain closed until tomorrow. the public spending watchdog has strongly criticised

the coronavirus test and trace service in england, which has a budget of £22 billion. the national audit office said that in the early stages of the programme, some contact tracers were busy for i% of their paid hours. the government said more recent performance figures had improved, as jim reed reports. this report covers the time up to the start of november, as england entered a second wave of the pandemic. on testing, it says plans were not in place to deal with a spike in cases as schools and universities reopened. at a drive—in site like this, the aim was to return results in 2a hours. but, by early november, just 38% of tests met that target. then there was a second key task — to trace anyone an infected person had been in contact with and tell them to self—isolate. here, again, the report is critical,

saying too few people were called by tracers and it took too long to find those who were. test and trace had a target for in—person test in the community to get all of them back within 2a hours. in the period we looked out from may to october, it only managed to get 41% back within that timeframe, so it needs to look at the speed of what it's doing. more recent figures do appear to show the system is improving, but there have been changes in the way some data are recorded, making comparisons difficult. the government says it now plans to work more closely with local council teams to stop clusters of cases growing into outbreaks. the budget for test and trace this year is £22 billion, or £950 for each household. the watchdog says it must do more to justify that at a time when cases are rising across the country. jim reed, bbc news. borisjohnson says there's now a strong possibility of leaving the eu's single market and customs

union without a trade deal. the prime minister says he's willing to talk to eu leaders at any time, but has warned the public and businesses to be prepared for a no—deal scenario. we're joined now by our brussels correspondent, nick beake. we are in the curious position where in theory negotiators go back into the room together and carry on talking, but their political leaders have sketched out a situation that is bleak in terms of coming to a deal in the coming days. good morning, absolutely right. a strange situation because on the one hand, negotiators will talk again today in brussels. this is the first of three days left, if the leaders and sides are to be believed. until sunday, and at that point if they have not reached a decision, that is it. we

know that brexit deadlines come and go. they have 72 hours to do something they haven't been able to do for months but all the talk from borisjohnson do for months but all the talk from boris johnson yesterday do for months but all the talk from borisjohnson yesterday in the strongest terms yet, was that people should prepare for a no deal. european countries have a big summit at the moment with 27 leaders meeting in brussels that i have to tell you, last night, they were talking for hours, up until the early hours, talking about covid and climate change. we have not heard from president macron from france or angela merkel in germany respond to these strong words from boris johnson. we know the european commission has published emergency plans if there is no deal to keep aeroplanes and lorries moving between both sides, and also a proposal to protect fishing communities for a one—year period. the uk government said it is looking at the ideas. even if there is no deal, it does not want to be tied to

eu rules so it is complicated a busy few days yet again. a panel of experts in the united states have endorsed the pfizer biontech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. this week britain became the first western country to use it, with canada preparing to follow suit. the food and drug administration's vaccine chief is expected to give the final approval in the coming days. it is friday morning, you want to know about the weather. good morning. good morning. a little bit of sunshine at times later across southern and western areas but often a cloudy day for the majority, and rain never too far away. for most, occasional showers but we have persistent rain that fell through the night across many areas. just clearing eastern counties in the next few hours. it will be a

struggle to lose it in parts of eastern scotland, it will keep on feeding in across parts of caithness and areas around eastern scotland such as angus. they could be minor flooding here. further west, sunshine between the heavy showers in western scotland, northern ireland, wales and western fringes of england but there will be an area between north west england and the south coast where things will be largely dry and things will brighten up largely dry and things will brighten up after a cloudy start. the rain clearing from eastern coast but remaining across eastern scotland. windy to the north—east of scotland. slow moving showers across western areas. temperatures today still in single figures but lifting up a little bit compared to yesterday. tonight showers keep on going across many parts. rain in eastern scotland. as we go into the weekend, it could be misty in eastern areas.

sunshine to the west on saturday. but on sunday, the best i can give isa but on sunday, the best i can give is a christmas movie on the but on sunday, the best i can give is a christmas movie on the sofa. what is your favourite? i will have to watch nativity. try die hard. we had the very sad news overnight that the actress dame barbara windsor has died at the age of 83. she was diagnosed with dementia six yea rs she was diagnosed with dementia six years ago. many tributes have been paid. actress danniella westbrook, who played dame barbara's on—screen daughter sam mitchell on eastenders, tweeted: "my heart is broken. you will always be in my heart forever. i love you." matt lucas in his

tweet said "it's not an overstatement to say i think the whole country is in mourning today". he wrote "you don't become a dame by accident. everyone knew barbara windsor and everyone loved her." and patsy palmer, who played bianca jackson on eastenders, shared a moving tribute on instagram. "i'm extremely sad to hear that my friend dame babara windsor has passed away. i'm sitting here thinking of the hundreds of memories we shared. too many to comprehend. i can hear that laugh now as i sit and think about her. i hope it'll ring in my ears for ever." i suppose one thing that illustrates, the different people paying tribute today and the generations who she has entertained. when you go back to the early days of carry on films, in the 605. i think she was in about one third of the carry on film5, i think she was in about one third of the carry on films, but if you think about dame barbara wind5or, thati5 think about dame barbara wind5or, that is what you a55ociate her with.

and over the years, bringing it up to date now with recently eastender5 and such a big role in that soap opera, which, for many, that will be the barbara windsor they know. and a theatre actor who was accomplished and nominated for many awards, which i think people do not reali5e. i realise it from reading oui’ reali5e. i realise it from reading our research reali5e. i realise it from reading oui’ research note5. reali5e. i realise it from reading our research notes. the news came overnight, so we are not seeing it on the front pages this morning. we can look at the papers now. the way these work... these are the later editions. the mirror's late editition leads with the news that dame barbara windsor has died. "farewell to a showbiz legend" says the paper. her husband scott mitchell said last night she was "full of humour, drama and fighting 5pirit until the end". the times also

has a photograph of dame barbara, pictured there with her hu5band “119911. she had been suffering from alzheimers's for six years. the paper's lead story is that the prime minister borisjohnson has told britain to prepare for a no—deal brexit. we will be talking about that in the programme. and the most—read story on bbc new5 online this morning is that dame barbara has died. one thing people remember clearly more recently, having gone public about her condition, alzheimer's, 5he about her condition, alzheimer's, she and her husband talking openly about it. again, we have spoken about it. again, we have spoken about it. again, we have spoken about it a lot on the programme, when someone has that profile and i5 open about a condition, that will have affected another group of people who benefited. also, people who are scared of the diagnosis. she withdrew from

eastenders, and insisted to the script writers her character was killed off so there was no temptation to go back. she withdrew because she found it difficult to remember her lines. she was finding it difficult to communicate. she withdrew from that but the fact she was so open withdrew from that but the fact she was so open about her reluctance and being outward with this news, encouraging otherfamilies, being outward with this news, encouraging other families, and something they can tackle and ask for help with. we will be happy during this morning to share with you some of those reminiscences. herfriends to share with you some of those reminiscences. her friends and collea g u es reminiscences. her friends and colleagues in the film and theatre business, as they come in this morning as people wake up to the news that dame barbara windsor, sadly, has died. more on that throughout the morning. the main story is in connection with brexit and we will investigate further a number of issues in relation to what

borisjohnson has said, the likelihood of no deal. and we look at the consequences and what that could mean. you will have heard a lot from retailers and businesses about the consequences. and we will be speaking to the culture secretary at 7:30am. this story feels inappropriate in a way. there has been focus recently on older people and what they can still do, capable of doing. you think of captain tom, inspiring people, and this story is extraordinary. this is a doctor in kaza khsta n extraordinary. this is a doctor in kazakhstan named as the world's longest working surgeon. at the age of 93. he is still a practising surgeon. of 93. he is still a practising surgeon. he thinks he has carried out up to 30,000 operation since 1953. he is carrying out up to six operations a day at the age of 93.

he said his hands do not shake, he eats well and does not drink. he is perfectly capable of carrying on working and says he intends to do so. what kind of operations? well, he is... he works in an emergency surgery well, he is... he works in an emergency surgery clinic so presumably any type of work. extraordinary, at the age of 93. married, two suns. guess what they do? surgeons. doctors. travellers returning to the uk from spain's canary islands from saturday morning must self—isolate for two weeks after the government removed the area from the safe travel corridor list. it's another blow to holiday firms after a year of difficulties. ben is at london's stansted airport for us to find out more. it feels a little while since we have focused on travel restrictions. a lot of other things going on.

bring us up—to—date with the changes. you are right and the reason we are talking about this one, it is such a popular destination for winter, a place you might consider going to christmas to get warmth and away from weather like this. the canary islands removed from the safe list of destinations which prompted overnight the largest travel firm, tui, to suggest it might have to cancel its christmas schedule, such is the scale of the number of people who would be heading to there, 800 due to fly this morning. that is because the foreign office has not updated travel advice. it is of the safe list but they have not decided whether it should be advisory against all but essential travel and if it is that would invalidate things like travel insurance so that is the concern, people wondering if their holiday will be going ahead. a solution to that could be what is

known as test and release. it is due to come into force next week and on tuesday next week, it means you will be able to take a test and you take that test five days after returning from somewhere that requires you to isolate yourself and the idea is you will get the results in a couple of days so after about seven days, you will be able to free yourself from isolation, rather than being in quarantine 1a days you might have to do itjust seven. there is a catch, you have to pay for that and it costs between £60 and £120. the government has not yet issued a list of approved suppliers so knowing who you can get the test from is an issue. we are awaiting clarity on that. it means for people like sandra, a viewer, who said without that clarity, it is difficult to know whether she can see her family for christmas when she returns from

france. we looked at the passenger locator forms we need to fill in to get into the uk and it says you need to book a covid test, a private test, but no provisions have been made, no sites have been allocated, no providers have been allocated as of yet. there are covid test centre is about in the peterborough area, but you go for those if you have symptoms. so we're just waiting to what happens. a lot of uncertainty. who better to cast light on this than simon calder, a familiar face. cast light on this than simon calder, a familiarface. good morning. let's talk about the canary islands. many will be thinking about their travel plans, one of the places we could go for christmas,

which is now looking unlikely. the 22nd of october, everybody did because they are a great winter sta ple because they are a great winter staple and i genuinely thought you could plan a holiday for christmas, new year, into january, could plan a holiday for christmas, new year, intojanuary, february, and you would be pretty certain you would go. now it is on the no—go list with a little bit of uncertainty about the foreign office, and people waking up, what do we do about our trip? tui is likely to cancel the next few weeks. i understand that jet2 likely to cancel the next few weeks. i understand thatjet2 will do the same. many people have booked individualflights same. many people have booked individual flights and hotels and airlines are legally entitled to say the flight is still going, the fact you do not want to be on it is not our problem, and if you booked a hotel, the hotelier can say your room is here, if you are not, you're not having a refund. a stressful time for hundreds of thousands of

people. and all this as we get details about what changes as a result of brexit. at the end of december, start of january, result of brexit. at the end of december, start ofjanuary, things will look different for travellers. we might not be able to go to the eu because of covid. the eu has a blanket recommendation, that is all it is. the european commission saying generally, we think all countries plus countries like iceland, norway, switzerland, lichtenstein and at the moment united kingdom, you should be able to travel within each other but after that we ban pretty much everybody apart from so—called nice countries like australia and new zealand where they have lower infection rates but that is a recommendation. every country in the eu can decide whether they are going to enforce that rule or have something more relaxed. norway is saying, 1st of january, something more relaxed. norway is saying, 1st ofjanuary, you something more relaxed. norway is saying, 1st of january, you are something more relaxed. norway is saying, 1st ofjanuary, you are not coming in. not a saying, 1st ofjanuary, you are not coming in. nota huge saying, 1st ofjanuary, you are not coming in. not a huge winter saying, 1st ofjanuary, you are not coming in. nota huge wintersun destination. malta is saying you are

most welcome. a real tangle. and please, if you are looking at travelling early in the new year, check your passport. notjust travelling early in the new year, check your passport. not just the expiry date that has to have six months from 1st of january, but when it was issued. bizarrely there is a rule that says if it was more than nine years six months ago, you are not allowed on the plane here. it is a tough time for travellers. i am afraid there still is an awful lot we do not know. simon, thank you. shedding a little on that. so many unanswered questions as far as what we can do and how we will do it and what you need to have with you to get there. we will talk more about that later including passports, travel insurance, and changes to pets if travelling overseas. all good information. time now to get the news,

travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london, i'm victoria hollins. secondary schools in the areas of london most affected by coronavirus are to get urgent covid testing over the coming days. the capital now has the highest average rate of cases in england. the government has urged all 11—18 year olds involved in the surge testing to take part. in the worst hit areas the tests will be able to give quick results. we can check to see if they are carrying the virus or not. what we are trying to do is try and keep as many young people as possible safe and more importantly, the grandparents normally of the young people. because they love their grandparents. what we don't want them doing, and i am sure they wouldn't want to do, is pass on the virus to any of their loved ones. some london councils are defying new immigration rules which make rough sleeping

grounds for deportation. the new rules, which lewisham and southwark councils have labelled "cruel and inhumane" came into force at the start of december. the home office can now deport non—uk citizens who have a legal right to stay in the uk if they end up sleeping on the street. it says this is last resort measure and individuals are first asked to leave voluntarily with government support. the nutcracker returns to the stage today in a reworked, covid—safe version at the royal ballet. this restaging of peter wright's celebrated production features students of the royal ballet school alongside the full company. let's take a look at the travel situation now... there's a good service on the tubes this morning with just minor delays on the district line earls court to richmond, ealing broadway. there were minor delays, but they have now gone. on the a13 there are queues westbound due to a lane closure between movers lane and beckton

because of a burst water main. on fulham palace road a bus lane is closed northbound between lillie road and lysia street, due to accident investigation works. in vauxhall durham street is closed from kennington lane to harleyford road — that's because of a burst water main. now, let's get the weather. hello, good morning. it's quite a wet, early start to the day across the capital, there's a band of heavy rain that's been moving its way eastwards through the night and that will clear through this morning, but it leaves behind it plenty of cloud for the rest of the day. the blustery winds will ease down, we are starting off not on too chillier a note, temperatures generally in high single figures but there could be one or two showers following on behind this weather front. for the most part though, looking mostly dry. top temperatures in the milder air of up to ten or 11 celsius through this afternoon. now, through this evening and overnight, again it's quite cloudy. there could be one or two showers but generally quite dry, overnight lows dropping into mid single figures. tomorrow, mostly dry day

but there could be one or two morning showers around and the winds will fall quite light. but there's always going to be a lot of cloud around on saturday. it's also going to feel a bit cooler too, but the milder air returns along with some wet and windy weather on sunday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. now though it's back to charlie and naga. bye for now. hello this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. coming up on breakfast this morning. mass testing at schools or closing them early? a5 secondary schools in wales and parts of england face different rules for tackling the coronavirus we'll discuss the best way to deal with rising cases. a step closer to space tourism — we'll hear why a virgin galactic test flight today could lead to a commercial service launching early next year.

