changes come into force. as the uk grapples with the new strain of coronavirus, there are now confirmed cases in france, spain and sweden. the former mi6 officer and soviet spy george blake has died at the age of 98 in moscow. now on bbc news, join the travel show team on theirjourney of discovery as they explore new destinations around the globe and uncover hidden sides to some of the world's favourite holiday hotspots. let's be honest, it hasn't been the best year for travel. but amid the gloom, we've still found moments of inspiration and seen parts of the world, albeit sometimes virtually, that would take your breath away. laughs. i can't do it! welcome to our look back at 2020.

what a year it's been and it all started so well. wow! lucy took a trip to a simulated martian outpost in the caves of northern spain. in argentina, mike went to the world's second—biggest wetland and took a dunking. oh and we're away! laughs. and i went underwater to swim with sharks in the maldives. they're just so close! but then, disaster struck. lockdowns, border closures and holiday cancellations for the foreseeable future, leaving some of us still out of pocket. but back in those early days in march, simplyjust finding a way back home was the main problem facing many. my situation is,

i'm, i'm stranded. virgin cancelled my flight yesterday due to leave at 6:25pm from miami and i was told the day before that of the cancellation. the advice we've been given has been quite confusing. i mean, i'm obviously not a fluent italian speaker so that's partly my fault, but in general, the advice given has changed every few days and it varies by region quite a lot. now it's not possible to travel to the neighbouring islands or into the city unless you have a reason to do so. we also have curfew in place here between 10pm and 5am. we just want to get back to friends and family. i have got a new grandson who's going to be six months old tomorrow. i haven't seen him for six weeks now. i am being told i can book an alternative flight but i don't know if that is with the same provider. can i go with a different airline like ba, will i be reimbursed for doing that?

it is unsettling, there is so much happening everywhere. it is really easy to get caught up in the panic when you speak to people. i would love to get home, yeah. now, as you can imagine, trying to make a weekly travel program in this year has been extremely tricky. but one of the things that has made it a lot easier is having an amazing travel show family spread quite literally across the globe. so we decided to catch up with the team and find out how 2020 has been for them. my people! my travel show people! let's have a chat about this year because it's been an odd year for travel hasn't it, for travel show presenters. so each of you, why don't you start off first, rajan? tell us what your year has been

like, the highs and lows. i think it's been really weird. i have travelled less than i've ever travelled since childhood and that is weird. so i have missed it. i think we have all missed it haven't we. it's almost like we've had our wings clipped. in the beginning, it was a little bit 0k, well i'll take a break but after a few months when you realise that travel is so much more thanjust seeing places, it is how i found happiness in my life at least. that is how i felt alive so that was taken away. i was allowed to travel to the eu in the beginning ofjuly and i went and have been travelling since. travel is really different and one of the big things i realised was i always thought i loved animals and mountains and waterfalls but when you take away faces, you realise that people and faces are really important to travel. i tell you what i found really strange, i don't know whether you guys have done it, the few times i have managed to travel overseas, is how empty the airports are. what do you think, it's

so weird isn't it? i'm in dubai at the moment and ijust filmed the latest episode of the travel show. this is the first international trip we have done, i have done for eight months. just being in the airport, i don't know what i was expecting but i definitely wasn't expecting that. just eerie silence, couldn't sit in a lot of places and obviously i know, we're all used to experiencing lockdown, that kind of thing, but it was really surreal, the entire experience. just the fact i got on a plane and was able to step off and get into any country. and get into the heat. like mike said, meeting people, the smells, the food and the buzz, i really thrive off that kind of thing and this has reignited my passion for travelling and made me realise how much i hate my makeshift desk in my living room. carmen, what about you, what has it been like there injapan? fortunately, japan is pretty big so i travel quite a lot in japan this year more so than any other year. it has been great from that perspective. i spent time with my family. but i have missed my family overseas, right, and i've had so many trips cancelled

and i've had my trip to chile cancelled three times and then i was meant to go to singapore and then they cancelled and i had a green lane that allowed me to travel without quarantining an, overnight, that was rescinded and the trip was off. you are a seasoned traveller, have you found any highs or pluses in this crazy year? i was lucky enough, i think it was august, when i went to germany and not only got to track down some wild boar in berlin but we went down and got a taste of the oktoberfest that wasn't! which was great because it gave us an opportunity to see really what a beer festival was like for locals because the visitors didn't come from overseas because it wasn't on for 2020 but for me,

this year, for the first time in my life, i have not been able to go home to australia and carmen, i know you live injapan but grew up in australia but the distance have never seemed wider for me. i miss my family and want to go home so the moment australia opens borders i will be booking the ticket, i promise you that. and talking about booking your plane ticket once the borders are open, what are your hopes for the future? what will happen in 2021 in regards to travel? ithink numberone, for all the people who work in the travel industry around the world, especially countries where they are dependent on tourism, this'll be a massive relief, they can get some work, for gods sake, so that is really important but number two, i want to moderate some conferences and there is a notion that, are people going to reset? think differently about travel? will there be more conscience

travel and sustainability, thinking about that not just about the environment but what we do with the time we spend? certainly a time to value a trip more. what i think about non—stop is in 2021, if we do choose to travel and we can travel, whether we have a vaccination or risk tolerance, there will be a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity to see mount fuji, machu picchu, the angkor wat temples in cambodia without any tourists, and when will that happen again? i think there is an opportunity if people do choose to travel. i think people will have one big holiday next year. if anything, they will play just one big holiday and not just nip over to paris for the weekend, you know, a lot of effort and time put into it, and you may even have to consult with a travel agent!