and he's the oscar winning director behind 12 years a slave and the bbc‘s small axe series — we'll be joined by steve mcqueen. she was the carry on star who went on to make the queen vic her own. the beloved actress dame barbara windsor has died at the age of 83. her husband said she passed away peacefully at a care home in london. she's been living with alzheimer's for the last six years. we're joined now by the entertainmentjournalist caroline frost. good to see you this morning. it is a shame we are talking about such sad circumstances. it has been very clear this morning just how much affection dane barbara windsor has held in so many people's hearts? definitely, it's not so much of a shock because we know she had been ill for a long time, but very sad

news for her generations of fans for dane barbara windsor in british entertainment. a real trooper who landed her place in hearts in britain and overseas. stage, tv and carry on films. where do you start, with her laugh, the laugh her character... she was only four feet ten and this huge personality that lea pt ten and this huge personality that leapt out onto the screen over the yea rs ? leapt out onto the screen over the years? yes, this little pint sized power pack. she said she got her chuckle from her father, power pack. she said she got her chuckle from herfather, she power pack. she said she got her chuckle from her father, she said they used to chuckle their way through weekend afternoons as a child. she was on the west end

stage, but then of course she sealed her stamp stage, but then of course she sealed herstamp in stage, but then of course she sealed her stamp in british charts with the persona , her stamp in british charts with the persona, the naughty the wink the boys. it was all part of her important persona for those films but she was old always in on the joke and she always had the last laugh, the last chuckle. joke and she always had the last laugh, the last chucklelj joke and she always had the last laugh, the last chuckle. i know you have been working on a book about her as well. it is just about how her as well. it is just about how her career spanned through the generations. people of all ages will have their favourite era of barbara windsor? of course, there is a new young generation who know her as peggy mitchell, the matriarch of the queen. she didn't come to east end straightaway. she wanted to, but it started out as a series that didn't wa nt started out as a series that didn't want the big names. but she had to wait a decade or so to get the role. when she did, it was like she had

a lwa ys when she did, it was like she had always been there. that is when some people got to know her the very first time. also the relationship with her sons and her relationship with her sons and her relationship with her sons and her relationship with her screen husband, frank butcher. she was one of those tireless troopers we have seen in british entertainment. we talked about her on screen and the carry on films and east but he was very established in the theatre? yes, with this tony award nomination under her belt, i think she felt in later yea rs under her belt, i think she felt in later years she was typecast by his screen success and most people knew her as one thing. but she loved the stage, she was often willing in her early years to sacrifice bigger tv audiences to stay on the stage. she was a singer in soho clubs when she started out, she love the intimate connection with audiences. i think we saw that, even when she was not just on tv but in her public

persona , just on tv but in her public persona, she just on tv but in her public persona , she never just on tv but in her public persona, she never turned down a fan's request for a picture and an autograph. i have spoken to people who had dinner with her and then had dinner would turn cold because she would say yes to everybody. she never said, i will come and see you andi never said, i will come and see you and i have finished eating, she was not the person, shejust loved and i have finished eating, she was not the person, she just loved the connection with her audience. that is what kept her locked into those troops, both with the carry on company and then later with eastenders, she loved being one of the pack. what about the more recent yea rs ? the pack. what about the more recent years? she had been diagnosed with alzheimer's in 2014, i think? the decision was made that she would be open about that after a period of time, alongside her husband, scott mitchell, who played such a lovely tribute to her today. but these last few years for the immediate family, these have been difficult times?

very trying. a5 these have been difficult times? very trying. as you mentioned, scott has been devoted. barbara has had a chequered love life through her yea rs. chequered love life through her years. she was married three times but very fortunate and blessed she a lwa ys but very fortunate and blessed she always said to have this great love, scott, by her side, always said to have this great love, scott, by herside, particularly for those less challenging is when they did make the decision to go public. typical barbara windsor, she wore her heart on her sleeve so she wore this illness as well. she made such a difference, she campaigned for research into the disease, we saw her at downing street, we saw her being as bright and bubbly as long as she was able to until those very last months. i think that is something she should be remembered for, as much as her many achievements on stage and screen. just seeing some of those images as you are talking, a meeting with borisjohnson. i you are talking, a meeting with boris johnson. i suspect you are talking, a meeting with borisjohnson. i suspect her family will take great pride, that was another part of her legacy, another group of people will know her for

that campaign gave a voice to people who are suffering? yes, we saw in scott's lovely tribute, he didn't just mention her, but so many people who suffer from this awful disease. i think that was a key part of their decision to go public, we have been afflicted with this, let's be positive and see how many people we can help with going through this at the same time. it is selfless to the end, she loved the crowd, loved the show and she wanted to keep that connection for as long as possible. very significant character. i hope all the tributes are notjust about this, we have enjoyed the giggle and the laughs but she was a tireless trooper of british entertainment. this national treasure title gets overused and diluted but dame barbara is one of the rare who deserve that title. thank you very much. we were talking about the tribute scott mitchell has given. he

said, it is with deep sadness i can confirm that my darling wife, barbara, passed away at 8.35 tm at a london care home. her passing was from alzheimer's and dementia and she died peacefully and i have spent the last seven days by her side. myself, her family and friends will remember barbara with love, smile and affection for the many years of her love, fun friendship and brightness she brought two hot lives and the entertainment she gives a semi—thousands of other she brought in her career. herfinal weeks were typical of how she lived her life, full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end. he goes on to say, may you rest in peace now my precious bar, i have lost my heart, my soulmate and my life will never feel the same without you. let's speak now to one of our regular breakfast gps, dr zoe norris. you have had so much to deal with,

and we all have with a regards to covid and we were talking about barbara windsor and her campaign with alzheimer's. the discussions are more public and we know more than we did but so many families like barbara windsor‘s family have had to deal with such difficult condition? yes, i am feeling a bit emotional listening to that. some of the patients i remember the most are those who have fought against dementia and particularly their families. it is such a challenging condition and the support that family needs is just immense and often, u nfortu nately family needs is just immense and often, unfortunately with the system at the moment, they don't get the support they need. the pressures the health services under at the moment, isn't helping? it is not. at the beginning of the pandemic when

people were more cautious about ca re rs people were more cautious about carers going in, care agencies or councils saying, we don't want to send people in unless it is absolutely essential. usually dementia presents after a family member has been coping for a long time without saying anything and thenit time without saying anything and then it gets to crisis point and they seek help. to have that help removed is a disaster at any point. 0k, removed is a disaster at any point. ok, let's move on to issues around vaccinations. whenever we talk to ourgps, we are vaccinations. whenever we talk to our gps, we are asking everyone the same, what do you know about how you, as gps, will be involved in this process? i am laughing because it changes minute by minute. we are planning to be delivering covid vaccinations, practices have to sign up vaccinations, practices have to sign up to do that. it is not something every practice can do because of the extra staffing, the space you need

and an approved building. we are signing up and then we are being told which wave of vaccinations we will be in, depending on when the site is ready and everything is approved. it is still an unknown. we have several dates in december that will go live in different areas, depends on the mass vaccination centres near you. obviously, things change, so we have had a change in terms of how long we have to observe patients for after they have had the vaccination. that causes a major change in how we will be delivering this and it is something we are wrestling with at the moment. this and it is something we are wrestling with at the momentm sounds like there is more questions than answers right now. in amongst them will be the patience on your box who cannot leave home, and what happens about that? housebound patients are covered in the first wave in terms of priority groups. it will vary from region to region. in our area, will vary from region to region. in ourarea, gp will vary from region to region. in our area, gp surgeries his nurses are going out to vaccinate those

housebound patients. in other areas it is whoever provides the community services, whoever is in charge of district nurses and care home visits. patients who have regular visits. patients who have regular visits from a district nurse, sometimes the district nurse will be doing it. but it will be different be different in different areas. routinely, i am assuming when you see a patient and they need hospital care, you would set up the process by which you try and get them into hospital? what are you hearing from your patients about how soon they can be treated ? your patients about how soon they can be treated? when they need hospital treatment? yes. can be treated? when they need hospitaltreatment? yes. if can be treated? when they need hospital treatment? yes. if it is can be treated? when they need hospitaltreatment? yes. if it is a routine referral and i think, they need to see something about their hip problems, a joint problem, something that is not urgent, what we are saying is, it is a very long wait. for a lot of areas that is going to be at least 12 months, sometimes up to two years. sofa low

priority things, varicose veins, joint problems, it is going to be a long wait. unfortunately, we have no power to do anything about that in general practice. always good to catch up with you. have a good day there. always interesting just hearing, how it is going to work out in practice. we will keep being updated by our regular gts as they figure out the logistics of it all. good morning, mike. what is that? quite a nice trophy, don't you think. have you ever held it? they wouldn't let me near it with my grubby paws. there was victory for all five british sides in action and four finished top of their groups — celtic were already out, before last night.

and there was a bit of bad feeling at the tottenham hotspur stadium, where spurs beat royal antwerp 2—0. jose mourinho rested many of his star players, and dele alli was clearly unhappy with spending the entire match on the bench, heading for the dressing room before re—emerging, but mourinho said he couldn't keep everyone happy all the time. the player that is on the bench and realises that, with five changes, he is not one of the players, of course he is not a happy player and i would not expect him to be happy. but every player that is on the bench, or every player that leaves the pitch in cold weather, with me, they can go to the dressing room, and i even prefer if that happens. arsenal finished the group stage with a 100% record — mohamed, elneny, scoring a brilliant goal in their 4—2 win over irish side dundalk. rangers will also be seeded in monday's draw, thanks to a 2—0 victory over lech poz—nan in poland. and there's a healthy financial

reward for winning your group — a £900,000 bonus. golf's last major of the year, the women's us open is under way in texas and it's a very different look. it was originally planned forjune, but because of the shorter days in december, it's being played on two courses at the champions club in houston. and britain's charley hull is two shots behind the leader. amy olson, who's four—under—par, thanks, in no small part to this a hole in one at the 16th. olsen has never won a tour event, let alone the game's most important major. lewis hamilton will be back in his mercedes seat today, after recovering from coronavirus. the f1 season comes to an end on sunday, with the abu dhabi grand prix. hamilton missed last weekend's race in bahrain and after ten days in quarantine, and two negative tests, he arrived in abu dhabi yesterday. his stand—in george russell has returned to the williams team. ronnie o'sullivan entertained us at the scottish open snooker, beating robbie williams

to make the quarter—finals. williams could have no regrets, as o'sullivan, reigned supreme, winning 4—1. he now plays either ding junhui. and if you could have got "angels" in there — you're a better man than me. if you thought the most famous seer—ex, was fred from first dates, you may have to reconsider because his daughter, the diver andreea, spendolini—seer—ex, has been named bbc young sports personality of the year, the 16—year—old, won her first solo, global gold, in the ten metre platform at the grand prix event in germany in february. and that came after she'd won the british title. she beat borussia dortmund footballer jude bellingham, and paralympic skier neil simpson to win the sports personality, honours. the bobsleigh world cup event in austria this weekend, will feature a british team for the first time this season. problems with injury and funding have meant they've missed the first two events. the team have removed all commercial sponsor branding from their sled for the year

and are paying tribute to the nhs front line staff, for their work during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as displaying the logos of charities, which are close to the hearts of the athletes. i have chosen pancreatic cancer uk. my dad passed away from the disease about six years ago, just before i became a pilot in bobsleigh. he was a big inspiration for me in sport, so i'd like to give something back to them. we have also chosen our separate charity and included team charity, which is the nhs, as well, to support, to try and raise money and awareness and try to spread a bit of positivity through this year, as well. this is such an amazing gesture. i have been on the road before with the bobsleigh team and they do so much of it themselves and they don't get funding from uk sport. despite being at the bottom end of financial funding, they have replaced their logo with charities to help raise awareness. that is a lovely message. it means

the sport comes from the heart, it doesn't matter what money they are getting, they just want to throw themselves down the ice, and then he was paying tribute to his dad. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. that is a very moody backdrop behind you, in contrast to your bright and shining personality. thank you. today, some of those brooding skies will bring outbreaks of rain at times. plenty of cloud around but there will be some sunshine to the south and west of the country, particularly this afternoon. if you we re particularly this afternoon. if you were kept awake at night with heavy rain, it is this where the front. it is only slowly clearing away from eastern counties of england at the moment, so heavy rain here but it will linger across eastern scotland.

you can see anywhere from kinross from angus to caithness. it will continue to pile in with strong winds. showers we have now, quite abundantly across western areas will be there all day, slow moving and it will be wet for some. areas between the two which avoid most of the rain, staying dry across some parts of central and southern scotland this afternoon, part of the midlands and the south of england. temperatures, a ten or 11 degrees. not as chilly across eastern areas but strong winds to contend with in the north—east of scotland. they will continue tonight and the showery rain continuing across many parts of scotland, england, north and east wales. clearing skies but we should be frost free into tomorrow morning. saturday goes, the picture is one of low pressure still in charge with weather fronts decaying across the uk and they will

be sitting across scotland, got part of england through the day with occasional rain. assistant across parts of eastern scotland. but for northern ireland, far west of scotla nd northern ireland, far west of scotland come into wales and south west midlands and south—west england, this is where we will see the best of the sunshine on saturday. quite a pleasant day for some of you here, compared to elsewhere. it could be misty and murky across eastern areas. into sunday, a more active area of low pressure pushes in so the winds will get that bit stronger and those winds coming in from a more southerly direction does mean we will see milder air working its way back into our shows. it's not going to be as cold this weekend, some of the best weather to be found on sunday in the north—east of scotland initially. elsewhere, plenty of cloud around and air of persistent rain pushing in northwards and eastwards. i don't think it will rain all day long everywhere, but it will be windy and sunshine will develop across the south and the west later in the day. a little bit

of brightness in north—east scotland. temperatures about where we should be, eight or 9 degrees at best and eastern areas. 13 of 14 with sunny conditions in the south and the west. if you are out this weekend, keep something waterproof with you and a healthy dose of optimism on sunday. "children should be at home." that was the message from wales' education minister when she announced all secondary school lessons would go online from the end of today. it's in an effort to control the surge of coronavirus cases in wales, where the number of infections has doubled in the last 12 days. let's speak now to our correspondent, mark hutchings, who joins us from a secondary school in cardiff. mark, what's the reaction been there? good reaction been there? to see you. home today for a the good to see you. home today for all the secondary school in wales? that is right, good morning. the countdown to christmas was not meant to be like this. but from today,

classroom teaching for most peoples across wales will come to a screeching halt, from a government that prides itself on careful planning. a last—minute announcement yesterday evening that all secondary schools would have to close the schools would have to close the school gates from today. the remaining week before christmas going to online teaching. primary schools can stay open although we are finding a growing list of those are finding a growing list of those are also closing early so check with your local council. the backdrop to this is, you don't have to be good at sums to see the current covid figures for communities across wales, they are rising sharply to what the chief medical officer has described as a perilous condition. among those having to rewrite the timetable yet again, at saint taylor's school in cardiff is the head teacher. ian, a bolt from the blue? good morning, certainly. most fair—minded people would say this is

insufficient notice, not only for parents, who have to enable their children to learn from home again, but the workforce that finds itself having to reinvent itself in a day. this is a panic by the welsh government? schools are facing a stark choice, either we survive a chaotic end to the term with children and families voting with their feet, or we take control of their feet, or we take control of the situation and provide confidence. i think this is the right way to do it. in terms of the disruption, how considerable will it be? we will seek to minimise the disruption as far as we can. obviously we had a rehearsal in wales in the firebreak. our teachers are geared up to provide synchronous lessons, meaning the children can interact with their teacher from home, the best substitute for face—to—face classroom teaching. home, the best substitute for

face-to-face classroom teaching. the argument is, by taking children out of school, which was meant to be a safe environment, children in their bubbles, there were just meet with their mates in the park?|j bubbles, there were just meet with their mates in the park? i don't have the evidence that ministers will have on this matter. but i trust parents and carers to do the right thing. the families i serve tell me they want to preserve a safe family christmas. i am confident people will take this seriously. any concerns about online teaching? in many communities there is an element of financial difficulty for many families going online? that is true and here, we serve an economically disadvantaged community. but great efforts have been made to provide equipment and technology to homes and the local authority, to its credit, has provided hundreds upon hundreds of devices. those issues we may have experienced later in the year are lessened now. we are seeing

in parts of england, they are looking at mass testing for schools, would that have been a better answer than simply shutting the school gates? the answer we have got is the right one for now in wales, with rapidly rising cases. anything that helps me keep this school open and keep children learning in the building where they can flourish, where they are safest, i would support. but you are having to shut the doors as of today? we are, for one week. good luck with the rest of the planning, he would be a head teacher? not me, that is for sure. apart from vulnerable children who will be able to come to school next week, they will close today. not the countdown to christmas that was planned. virtually everyone is back home, back online and what a term this is been. as you say, head teachers have another thing to conjure with now. thank you very much. i also feel for

the pupils, it has been such a disruptive year, through no fault of their own but now having to go back home and families having to consider childcare but at least if they are home they can isolate and families can be together for christmas with older members of the family. those responsibilities on the pa rents those responsibilities on the parents once again, to make sure their youngsters are studying at home, which in practice, can be a challenge. traumatic! if you talk to some of the parents in this newsroom , some of the parents in this newsroom, they have struggled with it, typical story. it is now time for the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london, i'm victoria hollins. secondary schools in the areas of london most affected by coronavirus are to get urgent covid testing over the coming days. the capital now has the highest average rate of cases in england. the government has urged all 11—18

year olds eligible for the surge testing to take part. in the worst—hit areas, the tests will be able to give quick results. we can check to see if they are carrying the virus or not. what we are trying to do is try and keep as many young people as possible safe and more importantly, the grandparents normally of the young people. because they love their grandparents. what we don't want them doing, and i am sure they wouldn't want to do, is pass on the virus to any of their loved ones. some london councils are defying new immigration rules which make rough sleeping grounds for deportation. the new rules, which lewisham and southwark councils have labelled cruel and inhumane, came into force at the start of december. the home office can now deport non—uk citizens who have a legal right to stay in the uk if they end up sleeping on the street. it says this is a last resort measure and individuals are first asked to leave voluntarily

with government support. the nutcracker returns to the stage today in a reworked, covid—safe version at the royal ballet. this restaging of peter wright's celebrated production features students of the royal ballet school alongside the full company. let's take a look at the travel situation now... there's a good service on the tubes this morning. on the a13, there are queues westbound due to a lane closure between movers lane and beckton because of a burst watermain. on fulham palace road, a bus lane is closed northbound between lillie road and lysia st due to accident investigation works. in vauxhall, durham street is closed from kennington lane to harleyford road — that's because of a burst water main. now the weather. hello, good morning. it's quite a wet, early start to the day across the capital, there's a band of heavy rain that's

been moving its way eastwards through the night and that will clear through this morning, but it leaves behind it plenty of cloud for the rest of the day. the blustery winds will ease down, we are starting off not on too chillier a note, temperatures generally in high single figures, but there could be one or two showers following on behind this weather front. for the most part though, looking mostly dry. top temperatures in the milder air of up to ten or 11 celsius through this afternoon. now, through this evening and overnight, again it's quite cloudy. there could be one or two showers but generally quite dry, overnight lows dropping into mid single figures. tomorrow, mostly dry day but there could be one or two morning showers around and the winds will fall quite light. but there's always going to be a lot of cloud around on saturday. it's also going to feel a bit cooler too, but the milder air returns along with some wet and windy weather on sunday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. now though it's back to charlie and naga.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. our headlines today. get out of my pub. dame barbara windsor, star of eastenders and the carry on films, has died at the age of 83. the actress was diagnosed

with alzheimer's six years ago, with alzheimer's six years ago. throughout breakfast, we'll look back at her life and career. pupils at secondary schools in parts of london, kent and essex are to get covid tests in an attempt to curb a rapid rise in infections. secondary students in wales are sent home and will do classes online from monday. borisjohnson says there's now a strong possibility that the uk will not agree a post—brexit trade deal with the eu. top of the class for british teams in the europa league, with all the sides in action last night winning their final games before the knock out stage. tottenham among those topping their groups. whilst topping their groups. some of you will see sunshin today whilst some of you will see sunshine today plenty of cloud around and outbreaks of rain. worst of all in the east of scotland. more in brea kfast. it's friday the 11th of december. our top story.

dame barbara windsor — one of the country's best—loved actresses — has died at the age of 83. her husband, scott mitchell, said she passed away peacefully from alzheimer's at 8.35pm last night at a care home in london. he spent the last seven days by her side. he said, "myself, herfamily and friends will remember barbara with love, a smile and affection for the many years of her love, fun, friendship and brightness she brought to all our lives and the entertainment she gave to so many thousands of others during her career." she was best known for her work in eastenders and carry on films. david sillito looks back at her life. barbara giggles. that'll do, that'll do. all right, girls, get in the coach, and you get on with the loading. barbara windsor — a 4ft 10in national treasure. we were told to bring the minimum of clothing. now really let's see those chests come out! and fling! funny, cheeky,

slightly naughty. but there was a lot more to her thanjust carry on camping. matron, take them away! barbara ann deeks began acting as a teenager. born in shoreditch, in london, the daughter of a barrow boy, it was joan littlewood at a theatre workshop who saw her star quality. she won a bafta nomination for the film sparrows can't sing and a tony for oh, what a lovely war! movies and cabaret introduced her to glamour and some shady friends. at one point, she dated the gangster reggie kray. but it was the carry on films that made her a star. hi. her entrance always an excuse for something slightly saucy. sorry. have you got a large one? i've had no complaints, so far. he cackles. especially if sid james was around — a relationship that carried on off—camera. quick, before somebody comes in. you 'aven't got any

soap on that bit. # up to the west end! but after those nine carry on films, there were some lean years — until she found peggy. grant! mum. i heard you were back, i was going to give you a call. then why didn't you, you useless great lump? peggy micthell in eastenders, the new landlady of the queen vic, was a role made for her. you're unfit to be a father! don't you dare turn your back on me! 22 years on albert square. get outta my pub! which ended with barbara becoming dame barbara. dame babs sounds nice, doesn't it? my mum would have liked it to be dame barbara — she was a bit of a cockney snob, my mum. so she would be, "dame barbara." god, what would she be thinking now? what would she be thinking? however, her farewell to walford was also her farewell to acting. she had been diagnosed with alzheimer's. oh, my dear friend. you'll never leave me will you? dame barbara windsor,

talent, warmth... no, sweetheart. thank you. ..and a lifetime of cheeky fun. there will be many generations of people who knew barbara windsor at different stages of her career. many use orfrom different stages of her career. many use or from the 19605 and 19705 and much more recently in eastenders. some very moving words from her husband in his statement. it was released yesterday evening. saying that her final weeks were typical of how she lived her life, with humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end, he says. he said he spent the end, he says. he said he spent the last seven days by her side. and he adds to that message, thank you to all the doctors, nurses and carers, who are angels at the care home, for their kindness and care to

barbara, you are my heroes. we will reflect on the life and career of dame barbara windsor. secondary school pupils in parts of london, essex and kent will be offered mass testing in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus. let's speak to now to our correspondent tim muffett now, who is at a school in dagenham, one of the areas earmarked for mass testing. give us a sense of what the school and staff know about how this will work? good morning. we first heard about this yesterday at matt hancock's press briefing and we expect more details today. so far, as we understand, seven of the worst affected boroughs in london as well as parts of kent and essex bordering london, in those secondary schools, mass testing is to be introduced. we are outsidejoel mass testing is to be introduced. we

are outside joel richardson community school in dagenham, in essex, but dagenham is a london borough, so we are close to the capital. what is your reaction to this announcement and how do you see it working? i welcome it. this announcement and how do you see it working? iwelcome it. it this announcement and how do you see it working? i welcome it. it has beena it working? i welcome it. it has been a long time coming in many respects. you cannot underestimate the impact this coronavirus has had on education, the challenges people working in education have had. one thing we need to look at is the role we played and that was to make sure schools have remained open and education is accessible and putting their health, safety and welfare of staff and students at the centre of what we do. this will give us a way into making sure we have access to ongoing testing because basically we are dealing with a situation where ona are dealing with a situation where on a daily basis we have a number of people in every school across the country being affected by the virus. we expect more details but briefly,

the practicalities, have you heard how it will work? littlebit. i have talked to people in the local authority and they are working on the plans, looking at temporary testing stations based around schools to make sure they need can be met, looking at people who live outside london, so they have access to testing stations near them, and people who may not be in london at that time to make sure they have priority access to testing, so when we come back injanuary, everybody, all members of staff and all students have had access to that testing. so many challenges, not just for students but for staff as well. more details are expected today but many parts of london and kent and essex and secondary schools, students there will it seems be receiving a covid test. on a techno —— technicality, can the pupils go to school if they have not

had a test? is it a requirement of going into the classroom?‘ had a test? is it a requirement of going into the classroom? a quick question from charlie, can students come to school if they have not had a test? as far as i know, we have no mandate on forcing students to take the test. we will write to students next week and tell them about the testing sites and the process, and strongly encourage them to take that test. that is an important part of it. ourjob is education and making sure they have facts in front of them to make an informed decision and understand what that decision entails. thanks. so many things to think about. the practicalities will be key. mobile testing stations we expect to see rolled out very quickly over the next days with matt hancock stressing yesterday he expects it to move quickly and to get the test is activated as quickly as possible. we will talk about the

issue of testing for children and what is happening in wales and brexit. we will talk to the culture secretary oliver dowden at 7:30am. borisjohnson says there's now a strong possibility of leaving the eu's single market and customs union without a trade deal. the prime minister says he's willing to talk to eu leaders at any time but has warned the public and businesses to be prepared for a no—deal scenario. our political correspondent iain watson joins us now from westminster. it looks like it is definitely shifting, the language, and we have heard efforts will still be made to come to some sort of agreement, but no deal is front and centre of what to expect. that is right, the mood on both sides appears to be no deal is better than a bad deal and what the prime minister says is we can still prosper under that, trading on