as opposed to buying it online. it's like we have gone back 30 years. and the grand master of travel, come on, tell us, what does the future hold? i would say savour every second, value every second because i think we dojust rushed through stuff and don't appreciate everything. do not undervalue how much the travel experience can change everything. that was amazing... hang on a minute, ade, because we have been talking about our experiences and hopes for next year but we have not asked you! what do you think is coming up, ade? what is a bit of hope we can take from you? do you know what, you guys have summed up a lot of this but i think for me, i have learnt we should not take it for granted. for many years, travel has been so easy for everybody.

and i like the idea of next year being that one, rather than going for lots of small trips and weekends, we look for the one big life changing experience because you don't know when this can happen again and we don't know when it can happen again and as someone who, travel has changed my life so much, yeah, i want to hold onto every second so i think, for me next year, it is all about that big life changing trip. bring on 2021 and the travel show will be bigger, stronger and better! lovely chatting to you all! take care. merry christmas, everyone. merry christmas.

in the meantime follow us on all the usual places including twitter, facebook and instagram. have a happy, healthy and safe next couple of weeks and we will see you in the new year when hopefully we can get back on the road doing what we love the most. but for now, from all of the most. but for now, from all of the travel show family all over the world, it's goodbye. hello and welcome to your boxing day sportsday. i'm chetan pathak. coming up on tonight's programme... riding the 20—1 chance — bryony frost becomes the first

female jockey to win the king george vi chase. arsenal's the king george vi chase. winless run is finally over arsenal's winless run is finally over as they score three goals against chelsea at the emirates in the premier league. and exeter extended their perfect start to the premiership season with a hard—earned win over gloucester. welcome to the programme, thanks forjoining us. as ever it's a busy boxing day of sport — we'll bring you up to date with all the football shortly but we're going to start tonight with history being made at kempton. bryony frost has become the first female jockey to win the king george vi chase. it's her 175th career win, making her the most successful female national hunt jockey

of all time. joe wilson reports: boxing day sport, jockeys in facemasks, perfectly 2020. the horses have no idea what tier kempton may be in. as ever, they race. and they're on their way. the king george is boxing day tradition. that doesn't mean every year is a repeat. look at frodon at the front. the blue and white silks of bryony frost. well, the favourites loomed but as the fences passed, still frodon. trainer paul nicholls virtually had the grandstands to himself, watching, willing. his horses have dominated this race but to lead with an outsider, to lead like this, is special. the stamina of frodon, the skill of frost, the winning combination. frodon has won the king george! after a year of progress for female jockeys, for one of the sport's most prestigious races to be won for the first time by a woman seemed perfectly 2020. joe wilson, bbc news.

after seven league games without a win, arsenalfans after seven league games without a win, arsenal fans finally have the christmas present they wanted. they have beaten chelsea tonight 3—1 at the emirates to ease some pressure on boss mikel arteta. all mikel arteta would have wanted for christmas was a home when stop the emirates hadn't seen one since 0ctober. four defeats and a draw since have left arsenal headed towards a relegation fight. they beat chelsea last time they met in the fa cup final five months ago and another win would steer them back on track. frank lampard's side slipped up track. frank lampard's side slipped up at wembley i did so again when reece james brought down kieran tierney. alexandre lacazette grateful for his first premier league goal since september. if that was a surprise, league goal since september. if that was a surprise, so was league goal since september. if that was a surprise, so was this. chelsea, sloppy for a second time and granit xhaka giving arsenal a two goal lead at the interval for

the first time this season. that prompted tactical changes from lampard prompted tactical changes from lampa rd but they prompted tactical changes from lampard but they didn't make much difference. the fate seems to be against him. bukayo saka struck soon after. it must have felt too good to be true for the gunners and almost was as tammy abraham pulled one back with chelsea's first effort on target. chelsea sensed an improbable comeback when mason mount was brought down, but bernd leno saved the day leaving arsenal hopeful of a happier new year. chelsea missing the chance to close the gap at the top of the table. earlier today, an entertaining game at the king power stadium between second and third in the table. in the end manchester united missed the chance to move above their opponents thanks to jamie vardy rescuing a point for leicester city late on. drew savage was watching. manchester united were eyeing a record—equalling 11th consecutive premier league away win. with barely a minute on the clock it looked like they had cracked it.