australian —type terms with the eu but it was interesting last night, a former prime minister of australia told the bbc borisjohnson should be careful what he wishes for because it means very significant barriers to trade and it means a lot of friction in the system. in fact australia wanted the kind of free trade deal boris johnson australia wanted the kind of free trade deal borisjohnson initially tried to negotiate. there are days left and it is possible a deal could happen, but if it does not, i think the big difference between now and january the 1st, where the existing arrangements expire, is that good is going to the continent and from the continent would attract taxes or ta riffs continent would attract taxes or tariffs and the british retail consortium suggested the majority of food imports would attract tariffs or taxes. we could see prices rising. that is the scenario we face and why so many people say let's give it a final push until sunday to see if a deal could be struck. i

have to we music sounding sombre. with a look at this morning's weather. thanks. sunshine to southern and western areas but for most cloudy day in store. persistent rain through many parts overnight which is confined to easternmost counties of england particularly east anglia and kent and the eastern half of scotland, where it will remain. we could see river levels rising in parts of caithness, aberdeenshire and angus and still thoroughly wet by this afternoon. further west, plenty of showers into far west scotland, northern ireland, northern england, across wales and south—west england, across wales and south—west england with the odd rumble of thunder as they develop around the english channel. showers in the

west, staying largely derived. later the south—east of england should look better. the rain never too far away. the winter light for most this afternoon although strong whens across the far north—east of scotla nd across the far north—east of scotland where temperatures will be lowest. overnight, not much wind around, cloud, fog and further rain at times particularly in scotland, england and north and east wales. clearer towards the west. whilst we see sunshine in southern and western areas on saturday, rain in the north and east. tributes have been paid to the actress barbara windsor, who has died at the age of 83. she was diagnosed with dementia six years ago. we can run through the tributes. actress danniella westbrook,

who played dame barbara's on—screen daughter sam mitchell on eastenders, tweeted: "my heart is broken. you will always be in my heart for ever. i love you." matt lucas in his tweet said, "it's not an overstatement to say i think the whole country is in mourning today." he wrote, "you don't become a dame by accident. everyone knew barbara windsor and everyone loved her." patsy palmer, who played bianca jackson on eastenders, shared a moving tribute on instagram. "i'm extremely sad to hear that my friend dame babara windsor has passed away. i'm sitting here thinking of the hundreds of memories we shared. too many to comprehend. i can hear that laugh now as i sit and think about her. i hope it'll ring in my ears for ever." many people reacting to that. we can speak now to our arts correspondent

david sillito. so many people had affection for dame barbara windsor, throughout generations, because her career spanned so many different areas. that is the whole point, isn't it? whenever i spoke to her i always thought how i had grown up watching carry on films. that is who she was to be. another generation, she will be peggy mitchell from eastenders. i was thinking back to a moment when i interviewed her, ithink was thinking back to a moment when i interviewed her, i think it was a children in need event and the public were on one side and lots of famous people walking past, but she was the only person where there was a ripple of excitement, of feeling that this was notjust a ripple of excitement, of feeling that this was not just a a ripple of excitement, of feeling that this was notjust a famous person, this almost felt like a friend. when you interviewed her, you felt as though you could ask her anything and she would tell you anything. she was incredibly open

about her flaws, problems anything. she was incredibly open about herflaws, problems in her life. everything. she would spell it out. and that i think was a crucial pa rt out. and that i think was a crucial part of why people were so fond of her, because he felt he was seeing the real deal, the real person. —— you felt you were seeing the real deal. from the age of 12 she appeared on the west end stage. she was committed to acting as a career, and she wanted to be famous, glamorous. she felt when she went to stratford east and performed there, she felt she was slumming it for a while. what made her different i think was the fact he thought, i know who she is. she feels real and authentic and likeable and warm. we we re authentic and likeable and warm. we were seeing a clip and at the end it was her with the two mitchell boys. you get a sense looking at the

image, she was four feet ten. she was this tiny but powerful presence in all the things she did over the yea rs. in all the things she did over the years. i remember the last time i met her, went to her house to do an interview. it was the first time i met her when she was just in her stockinged feet. you thought, oh my goodness. but she had such presence. i cannot believe she was 83. she seemed so much younger and so vibrant. i think the last time we saw her, when she emerged from number 10 downing st and the campaignfor number 10 downing st and the campaign for better care for people with alzheimer's. to see her so frail was utterly shocking, because she always seemed, the word bubbly, full of fun and life, that is what you thought about when you met her and talk to her. she had stories and was fun. david, it is lovely to hear

the stories about meeting her. thank you. we will move onto one of the things that became such an important pa rt things that became such an important part of her life in the six years. barbara windsor was diagnosed with dementia in 2014, and became an ambassador for the alzheimer's society. here she is speaking about the condition in 2018. this year, i am asking you to make a stand against dementia. use your place to run for the dementia revolution, the alzheimer's society and alzheimer's research uk, support research to find a cure for a condition that affects so many people, like me. we can speak now to the ceo of the alzheimer's society kate lee. it was so important that dame barbara windsor helped with the campaign to raise awareness about alzheimer's. amazing, even to the

last, and that clip, using her charisma, amazing personality, a national treasure for all, to raise awareness of the awful plight that alzheimer's and other types of dementia brings for thousands across the uk and using the amazing presence everybody has talked about to raise awareness of such an awful condition. she was incredible. i am not sure how much contact you had with her, her family, not sure how much contact you had with her, herfamily, but it is a big step to be public about a condition like that, and for someone who was known as this bubbly, vibrant woman, who was known as this bubbly, vibra nt woman, absolutely who was known as this bubbly, vibrant woman, absolutely on point. absolutely. a dementia diagnosis is difficult at any time. but scott and barbara, incredible supporters of

alzheimer's society, talking personally about her story touched so personally about her story touched so many hearts. for many families probably made it possible to talk about dementia in a way off and families will not discuss it. somebody as amazing as barbara, her wonderfulfamily, going somebody as amazing as barbara, her wonderful family, going public somebody as amazing as barbara, her wonderfulfamily, going public and talking about this, even that act has made such a massive difference in the dementia world for families everywhere. incredible. and the marathon, it was the most successful london marathon ever raising over £4 million and much of that raised directly by scott and barbara themselves. they put their money where their mouth is, active supporters themselves. we were seeing pictures from downing street when you were talking, when barbara windsor met the prime minister. i can only imagine the effect on the

campaign. there have been many tributes paid to scott and her family for the care they gave. a lot of families will know how difficult these times are and they have had six years now. in his comments, looking through the statement he gave out last night. amongst his tributes to her personally, a huge emotional thing, he also said, thank you to the doctors and nurses and ca re rs you to the doctors and nurses and carers who are angels at the care home for your kindness to barbara andi home for your kindness to barbara and i throughout her stay with you. you are my heroes, he said, and he said he spent the last seven days by her side. even in his grief, the tributes to those involved in care. you will know this only too well. how important those roles are. just absolutely beyond compare, the importance of not just

absolutely beyond compare, the importance of notjust those care home staff, who are incredible, doctors and nurses, everyone, but obviously, what it highlights is the importance of being able to be in there with loved ones, holding hands. the society has campaigned for that and i am sure scott and barbara, it is something they would have felt strongly about. just the importance of being there and spending time with loved ones, and scott has been absolutely incredible. i have had many conversations with him, just a wonderful supporter and torn apart by dementia, and such a committed and loving couple, deeply devoted to each other. a lovely note to leave it on. thank you. millions of people in scotland and northern ireland will be able to return to shops, gyms and restaurants from today in a significant easing of coronavirus restrictions.

in a moment, we'll speak to our correspondent andrew black, who is in glasgow, where shops will soon be reopening to customers. but first, chris page is at a gym in belfast. chris, there must be some sense of relief there this morning? i see someone behind you already limbering up. that is right, the circuit breaker is over which mean circuit breaker is over which mean circuit training is beginning with the gyms opened and nonessential shops reopening and hairdressers and beauticians, as are most hospitality businesses, restaurants and bars have enclosed since the middle of october. we can get a word with victoria, the manager here. what has the last fortnight been like and what is today feel like? training at home is not the same as in the environment of the gym, but we are

happy to be back seeing everyone and getting things back to normal. clearly a lot of measures to keep people safe here. already people out and about at the gym with people anxious to get back. this morning would be a peak time, people getting in before they had to work. everybody is doing well cleaning equipment and keeping socially distance. it is already a busy day and stephen is a regular. have you missed the gym? yes it has been tough over the past two weeks but i have done stuff in the house, a little bit of running, but great to be back to see so many people back. we are coming to the end of 2020, how have you found this year? we are coming to the end of 2020, how have you found this year7m we are coming to the end of 2020, how have you found this year? it has been difficult for people, but hopefully we are on the route to some sort of normality and hoping everything, gyms and hospitality can stay open and we do not have another lockdown. ministers in the devolved

governments have said they hope people get out and about and support local businesses, but also they are disappointed the infection rate hasn't dropped further during the recent restrictions and they say it is more important than ever people follow public health guidance and ta ke follow public health guidance and take care. thanks. meanwhile in scotland, more than two million people will be released from the highest level of restrictions from today. andrew black can tell us more. take us through how this will work in practice. i am here in buchanan street in the centre of glasgow, a famous shopping precinct for clothing, jewellery, department stores. from 6am today, nonessential retail have been allowed to reopen and you can see a branch behind me opening its doors. many other shops here in the city centre will open at

about seven, eight o'clock. this closure, these shops have been close the last three weeks because of the spike in cases and it has come at the worst time. for the christmas shopping period. but trepidation because there are still travel restrictions, meaning there is concern as to whether shoppers might come back to glasgow. and pubs and cafe is an restaurants cannot open until tomorrow and they cannot serve alcohol in level three areas and they have to close at 6pm so worries there whether shoppers will come back. in the past weeks a lot of people in scotland have perhaps done christmas shopping online so the question is will they come back to the high street? that is something we will know more about in the next hour. the situation in scotland this morning. time now to get the news,

travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london, i'm victoria hollins. secondary schools in the areas of london most affected by coronavirus are to get urgent covid testing over the coming days. the capital now has the highest average rate of cases in england. the government has urged all 11—18 year olds eligible for the surge testing to take part. in the worst hit areas the tests will be able to give quick results. we can check to see if they are carrying the virus or not. what we are trying to do is try and keep as many young people as possible safe and more importantly, the grandparents normally of the young people. because they love their grandparents. what we don't want them doing, and i am sure they wouldn't want to do, is pass on the virus to any of their loved ones. some london councils are defyings new immigration rules some london councils are defying new immigration rules which make rough sleeping grounds for deportation. the new rules, which lewisham

and southwark councils have labelled "cruel and inhumane" came into force at the start of december. the home office can now deport non—uk citizens who have a legal right to stay in the uk, if they end up sleeping on the street. it says this is last resort measure and individuals are first asked to leave voluntarily with government support. the bbc will reflect on a sporting year like no other at this weekend's bbc sports personality awards ceremony. among those being recognised are unsung heroes from every region of the uk — and in the capital, audrey a triathlon and swimming coach is this year's winner she's worked is this year's winner. she's worked tirelessly to encourage more people into the sport. my my reward is that money, you cannot put money on it. my reward is people saying, oh, my god i have lost so much weight.

let's take a look at the travel situation now... now, the weather. hello, good morning. it's quite a wet, early start to the day across the capital, there's a band of heavy rain that's been moving its way eastwards through the night and that will clear through this morning, but it leaves behind it plenty of cloud for the rest of the day. the blustery winds will ease down, we are starting off not on too chillier a note, temperatures generally in high single figures but there could be one or two showers following on behind this weather front. for the most part though, looking mostly dry. top temperatures in the milder air of up to ten or 11 celsius through this afternoon. now, through this evening and overnight, again it's quite cloudy. there could be one or two showers but generally quite dry, overnight lows dropping into mid single figures. tomorrow, mostly dry day but there could be one or two morning showers around and the winds will fall quite light. but there's always going to be a lot of cloud around on saturday.

it's also going to feel a bit cooler too, but the milder air returns along with some wet and windy weather on sunday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in an hour. hello this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. we arejoined now we are joined now by the culture secretary, oliver dowden. thank you forjoining us. you will be very aware of our lead story this morning is that dane barbara windsor has passed away at the age of 83. we understand she passed away at a care home in london at 8.35 yesterday evening. i want to know if you wa nted evening. i want to know if you wanted to add your thoughts to a cultural icon in this country? you

are right, a cultural icon and a national treasure. i grew up on carry on films, such a joy in our response to them. i am the member of parliament to elstree, where we have bbc elstree where eastenders is filmed. i sometimes like to say i am the mp for albert square and she was the mp for albert square and she was the greatest landlady that albert square ever saw. in later life, she then was a great campaigner on dementia. it is a real sad loss to our national life. just on that point, her husband scott mitchell, ina very point, her husband scott mitchell, in a very moving statement says he urges the prime minister, his government and other parties to be true to their previous promises and invest more into dementia and alzheimer's care. is that a commitment you say that can be met? if you look in relation to the £750

million of money we made available through my department to charities during covid, that included support across all parities, including dementia. it is an important part of research and has the government's full support. can we talk about what is happening with the post brexit negotiations? the prime minister has said we should prepare now for a no—deal brexit. it was just over a year and no—deal brexit. it was just over a yearand a no—deal brexit. it was just over a year and a half ago he said there was a one in a million chance of there being no deal. what do those preparations look like and who have been told what and exactly how to prepare? we have been saying to people for a long time, including businesses. there are two possible outcomes at the end of this transition period. one, and i hope we achieve it in the remaining days, a free trading relationship with the european union, similar to that canada has. if you don't achieve that we would have an australian

style wto rules. in both of those insta nces, style wto rules. in both of those instances, it would require changes. we wouldn't be part of the single market, we wouldn't be part of the customs union. preparations have been going on and we have spent over £1 billion to help with those preparation. there will be differences with goods crossing the channel, there will be different rules for people entering the european union. all those details are available on the government website and if your viewers are planning to travel to the european union after the 1st of january, planning to travel to the european union after the 1st ofjanuary, make sure they have made appropriate preparations, and show their passports are up today with more than six months running and other similar measures. can i bring up this australia style deal which is being touted as the alternative of the option if there is no deal. australia, the eu comprises of 11% of australia's goods trades. when it comes to our trade with the eu, it

is our biggest trading partner. 43% of our exports go to the eu and 51% of our exports go to the eu and 51% of our exports from the eu. when you compare an australian style deal and remember, since 2018 australia has been trying to negotiate a free—trade deal with the eu, which it still hasn't got, we are talking about something very different in terms of the economic impact it is going to have on the uk? we would much prefer we had a canada style deal and that is what we have been working towards. but this cannot be at any price. whilst we are 90% of the way to getting that deal, there are two major sticking point. there is no country in the world that surrenders its sovereign waters, for example, in respect of fisheries. we need to maintain control of sovereign waters. there is no free trade deal in the world, whether thatis trade deal in the world, whether that is the eu free trade deal with canada orjapan, that requires that

as the eu changes its regulations, the other country, in this case the united kingdom, would be required to match them or face consequences. that is not a free—trade relationship, it is trying to keep the united kingdom in the sphere of influence of the european union. we agreed those two conditions would not be a price worth paying to get the trade deal, however much we want it. i desperately want us to get the trade deal. the alternative of not compromising, because we are the eu's closest neighbour in negotiating our own trade deals, which is why the eu says it wanted to be ona which is why the eu says it wanted to be on a level playing field, is for example, tesco who are predicting the new tariffs on january the 1st full cause price rises and pushing up food bills by up rises and pushing up food bills by up to three to 5%. you are very aware, as people during the covid crisis have lost jobs, aware, as people during the covid

crisis have lostjobs, been furloughed and are struggling. most people will feel the impact of a three to 5% rise on their food bills alone. talking about 10% on eu car parts so that will affect car sales? i don't accept the numbers tesco is putting out there. the uk's biggest retailer, do you think it has got it largely wrong? if you look at what the environment secretary said at the environment secretary said at the weekend, there will be tariff intact, but he suggested they would be around 2%. but we would much rather have that free trade deal. it's not just us rather have that free trade deal. it's notjust us worse off by not achieving a free—trade deal, the same would apply to the irish, who transport beef to us and also the germans who export because to us. we wa nt to germans who export because to us. we want to ensure we don't find ourselves in that situation. it is quite frustrating we still have these blocking points. he talked

about the loving playing field at the beginning of your question. we have accepted the idea of a degree of reciprocity, but what we will not accept this ratcheting upwards whereby if the eu decides to impose fresh regulations that have nothing to do with us, we then have to match them orface the to do with us, we then have to match them or face the consequences. they don't demand that of canada. if the eu imposes fresh regulations, they don't say to the canadians, you have got to match them otherwise your free trade deal will be in jeopardy. it shows the eu are not quite in the space of as being a third country, having left the european union. can we talk about mass testing in the secondary school pupils. we understand now the secondary school pupils in wales will be sent home to do their learning online now. the health secretary, matt hancock, has had the fastest rise in coronavirus infections in parts of the south—east up with 11 to

18—year—olds, so why not send them home as well? any of your viewers, like me who have children of school age, will know how incredibly invaluable it is for kids to be in school. we saw how challenging it was for kids not to be in school, particularly secondary school aged children. as a government we are doing everything we can to prioritise kids remaining in schools and the vast majority of children remain in schools, but secondly to continue to ensure their schools are safe places with all the measures that have been put in place and i pay tribute to teachers, head teachers and all the work they have done. matt hancock has announced this mass testing which is another way of controlling this. if it is with the objective we keep children in school because it is so important for them. we spoke to a head teacher ata for them. we spoke to a head teacher at a community school talking about testing carrying on. are you going to be able to guarantee that all secondary school children in those three areas in the south—east where

this mass testing is going to happen, it's going to happen on monday because there is only a week and a half left of school, two weeks? i think most schools have got a week left to run. so the testing will begin next week? we're starting it next week, and the evidence we saw in relation to liverpool, one of the reasons liverpool started to get its numbers under control is because its numbers under control is because it had this testing. it is another important point for viewers to understand and it is something i keep reminding myself of, is that one in three people with coronavirus is asymptomatic and they are not showing it. it is so important we track down those people who are not showing the symptoms. track down those people who are not showing the symptomslj track down those people who are not showing the symptoms. i absolutely understand that. that is the huge benefit doing this. as the numbers are rising now, london, kent and essex, the worst affected areas, the numbers are rising right now. can you guarantee in those areas, all secondary school pupils will be

tested from monday next week? the education secretary and the health secretary have set up the plans. what about enacting them? that is what we have said we will do. the intention is, they will all have that and that is what the health secretary announced. we want to get it under control. if you look across the board, just recently the stats, 90% of tests are turned around within 24—hour is. we have 500,000 tests available. we put in the capacity and as we have put in the capacity, we are deploying it. you would agree that one of the important priorities for that is in our secondary schools. you also want to make an announcement this morning for organisation set to benefit from the culture recovery fund. you have announced how much money is available but you are talking about how it is being distributed. he will be aware that many festivals and festival organisers are appealing for help because they cannot get

insurance to get this festival is going next year and many will not happen and more businesses will colla pse happen and more businesses will collapse as a result, what is your reaction to that? that is why we are putting in this record amount of money. we have announced we have over £1 billion worth of money allocated to culture tuition is up and down the country. everywhere from stratford—upon—avon, with the shakespeare, wonderful shakespeare theatre is there. they have £20 million and the national theatre has £20 million. the royal albert hall has £20 million. historic palaces have £40 million. and we are going to have a further round, so the remaining 400,000 will open for application shortly. the purpose of thatis application shortly. the purpose of that is exactly to your point, it is to help them transition from the closed state we are in now to hopefully through spring and summer which will allow them to open up. not only are we protecting what is so not only are we protecting what is so precious in our cultural life, we

are helping it on a path to normality through the spring and summer. normality through the spring and summer. culture secretary, oliver dowling, thank you for your time on brea kfast dowling, thank you for your time on breakfast this morning. we are spending time this morning celebrating the life of dame barbara windsor. the sad news she has died aged 83 after fighting a long battle with dementia. one or two comments from her husband, scott mitchell who released a statement around about 8.30 yesterday evening confirming... with deep sadness i can confirm my darling wife barbara passed away at a .35 on thursday the 10th of december. her passing was from alzheimer's, dementia and barbara died peacefully. he went on to say i spent the last seven days by her side. we have spoken to people this morning who have reflected on day barbara windsor‘s lie. what has

become very clear is that people from all generations have thought of dame barbara windsor, be it the carry on films, working in theatre, eastenders and her campaigning to raise awareness of alzheimer's as well. her husband also it wasn't the ending that barbara or anyone else living with this cruel disease deserves, but he will always be proud of her courage, dignity and generosity dealing with her illness and still trying to help others by raising awareness, for as long as long as she could. it is one of those occasions when a lot of people, the actors and actresses who worked alongside her, there is a smile as they reminisce on the tributes are accompanied by a smile, the memories of a laugh of the times they had together and we will be reflecting more on that throughout the programme this morning. we will be celebrating her life. it could be one small step towards space tourism —

tonight, virgin galactic will launch a test flight that could lead to the start of a commercial space service next year. more than 600 people have paid deposits for the opportunity to take the trip when it launches. so what does this mean for the space industry? we're joined now by libby jackson from the uk space agency. you will know this better than anyone, there is such excitement about anything to do with space, the idea of people going into space again. just explain the significance of what will happen this evening. good morning, what virgin are looking to do is take their spaceship to spacecraft, a rocket, they hope will go into space, not all the way into orbit but to about 85 kilometres above the earth. into space and from up there you can see the curvature of the earth and

beauty of it and you experience weightlessness for a few minutes. you float. they have had test flights and this is the next, the first one that will go from their base in new mexico rather than in california where they have done so far. and it is a step along the way to these commercial tourists paying. they are looking forward to it and hopefully it will go well and we will see them getting closer to an operational service next year perhaps. who is on board? this time, because of covid, they had to shrink the number of people in their plans, so the number of people in their plans, so all you are seeing on board are two pilots, and excitingly, because of the science we do here in the uk, payloads with scientific experiments in the cabin, using weightlessness to look at various things and understand how plants behave

perhaps, how materials change. the science we do all the time on microgravity, and that will come back and we will get good science and they will get the next test flight and they will get the next test flight done. we are seeing an image of the seats lined up, like a fancy commercial aircraft, really. those 600 people who have laid down a lot of money, how much closer are they to their dream of going into space? virgin have not published the exact steps to that operational flight but they are talking about getting closer to it and have released uniforms people will be wearing, testing the seats on this flight, so getting closer. let's talk about nasa space agency because announcements, saying astronauts will travel to the moon, which immediately is exciting. a5 will travel to the moon, which immediately is exciting. as soon as you say those words. the artemis project is going to send humans back to the moon in the coming years via

a place called the luna gateway, which will be a small space station orbiting the moon. it will be perhaps the size of a one—bedroom studio flat. the uk will play a part through membership of the european space agency, which is not an eu organisation, we will not be leaving it in organisation, we will not be leaving itina organisation, we will not be leaving it in a couple of weeks, which is great. we will be part of that and playing a part in that, uk industry, and the astronauts announced will go into training for those first flights and we will see european space agency astronaut is taking pa rt space agency astronaut is taking part in the next decade. it is a hugely exciting time in so many areas of space flight. we get involved in the uk, the science i mentioned, technology we see developed that will always bring benefits back to everybody on earth as we look at how to look at things

and the inspiration. am i right in thinking the first woman is to walk on the moon as part of this group of 18 astronauts? that is also true, nasa have been clear that the crews will be diverse and gender balanced and we have seen that in the astronauts announced, a great reflection of what humanity looks like. thanks. talking us through that virgin galactic flight, this evening. tomorrow morning, no doubt we will see the pictures. we should have got matt to see what the weather conditions were like. it is exciting. these stories are so exciting when you see these flights. elon musk said yesterday when space x crashed to earth, he said the learning and data from it keeps the project exciting. exactly. and that

flight, it project exciting. exactly. and that flight, it will be on the edge of space, amazing. they will see a view i get most days from the satellite, but probably a good deal more exciting. at the moment, you will see cloud in london, a damp start. this where the front has pushed in eastwards. it will continue to clear eastern counties of england in the next hours and raining quite heavily in parts of norfolk and kent. rain piling it across the eastern half of scotla nd piling it across the eastern half of scotland and where it will linger much of the day accompanied by strong winds so we could see minor flooding here. away from that, plenty of showers in western areas will keep going. slow moving because the wind is lightest here, though pushing through the english channel with the odd rumble of thunder. dry and bright across parts of the midlands and central and southern england this afternoon. often large amounts of cloud today and windy in

the north—east and further outbreaks of rain. overnight rain continuing in north—east scotland. lighter wind elsewhere means it could become foggy particularly over the hills. damp in places but starry skies in the west later, where temperatures will probably drop the furthest. they cool start here, but with low pressure, plenty of cloud for scotla nd pressure, plenty of cloud for scotland and england through much of saturday. outbreaks of rain and drizzle. brighter skies in the west and northern ireland. brightening up into other parts with some sunshine in the afternoon. but always grey and damp across scotland, north and east england. temperatures down on today's values. on sunday, more rain. stronger winds to go with it. and with the wind coming in from the

south, we will see temperatures rise a little. compare to saturday, temperatures of the up, but you might not be able to enjoy it because rain spreading in from the south and west during the day. brighter skies in the east and may be preceded by a little bit of snow on the tops of the grampians. quite day. but milder and temperatures between 12—13. time is running out if you want to vote in the weather watchers picture this season. you get to choose your favourite. go to the website and all the terms and notices are there and the vote closes on sunday. we look forward to finding out the winner on tuesday next week. have you voted? i am not allowed to vote. i choose the ten runners up. i'm trying to think of the word. ten

pictures in the final. we understand. we are taking time this morning to reflect on the life and career of dame barbara windsor. the sad news announced last night that at the age of 83 she passed away after a long battle with dementia. we will celebrate her life this morning. we can speak now to the former eastenders actor larry lamb, who played archie mitchell. good morning. firsti good morning. first i would say i am sorry for the loss because you were inevitably friends after working so closely so please accept my condolences. secondly, there are funny stories around barbara windsor and she had a zest for life. i know you have a funny story about first meeting her. a funny story, yes. we

had friends in common but we had never actually met and i was ushered into the presence, go and beat her, because, really, the reason i was there was because she decided she wa nted there was because she decided she wanted a new man in her life in the show. i was the one who was chosen. and shejust show. i was the one who was chosen. and she just looked at me because she was such a tiny thing. i had not realised. she said, you are tall. never mind, darling, we are all the same height lying down. she was a tiny little thing. i remember doing scenes with her when i had to do this groucho marx walk and they'd get me on the road on the square and she would be on the pavement and we walked along side by side and it sort of balanced it out. she was a tiny little thing. what we are hearing and you describe it well and

you know better than us, small in frame, but large impersonality. oh, she was larger—than—life, i tell you, that one. and everybody there dealt with her... she was the head girl at eastenders. everybody respected her. she liked everything to run smoothly. she was an old school actress. that is what it was. she came up through the business and you knew your place in the business and once you've got to the point where you were top of the bill, you learned, you had learned there are responsibilities involved. you could not just throw your weight around, you had to lead, you had to be the leading actor, and she was, she knew how to keep everybody together and make it a team. she was really special. it is lovely can share stuff with us this morning. i think

it is right to say you last saw her three years ago, at an 80th birthday event. it was some sort of presentation for her about three yea rs presentation for her about three years ago and i had been asked to go along. that was the last time i actually sat and chatted with her. i remember thinking, she is definitely... i had heard she was beginning to get signs of dementia, but of course, there is the first time you sit with someone you know and you have a chat and realise that things are different. and then it's just about a year ago i spent an evening with scott, and we were dedicating a charitable prize, a charitable award in barbara's name, so charitable award in barbara's name, so that is the last time i saw scott. and he said it was starting to get pretty tough. he is very

strong guy and i think that is a lot of what barbara in him. she needed somebody who was tough to keep her in line, and somebody who would look after her, and for her, he represented a strong father figure. it is interesting you talk about her presence on set and strength of character in terms... her position in the programme. she made it clear, when she knew she was beginning to feel the effects of alzheimer's, she wa nted feel the effects of alzheimer's, she wanted her character to be written out, killed off, and she made her decision to go and she had that influence over producers. the thing is, she was such an extraordinarily... she was an

integral part of the whole thing and a lwa ys integral part of the whole thing and always will be. she made no bones about it. it is what changed her life, getting that part in eastenders, and then the part being exactly what she needed and she, as she would always do, really worked on itand she would always do, really worked on it and worked with them to hone it and get it so it was using her to her best abilities. she knew, that the only way to go was the way she wa nted the only way to go was the way she wanted to go. and great that she did and great that they realised that they had to handle it that way. in stark contrast, maybe people will have heard, even people who did not watch eastenders knew the iconic get out of my pub line. for people of different generations, she will be

remembered from the carry on films, where she first became a real icon, somebody everybody knew. yes, she was certainly this extraordinary feature in my life, as a little boy backin feature in my life, as a little boy back in the days when you went to the cinema. we went to the pictures to see a carry on film and have a laugh. it was an extension of old—time variety. people acting out scenes in front of you that were a little bit larger than life but definitely meant to make you laugh. at that stage of her career, she was a comedian and to my generation, thatis a comedian and to my generation, that is the way you thought of barbara, this extraordinary funny lady, and in the film is very sexy, alluring, very naughty. and, in the end, she worked her way through the business and finished up with the pa rt business and finished up with the part that really reflected more of

her, i think. part that really reflected more of her, ithink. she part that really reflected more of her, i think. she was tough, barbara, no doubt about it. her, i think. she was tough, barbara, no doubt about itm her, i think. she was tough, barbara, no doubt about it. it has been lovely listening to your reminiscences. we get a sense of different sides of her personality and how people will have seen her over the years. good to talk to you. thank you. we will look back on the life of dame barbara windsor and the news overnight that she passed away yesterday evening at her care home at 8:35pm, her husband scott mitchell releasing a statement informing us of that. headlines coming up in a moment.

good morning welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. our headlines today. get out of my pub! dame barbara windsor, star of eastenders and the carry on films, has died at the age of 83 the actress was diagnosed with alzheimer's six years ago, throughout breakfast, we'll look back at her life and career. pupils at secondary schools in parts of london, kent and essex are to get covid tests in an attempt to curb a rapid rise in infections. secondary students in wales will be working from home after the welsh government says

lessons should move online. good morning. quarantine from the canaries. passengers returning from the spanish islands will have to isolate for 14 days from tomorrow. the travel companies warn it could cancel the entire christmas schedule. top of the class for british teams in the europa league, with all the sides in action, last night winning their final games before the knock out stage. tottenham among those topping their groups. and whilst there will be a little bit of sunshine today, outbreaks of rain never too far away. details on that and that we can forecast right here on breakfast. it's friday, the 11th of december. our top story. dame barbara windsor — one of the country's best—loved actresses — has died at the age of 83. her husband, scott mitchell, said she passed away peacefully from alzheimer's at 8.35pm last night at a care home in london. he spent the last seven

days by her side. he said... she was best known for her work in eastenders and carry on films. david sillito looks back at her life. barbara giggles. that'll do, that'll do. all right, girls, get in the coach, and you get on with the loading. barbara windsor — a 4ft 10in national treasure. we were told to bring the minimum of clothing. now really let's see those chests come out! and fling! funny, cheeky, slightly naughty. but there was a lot more to her thanjust carry on camping. matron, take them away! barbara ann deeks began acting as a teenager. born in shoreditch, in london, the daughter of a barrow boy, it was joan littlewood at a theatre workshop who saw her star quality.

she won a bafta nomination for the film sparrows can't sing. and a tony for oh, what a lovely war! movies and cabaret introduced her to glamour and some shady friends. at one point, she dated the gangster reggie kray. but it was the carry on films that made her a star. hi. her entrance always an excuse for something slightly saucy. sorry. have you got a large one? i've had no complaints, so far. he cackles. especially if sid james was around — a relationship that carried on off—camera. quick, before somebody comes in. you 'aven't got any soap on that bit. # up to the west end! but after those nine carry on films, there were some lean years. until she found peggy. grant! mum. i heard you were back, i was going to give you a call. then why didn't you, you useless great lump? peggy micthell in eastenders,

the new landlady of the queen vic, was a role made for her. you're unfit to be a father! don't you dare turn your back on me! 22 years on albert square. get outta my pub! which ended with barbara becoming dame barbara. dame babs sounds nice, doesn't it? my mum would have liked it to be dame barbara — she was a bit of a cockney snob, my mum. so she would be, "dame barbara." god, what would she be thinking now? what would she be thinking? however, her farewell to walford was also her farewell to acting. she had been diagnosed with alzheimer's. oh, my dear friend. you'll never leave me will you? dame barbara windsor, talent, warmth... no, sweetheart. thank you. ..and a lifetime of cheeky fun. dame barbara windsor who died yesterday at the age of 83.

we'll be hearing tributes to dame barbara windsor throught the programme this morning. secondary school pupils in parts of london, essex and kent will be offered mass—testing in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus. let's speak to now to our correspondent tim muffett now, who is at a school in dagenham, one of the areas earmarked for mass testing. tim, how has the school reacted to the news? we first heard about this yesterday afternoon at matt hancock's press briefing. seven boroughs in london, we understand plus kent and essex close to london, in secondary schools in those areas mass testing will be introduced very soon. there isa will be introduced very soon. there is a lot of concern about the increase in cases amongst the age group of people at secondary school. earlier on this we spoke to oliver

dowden, the culture secretary and get a sense as to whether this will happen in the next few days. intention is they will all have that, that's what the health secretary announced. the point of doing that is for the reasons i set out, to get it under control. if you look across the board, the stats, 90% of tests are turned round within 24—hour is. we have 100,000 tests available, we put in the capacity and now we have put in that capacity, we are deploying it. you would agree one of the important priorities for that is in our secondary schools? but the school in dagenham this morning, we are in essex, close to london. you are the head teacher, what is your reaction to this announcement and how practically will it work? we are facing a real challenge in this part of north east london. if it works, andl of north east london. if it works,

and i am hoping it will work because logistically it will be a challenge, it gives us the opportunity to have early identification of young people and adults who go to school and work in schools who are possibly covid positive. we will work closely with the local authority and the local health authority to ensure it is implemented effectively. expect more announcements today and more details if stu d e nts announcements today and more details if students don't have the test will they be allowed in to school? my understanding is, we don't have a mandate to say that you don't have to test. ourjob is to give information so they can make a balanced judgment and we feel we can get parents on board to encourage young people to test. staff will be encouraged to test and moving into the new year, we will have a clearer picture and we will keep staff and students safe. that is what has always underpinned the work we do here. it will be deployed in the

next day or so, i guess? over the road in the rugby club there will be a temporary testing station which will be open throughout christmas and the new year so it is accessible to parents and staff. also the difficulties faced by staff who live in essex and kent and they will get priority. i am led to understand they will get priority testing within their local testing area. thank you so much, so many challenges for students and staff as well. we are expecting more details today as to how this is going to work. many parts of london, kent and essex mass testing for secondary school students. thanks very much. in wales, secondary school students are preparing to take their classes online from monday, after a significant rise in infections there. the welsh education minister, kirsty williams, said the move, which affects the last week of term, was part of a "national effort to reduce transmission of coronavirus". cases in wales have doubled in the last 12 days.

some restrictions are also easing in parts of scotland today, where more than two million people have been under the country's toughest lockdown rules for three weeks. nonessential shops and gyms will reopen across much of the west of the country, including glasgow. pubs and restaurants will remain closed until tomorrow. in northern ireland, shops, gyms and some hospitality businesses are reopening after a two—week lockdown. restau ra nts, cafes a nd other venues serving food can resume trading, but pubs that don't serve food must remain shut. hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons can reopen but visits to them are by appointment only. borisjohnson says there's now a strong possibility of leaving the eu's single market and customs union without a trade deal. (tx 00v) weeks of intensive talks between officials have failed weeks of intensive talks between officials have failed to overcome obstacles in key areas, including competition rules and fishing rights. time is running out to reach an agreement before the uk stops following eu trade rules on 31

december. those are the main stories this morning and our business correspond that has been looking at changes in travel restrictions. there are the covid corridor is in place so we will have an update on that. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. it might be all right, we might not need to go away and worry about travel restrictions? yes, it is ok if you don't mind the rain. we have clear skies above eastbourne. there will be some sunshine to southern and western areas but for the rest of you it is areas but for the rest of you it is a cloudy day and it was a wet night for most and the rain is still

continuing. plenty of showers packing into the west. mist and fog in between. we have got it all today. over the next few hours the rain will continue to persist across the area to aberdeenshire and caithness. we could see minor flooding in these areas today and plenty of showers in the west of scotla nd plenty of showers in the west of scotland and the western half of england and wales. further south could be a rumble of thunder but a breeze to the english channel. showers are pushing through quite smartly but with lighter winds, if you get stuck under a shower you could be under it for quite a while and the persistent rain across the north—east of scotland with the strongest of the wind right the way into the afternoon. not everyone will see wet weather this afternoon and they will be some parts of central scotland, midlands and southern england who stay dry with sunshine and temperatures up a tiny bit on what we saw yesterday. this evening and overnight, mist and fog is an issue over the hills, rain at times across scotland, england, wales and clear conditions into the

west late r, wales and clear conditions into the west later, where temperatures will drop into single figures in northern ireland. it is a southern and western areas who are most likely to see saturday sunshine, but by sunday, as i said, it is a christmas movie on the so for kind of day. you may be waking up to the news, we heard about late yesterday evening. the actress dame barbara windsor has died at the age of 83. she was diagnosed with dementia six years ago. she found fame as a carry on star in the 605 and 705 and as the formidable queen vic landlady in eastenders. tributes are flooding inform all over the world — here's what actorjohn barrowman had to say. in my 30 odd years of my career, i have had many occasions where i have been in company with barbara, or as

everyone calls her, babs, and she will be sorely missed. she was a small woman, but feisty, and she had the biggest heart in the business. and she was a genuine, lovely, warm, caring person, and she will be sorely missed by the film, television, radio and theatre world. yeah, we all knew that she wasn't in great health, but it is still a shock when it comes, so rest in peace, dame barbara windsor, and you will be sorely missed. listening tojohn barrowman saying she was feisty, we spoke to larry lamb who played with her in eastenders and he's said she was an all—powerful woman, a force of nature. we are celebrating her life this morning, but it is sad news her

passing away yesterday at the age of 83. the actress sam spiro has portrayed her on both stage and screen. she joins us now from the set of her latest project. good morning. a lot of people knew that barbara windsor had been in poor health, and tributes from her husband amongst others are very touching. what are your thoughts? you studied her work over many yea rs. you studied her work over many years. sam, i am you studied her work over many years. sam, iam going you studied her work over many years. sam, i am going to check you can hear us years. sam, i am going to check you can hearus ok. years. sam, i am going to check you can hear us ok. we will check. sam, good morning, it is charlie in the studio, can you hear us? it looks like we have a problem. we will come back to sam. we are just trying to get in touch with people this morning. what is interesting about some of the tributes coming in is that different people have had

dealings with barbara windsor at different times in their career. larry lamb we spoke to earlier and acted with her in eastenders but he reflected that when he was growing her he was watching her in the carry on films. and lovely stories about her personality and how it came out. scott mitchell, her husband, released a statement, and he told the media she had passed away. it was an emotional statement and he said he spent the last seven days by her side and he said that he, her family and friends, will remember barbara with love, a smile and affection, for the many years of her love, friendship and brightness she brought to their lives and entertainment she gave to thousands of others during her career. and it has been marked the work she did for

the alzheimer's society, awareness, and she was open about her reasons for stepping back from acting, but making sure that she was to the fore raising awareness for alzheimer's and to push for more funding and from the consideration of those who have it. i am not sure we can show you images from a visit she made to meet the prime minister at number 10 downing st, when she was campaigning fiercely, alongside her husband, for more attention for alzheimer's. we spoke to the chief executive of alzheimer's uk and she was clear that occasion, and how open barbara windsor and her family were about the condition had a clear and positive impact on the conversations around alzheimer's and the pressure it put on families. and it mattered to dame barbara windsor that she was cared about,

because that is reflected in the statement. scott mitchell said my gratitude to family, friends, eve ryo ne gratitude to family, friends, everyone in the media, and general public for good wishes and warm support shown to barbara during her illness. imagine how frightening it must have been to say this is what she was going through. he said that barbara deeply appreciated that. more reflections throughout the programme this morning. "children should be at home." that was the message from wales' education minister when she announced all secondary school lessons would go online from the end of today. it's in an effort to control the surge of coronavirus cases in wales, where the number of infections has doubled in the last 12 days. meanwhile secondary pupils in parts of london, essex and kent will be offered mass—testing in an effort to control the spread of the virus. let's speak now to geoff barton, who is the general secretary of the association of head teachers. good morning. the situation in

wales, where they have effectively taken the most drastic action, for one week, next week, secondary school pupils will not be in school. this, is it the right call? people we represent in wales, some head teachers struggling to keep schools open because they did not have enough staff, they say it is definitely the right thing in terms of educational standards, that we think the quality of education we can give to young people will be as good or better through online learning, and second, to reassure pa rents learning, and second, to reassure parents about the community impact of coronavirus being spread. in terms of the decision in wales, it is not without controversy but it feels like the right decision in that context. talk me through the situation. we spoke to head teachers affected and this is a decision in parts of london, kent and essex

whereby the government advises mass testing. it is not obligatory, so these students can go to school without having a test. they are being asked to go to these mass testing centre is being set up next week. is that the right way to go about it in those places where there has been a spike in cases? it is a good question and i am afraid i do not have a good answer because it is unprecedented, and the government is using pretty dramatic language when it talks about this, and i think if i were a parent listening, i would say what the health secretary was saying yesterday, it is notjust about transmission by 11—18 —year—olds among themselves, it is passed on to vulnerable people such as grandparents and as a parent, i would be saying, is the testing, that will take a couple of days, we might not get results till tuesday, is ita might not get results till tuesday, is it a better decision than the decision in wales where essentially

you stop the community transmission? the other bit of it, i have had e—mails from people in yorkshire and wigan today is saying ijust e—mails from people in yorkshire and wigan today is saying i just wanted to say as the head of a school in west yorkshire, the response via mobile units in london and surrounding areas is infuriating and makes us feel that northern schools and teachers are undervalued and under appreciated, so is there something distinctive about kent, essex, london? why might it not have been done in other places and the government needs to explain why it is doing something so different. government needs to explain why it is doing something so differentm is doing something so differentm is not the first time. there are challenging decisions. on the one hand you could say why were these stu d e nts hand you could say why were these students allow back in the first place, if as it transpired this has occurred in wales, across the board, and you could say that governments have to make decisions on the evidence they are presented with. they are, and that is why it is difficult to make any decision

around public health and that is not our responsibility and the people i represent do not want to make those decisions. what we want to do, we wa nt decisions. what we want to do, we want everyone to be reassured the decisions being made by government not just with decisions being made by government notjust with its robotic mantra schools will stay open whatever else happens, but in the interests of educational standards and protecting vulnerable people such as grandparents over christmas.“ there concern among your members, and we spoke to a head teacher earlier, that they end up as gatekeepers? will they instinctively wa nt to gatekeepers? will they instinctively want to ask students have you had the test yet? may be almost casually as they come into school as part of their concern for their students, do they end up... you say they do not wa nt they end up... you say they do not want a role in the health service, but do you think automatically they will do that? i go back to my earlier point, it is uncharted territory and we do not know. this

is the first day something on this scale is going to be happening and i think i would be better placed to a nswer think i would be better placed to answer tomorrow. all i know is what head teachers, everybody in school recognises they will be doing, which is trying to keep the show on the road with business as usual, with young people who themselves have presented themselves incredibly well. but all of us wondering whether the decision being made in england is the best decision compared to what is being made in wales today. i suppose one of the problems amongst this, and we know this from the first lockdown and second lockdown, school is of course we re second lockdown, school is of course were back, but from the first lockdown, it throws immediately a certain kind of pressure on parents. if stu d e nts certain kind of pressure on parents. if students are not at school. the requirement of the home environment, thatis requirement of the home environment, that is something that whoever is looking after the youngsters, there isa looking after the youngsters, there is a new responsibility comes back.

it has a different implication than if it was a primary but if you are a young person without access to online learning, that will be a challenge and an independent school leader of mine said they took a decision they would close the entire school of 1200 because 40 of their staff were off and the response from pa rents staff were off and the response from parents has been supportive because they think they can get a better education for young people. and because they have the reassurance they will not have all the young people mixing from the community and school leaders finding themselves in impossible positions making these decisions. always interesting to talk to you. the new measures, wales, secondary school pupils will not be at school

at all next week. and mass testing in parts of london, kent and essex. we should recap the sad news we have had overnight that dame barbara windsor has passed away at the age of 83. her husband scott mitchell put out a statement yesterday saying it was with deep sadness he could confirm that "my darling wife barbara passed away on the 10th of december at a london care home, her passing was from alzheimer's dementia and barbara eventually died peacefully and i have spent the last seven days by her side." he said he and family and friends would remember her with love, a smile and affection for the many years of her love and brightness and friendship she brought to their lives. i think we can see some of the images now, across the years, the kind of roles she has had. it goes back to the 605

and early 19705, those images from the carry on films. the iconic characters from those casts and by her admission she had a lull in her career. she had a theatre career, and then, to a new generation, eastenders. another huge role that brought her back into the public consciousness. i think she was only actually in... she appeared in one third of the carry on series, sid james, barbara windsor, kenneth williams, you remember. you would have thought she would have been in more but they stuck with her and became part of her identity as an actress and it took awhile to step away from them. she was accomplished in the theatre, she was nominated for a tony award. an overall brilliant performer and a lwa ys an overall brilliant performer and always made an impact on those around her, as we have heard

throughout this morning. what is lovely, people we have spoken to this morning, already apparent, quite rightly, terribly sad for her immediate family which is reflected in the from her husband who cared for her, but there is a smile while people talk about her character and what she was like to know and to meet, formidable, funny and a laugh people will not forget. we will be talking to the oscar—winning director behind 12 years a slave and the bbc‘s new series that is currently on small axe. we will be talking to steve mcqueen, who is behind all of those and get his thoughts on why this series has been a success. good morning from bbc london, i'm victoria hollins. secondary schools in the areas of london most affected

by coronavirus are to get urgent covid testing over the coming days. the capital now has the highest average rate of cases in england. the government has urged all 11—18 year olds eligible for the surge testing to take part. in the worst hit areas the tests will be able to give quick results. we can check to see if they are carrying the virus or not. what we are trying to do is try and keep as many young people as possible safe and more importantly, the grandparents normally of the young people. because they love their grandparents. what we don't want them doing, and i am sure they wouldn't want to do, is pass on the virus to any of their loved ones. some london councils are defying new immigration rules which make rough sleeping grounds for deportation. the new rules, which lewisham and southwark councils have labelled "cruel and inhumane" came into force at the start of december. the home office can now deport non—uk citizens who have a legal right to stay in the uk if they end

up sleeping on the street. it says this is last resort measure and individuals are first asked to leave voluntarily with government support. the bbc will reflect on a sporting year like no other at next weekend's bbc sports personality awards ceremony. among those being recognised are unsung heroes from every region of the uk — and in the capital, audrey a triathlon and swimming coach is this year's winner she's worked tirelessly to encourage more people into the sport. the reward isn't money. you can't monetise it. it's people saying, "oh, my god, i'm feeling so much better," or, "oh, my god, i've lost so much weight." let's take a look at the travel situation now... on the tube there are minor delays on the dlr and the hammersmith and city line. on the a13 there are queues westbound due to a lane closure between movers lane and beckton because of a burst water main. on fulham palace road a bus lane is closed northbound between lillie road and lysia st due to accident

investigation works. now the weather with elizabeth. hello, good morning. it's quite a wet, early start to the day across the capital, there's a band of heavy rain that's been moving its way eastwards through the night and that will clear through this morning, but it leaves behind it plenty of cloud for the rest of the day. the blustery winds will ease down, we are starting off not on too chillier a note, temperatures generally in high single figures but there could be one or two showers following on behind this weather front. for the most part though, looking mostly dry. top temperatures in the milder air of up to ten or 11 celsius through this afternoon. now, through this evening and overnight, again it's quite cloudy. there could be one or two showers but generally quite dry, overnight lows dropping into mid single figures. tomorrow, mostly dry day but there could be one or two morning showers around and the winds will fall quite light. but there's always going to be a lot of cloud around on saturday. it's also going to feel a bit cooler too, but the milder air returns along with some wet and windy

weather on sunday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. now though it's back to charlie and naga. bye for now. hello this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. after breakfast it's morning live with kym and gethin. let's see what's happening on the show today. good morning. following the sad news that dame barbara windsor has died, we will be celebrating her life and remarkable career which included 22 yea rs on remarkable career which included 22 years on albert square and reflecting on the tributes which will no doubt pour into out the day and we will be joined live from her former co—star from eastenders, tanya franks.

if you're planning a great christmas getaway in the uk, travel expert and celebrity masterchef star amar latif will be telling us the best times and days to travel whether it's by car, train or plane. and as the amount of online scams continue to sky rocket, we find out why it's younger generations who are more likely to be scammed, and meet the no—nonsense na ns conning their own families in a bid to keep them safe online. also this morning, the sensational gospel choir who were watched by two billion people around the world when they sang at prince harry and meghan markle's wedding. wejoin the kingdom choir as they surprise nhs workers with a really beautiful performance. and we're going for gold with the repair shop star will kirk, who's teaching us the ancient craft of gilding with simple tricks on how a golden touch can personalise your gifts and make decorations sparkle. see you straight after breakfast at 9.15. our main story this morning.

barbara windsor found fame as peggy for many years — making the queen vic her own and ruling the mitchell family. danniella westbrook played her daughter sam. we can talk to her now. lovely to have you with us this morning. we spoke to larry lamb earlier and i can only imagine how much barbara windsor touched your life and do have lost someone you worked very closely with and for that, i send my condolences. what we are trying to do this morning, as well as remember the brilliant things she did it celebrate her life. she was a powerhouse of energy? she was the most feisty, hard—working but humble woman i have ever met. everything i learned the work, i learned from barbara, how to work listen, watch other people work. she was phenomenal. the amount of learning she did, pages and pages and pages of learning. she walked into the

queen vic and she was peggy mitchell, she was phenomenal.“ queen vic and she was peggy mitchell, she was phenomenal. is it fairto mitchell, she was phenomenal. is it fair to say she would have raised the game people around her because of her work ethic? she raised the game of the whole show. everything, she was the queen of the vic. i don't think there will ever be a landlady that will match barbara windsor as peggy mitchell.|j landlady that will match barbara windsor as peggy mitchell. i love hearing stories about your first encounters. when he first met her, can you remember the occasion?” first met her before eastenders, but i met her on eastenders as playing my mother. she was already quite beddedin my mother. she was already quite bedded in when i came back to the show. i was so bedded in when i came back to the show. i was so nervous. bedded in when i came back to the show. i was so nervous. i have grown up show. i was so nervous. i have grown up watching barbara windsor, she was a national treasure. she became my mum on eastenders. i was so nervous. she said, what is the matter with you? i said, she said, what is the matter with you? isaid, iam a

she said, what is the matter with you? i said, i am a little bit nervous, barbara. she said, my name is bar. she was a mentor and a good friend to me to everything in my life. she was great fun. one of the things we are knowing more about now, because of the wonderful tributes, lovely statement from her husband talking and paying tribute to her. we are learning more about the difficult times and she became a campaigner for the alzheimer's society. how much where you are aware of what she was going through? quite a lot. quite a while before she left the show i remember saying to me once, i came back from america to me once, i came back from america to do the show and i stayed with scott and barbara for a while. she said, this isjust not going in, i am not learning quick enough. something's not right. i said it is

because you have got 30 or 40 pages of scripts to learn at night, and long days and the travelling. she said, no it isn't that and i think she knew there was something that wasn't quite right. my dad has got dementia, so i know for a fact and you know in your own mind. someone as feisty and as quick as barbara, and as an actor, to lose your memory, to lose that part is the most soul destroying thing that can happen. you are in a perfect position to be able to talk about how important it was that she campaigned to raise awareness for dementia, because as you say your father has dementia and you know what families are going to and how painful it is for those who love as well as the loved one he was experiencing this terrible illness, how important was it that dame barbara windsor did say, this is me,

this is happening to me and i will shout about it and make sure there is more shout about it and make sure there is more awareness? shout about it and make sure there is more awareness? barbara would never shy away from anything, scott has been the biggest advocate for the dementia and alzheimer's. he has done so much to raise awareness. he did the marathon, so many things he has done. at the same time, continuing to care for bar. i know barbara would have wanted everybody to say, i am the same as you and i am going through it, let's stick together. she would have wanted people to know and that is exactly what she did do, she let people know. she helped more people than she really realised along the way, just to cope with what they are going through and what they are facing. as a final thought, for many people who didn't know her as well as you did, they will have various things in their head around barbara windsor, but first and foremost is that laugh and that spirit? nobody can ever do that laugh. he couldn't

get ten feet down the street without a black cab tooting their horn and saying, hello, barbara. she would say, hello, darling. it has been lovely catching up with you. just looking at some of those images from the old days in the carry on films. lovely to hear your thoughts, goodbye. thank you for having me, goodbye. oscar—winning director steve mcqueen secured his place in cinematic history with the academy award—winning best picture 12 years a slave. but until now, there wasn't an equivalent epic portraying black people's history in britain. his series small axe features five stand—alone movies exploring the lives of people in london's west indian community, touching on everything from courtroom drama to education. the final episode airs this sunday — let's take a look at the series so far. this is urgent. what's your name? who are you, more like? i'm frank critchlow and this

is mrs manning — her son, kendrick manning, is missing. how long has he been missing? well, he... i didn't ask you, did i? ken is supposed to reach home at nine. nine o'clock. six hours. no, that does not make him a missing person. i don't want no trouble. leave the man alone. leave him alone. move your backside. move on. you've not gotjobs to go to? get out of here, man. get out. move your backside. the mangrove is a restaurant. looks like he had a fall. i'm leroy logan, everyone. i wrote a ton of stuff but none of it matters. i'm just chuffed to be here, in all honesty. one thing i will say outright, i'm not here to make any friends. i'm here to help to bring change to this organisation from the inside out. and, hopefully, will do that. sir steve joins us now from the set

of his latest production. thank you so much for your time this morning. first of all, i want to say, congratulations because it has just been voted best film of the year by sight and sound in the annual toll. did you know about that, you look a bit surprised? yes, i knew about it, i am happy for eve ryo ne i knew about it, i am happy for everyone involved and it proves british film, you don't need much money, just the ideas. that is obr. how easy is it now to get ideas that are different, that are showing different stories, different people, different stories, different people, different lead characters, how much easier, if at all is it now to get them on television to get them into them on television to get them into the cinema? the environment is more fertile than it has ever been. black

and brown skinned people have not been welcomed into the film and television community. but things are changing, people are realising things need to be sorted and changed. there is opportunities and we just have to take them when we get them. steve, good morning. for those who have got to catch up, you can go back and find these things that the thinking behind it was, this is a period of time, why was at this is a period of time, why was at this particular period of time in the late 705 and early 805, why was that particular period of time you thought there were stories there that we didn't know enough about? firstly, i wanted to make small axe for my mother so she could turn on the telly and have it accessible for her. this is the time things were being contested and things were being contested and things were being swept under the carpet so

things need to be seen. the evolution from that time, from 68, from enoch powell and the opening of the mangrove all the way up to 1984 when there is institutional racism in the metropolitan police. tell us more about leroy logan, we just played a couple of clips. this is a black man who joined the police force and it is the story of the dynamic within the police force and the problems he faced from within? yeah, leroy logan was a research scientist and decided to join the met in 1983. just after he decided tojoin the met, his met in 1983. just after he decided to join the met, his father was brutally beaten up by two policemen. he had to make a decision tojoin the met or not. i don't want to

spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, there is a story between the father and the sun. the rights and wrongs of trying to join the establishment in order to change it. that is what that story was about. it isa that is what that story was about. it is a generational story between second—generation and a person who was in the windrush generation. there is a generational debate, discussion really. it is an interesting time at the moment, with coronavirus and restrictions and filming restrictions, how has it been for you? what restrictions have applied to your latest projects of late and how is it affecting them? actually, i took about small axe because we came to the end of the shooting and then we had to do some pick—ups and reshooting for ten days. we were the first crew back on location during the coronavirus,

during the pandemic. we basically went to the guidelines and at the beginning it was trying to get used to having your temperature taken a few times a day but it was great, it worked. we wanted to be healthy and com plete worked. we wanted to be healthy and complete ourfilming. worked. we wanted to be healthy and complete our filming. it wasn't too much of a problem, it was just knowing what to do. steve, can i just asked, one of the things that is apparent when talking to someone like yourself, when you were younger you didn't see anyone like you working in the business you now work in. iamjust working in the business you now work in. i am just curious as to whether you think the position you are in now, do you know first hand you are changing things? do you know there are young people now saying, i see steve mcqueen and the success he has had and they realise there is a role for them in the industry you work in? i hope it is notjust me, i hope

people are having discussions about film—making and the stories that can be told. it is about the love and the art of film—making and storytelling and to see your story told on screen and people who look like you on screen and maybe there isa like you on screen and maybe there is a possibility of being involved infilm—making. yes, is a possibility of being involved in film—making. yes, i is a possibility of being involved infilm—making. yes, i do what is a possibility of being involved in film—making. yes, i do what i do, but it is to do with the passion and love of storytelling and hoping people will fall in love with his films and others and people will go off and do what they can as producers, directors and what ever. what is next, what are you working on now? i am working on a documentary called occupied city from 1940 to 1945, about the occupation of amsterdam during the second world war. that is a city you know well? yes, i have been living here for over 20 years. i go back

and forth. it is one of those things where you live in a formal layer occupied city, it is like living with ghosts. london, the blitz, buildings are still standing where people were hidden, and interestingly enough, my daughter, when she was at school, the bike sheds where the interrogation centre. it is a strange thing kids are jostling, putting centre. it is a strange thing kids arejostling, putting their rucksacks in their lockers and packing their bags where unfortunate things happen. that is fascinating and we will look forward to that. congratulations on the award and good to see you there. thank you for having me. i love breakfast television, so keep it up. now you are coming back. i am going to clip that up and put it on my phone. it

will be my alarm at 3.45 in the morning. i am a big fan. what time do you tune in? i have my coffee, and listen to what you are talking about, habit banter. shall we keep this going? obviously, if you are going to do a film on breakfast television if you have two people he would quite happily audition for the part. absolutely. you are the first one. he said it on national television, it is like a contract. small axe: education is on bbc one on sunday at 9pm, and all the other episodes are available now on the bbc iplayer. definitely worth watching. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. iam i am sorry, nojob offerfor you from steve mcqueen, just me and charlie. you cut him off before he

said his favourite bit was the weather. that was cruel! of course, it is everybody‘s favourite bit. except when i bring news of rain and there is more to come this weekend but at the moment, dry weather following the rain, fog in western areas of england and east wales. more rain on the way here. we have a weather front pushing eastwards brought persistent rain through the night and showers now in the west pushing in close to wrexham. parts of scotla nd pushing in close to wrexham. parts of scotland and other parts of wales and south—west england and that is the more persistent rain clearing eastern england. it will linger to the north—east of scotland and we could see minor flooding the north—east of scotland and we could see minorflooding in aberdeenshire, angus and caithness. between that and the showers that get going in the west, we will see dry weather this afternoon. parts of the midlands, southern england might

see sunshine. showers through the english channel could come with thunder. temperatures not far off yesterday's values. you have strong winds in the north—east of scotland throughout unto tonight. turning dry and clear into northern ireland later and here temperatures are most likely to drop the furthest and an outside chance of frost to start saturday. saturday, low pressure with us and so we will see plenty of cloud. foggy to start in scotland, northern and eastern half of england. rain at times. notice how many western areas brighten up. saturday is the best chance to see sunshine for a good part of the day across western and southern areas, even though temperatures will be down on today. saturday into sunday, low pressure pushing closer towards

us. these weather fronts low pressure pushing closer towards us. these weatherfronts mean more in the way of rain. at least accompanied by strong winds, and it won't be as cold. temperatures lifting and a slightly milder end to the day after brief snow across the tops of the scottish mountains. while it starts dry and bright in eastern areas, rain will move through, accompanied by strong winds. touching gale force in spots and temperatures should climb up to 13. that is the weather, whatever your plans, enjoy them and i will see you on monday. we have been hearing... travellers returning to the uk from spain's canary islands from saturday morning must self—isolate for two weeks after the government removed the area from the safe travel corridor list. it's another blow to holiday firms after a year of difficulties. ben is at london's stansted airport

for us to find out more. the for us to find out more. canary islands, when peop allowed the canary islands, when people were allowed to go there, that was a big lift, because a lot of british people go, it is accessible, the weather is good. that was a moment in time, a feel—good moment. weather is good. that was a moment in time, a feel-good moment. yes. as max was saying, the forecast here is pretty grey at sta nsted max was saying, the forecast here is pretty grey at stansted and so people might have been thinking about going somewhere for winter sunshine. it is hugely popular at this time of year and it was one of the few places you could get to without having to quarantine on the way back but from 4am tomorrow that changes and you will need to quarantine 14 days if you return from the ca nary quarantine 14 days if you return from the canary islands. the big travel giant tui said it might cancel all its christmas schedule because of that. so much confusion and uncertainty, especially given the foreign office has not changed its advice on the advice at the

moment is you can go, they do not advise against all but essential travel so your flight may go and hotel stay open and you will not be entitled for an automatic refund. the saving grace could be test and release. from next week, tuesday in england, you can sign up to test and release and that means you would be able to take a test that could cut quarantine from 14 days down to five days, you take the test on the fifth days, you take the test on the fifth day and get your results in a couple of days so maybe seven days a quarantine rather than 14 but the catch is you have to pay for it and it will cost about 100 quid, but it might be worth it if you want to get out of quarantine sooner. all sorts of uncertainty as far as travel is concerned and so the man to answer questions is simon calder. let's talk about the travel corridor, that has changed to the canary islands

but popular at this time of year. has changed to the canary islands but popular at this time of yeahm isa but popular at this time of yeahm is a bleak midwinter not just for the hundreds of thousands who seven weeks ago, when the canary islands opened up, thought we will book a winter holiday, but for the travel industry also, who pinned many hopes on the idea we could go to the ca nary on the idea we could go to the canary islands and have our traditional winter holidays. the foreign office still has not changed its advice, and that is having an odd effect because normally the foreign office says at the same time that you have to quarantine but the foreign office say they advise against travel, all the holiday companies cancel their trips. but the biggest holiday company, tui, said their trips the biggest holiday company, tui, said theirtrips are the biggest holiday company, tui, said their trips are going ahead, the foreign office has not changed advice and if you do not want to go because you cannot quarantine, we will let you book an alternative holiday, but at the moment you will not be able to get a cash refund. i

am still trying to find out what jet2 is doing but it is a model. the end of the transition period as far as brexit is concerned brings other challenges. what do we need to know? we do not know a lot at the moment but it seems likely your european health insurance card will not be going any longer than three weeks. serious implications for passport holders, you have to have at least six months remaining on your passport and your passport must not have been issued more than nine years and six months ago and if you are driving, it looks likely you will need an international driving permit and if you go to france and spain you will need two different permits, £5 50 from your post office. of all the people prepared, i knew it would be you. simon is all sorted but many will not be so worth bearing in mind some of that advice.

if you intend to travel after the end of the year and also questions about the covid rules. we know at the moment we can travel but a suggestion that after the transition period, we will not be welcomed because we are classed as a high infection country and might not be able to travel to other countries in the european union. so many questions, very few answers right now, i'm afraid. thank you. tributes are being paid to the actress barbara windsor, who has died at the age of 83. she was diagnosed with dementia six years ago. actress danniella westbrook, who played dame barbara's on—screen daughter sam mitchell on eastenders, tweeted: "my heart is broken. you will always be in my heart for ever. i love you." matt lucas in his tweet said, "it's not an overstatement to say i think the whole country is in mourning today." he wrote, "you don't become a dame by accident.

everyone knew barbara windsor and everyone loved her." and patsy palmer, who played bianca jackson on eastenders, shared a moving tribute on instagram. "i'm extremely sad to hear that my friend dame babara windsor has passed away. i'm sitting here thinking of the hundreds of memories we shared. too many to comprehend. i can hear that laugh now as i sit and think about her. i hope it'll ring in my ears for ever." that is a lovely tribute and you get a feeling about the number we have spoken to and there is a sense on the one hand of a fun personality, this tiny package, forefoot ten and —— fourand she this tiny package, forefoot ten and —— four and she had a fierce professional reputation. when she worked on eastenders, a really fierce determination and a way of

working that kept everyone on their toes. and she raised the level of the game all around her. larry lamb played her love interest in eastenders and spoke fondly about her earlier. ooh! she was larger—than—life, i tell you, that one. and everybody there dealt with her as if she were... you know, she was the head girl at eastenders. she was the one, you know, and everybody respected her, because she liked everything to run smoothly and she was an old school smoothly and she was an old—school actress, that's really what it was. she came up through the business and you knew your place in the business, and once you got to the point where you were the top of the bill, you had learned that there were responsibilities involved with that. and you couldn't just throw your weight around, you had to lead, you had to be the leading actor, and she certainly was. she knew how to keep everybody together and make it a team.

she was really special. larry lamb was reminiscing about when he was a young boy and before he worked with her, he was watching her in carry on films and for many that was where her name was force. and a generation of eastenders fans know her in her later years of acting. daniella westbrook worked with her and spoke about the first time she met her and how nervous she was because she knew she was an icon in the industry. and she told her to call her bar. i first met bar before eastenders. on the set i met barbara is playing my mother. she was bedded in when! is playing my mother. she was bedded in when i came back to the show and i was nervous in when i came back to the show and i was nervous because in when i came back to the show and i was nervous because i had grown up watching barbara windsor, the whole nation has, she is a national treasure, and i came back and she

was my mum on eastenders and i was nervous and she said, what is the matter with you? i said i am nervous, barbara. she said, my name is bar, and he will be fine. and from that day, we gelled and we were very close. she was a mentor to me and good friend throughout everything in my life. she was great fun. that was daniella westbrook speaking with fond memories of dame barbara windsor, who has died at the age of 83 and we had that moving statement from her husband, which was released last night. during the morning we spoke to the chief executive of alzheimer's uk and she said she had many dealings with barbara and her campaign, but also with her husband scott mitchell and she paid tribute to him. we know the pressure dementia puts on families, and looking through his

statement, released last night, in amongst other things, a personal tribute to his dear wife, and he said, thank you to doctors, nurses and carers who are angels at the ca re and carers who are angels at the care home for your kindness and care to barbara so amongst his personal grief paying tributes.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. get out of my pub! dame barbara windsor — best known for her roles in eastenders and the carry on films — has died at the age of 83. her former co—stars pay tribute. she was larger—than—life, i will tell you that one. and everybody there dealt with her as if she were, you know, she was the head girl at eastenders, she was the one, you know, and everybody respected her. borisjohnson says there is a strong possibility the uk won't reach a brexit deal with the eu and that instead there will be what he calls an australian—style relationship. australia's former prime minister has a warning about that. be careful what you wish for. i mean, australia... australia's relationship with the eu is not one,