hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: doctors warn that hospital staff in the uk are at battlestations as the number of patients with coronavirus continues to rise. they are turning whole floors into additional icu space. that's when we know we are in a very challenging place. a new era begins, as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union. big ben chimes. and bringing in the new year — from london to new york,

fireworks mark the start of 2021 but celebrations are dampened by the pandemic. now on bbc news, this special programme documents the story of world war ii veteran captain tom moore, who raised over £32 million for nhs charities to mark his 100th birthday. captain tom moore had a simple idea. he raised more than £30 million for nhs charities and will travel to windsor castle today to be knighted by the queen. it will be her first face—to—face,

it's the only honour to be ordered since the beginning of lockdown. tom moore is now sir tom, the 100—year—old world war ii veteran was knighted by queen elizabeth for an extraordinaryjob well done. for me, the queen was more than anyone could've expected. never did i imagine that i would get so close to the queen and have such a kind message from her. that was really outstanding. it really was truly outstanding.

tomorrow will be a good day. if we as a country can show the same spirit of optimism and energy shown by captain tom moore, then we will beat it. together, we will come through this all the faster. it's wonderful that everyone's been inspired by his determination. god knows what the final total will be. every crisis needs a hero, and in 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the uk found one. captain tom moore. hello, i'm michael ball, and this is the story of one man and his sheer determination to make a difference.

in less than four weeks, captain tom moore raised over £32 million for nhs charities, found himself number one in the charts on his 100th birthday, and received tens of thousands of birthday cards. captain tom, we meet at last. where have you come from? i've been lurking down the bottom of your garden. how are you? fine, thank you. how are you? i'm really well. marvellous to see you all come out of the blue. a man who served his country during world war two, was doing his bit for the national effort once more. a lovely story coming up, a 99—year—old war veteran has decided to walk 100 lengths of his back garden. he wants to raise money for the nhs. well, i have had such marvellous service from the national health service,

particularly the nurses, they looked after me when i borke my hip. we said, "oh, if you walk 100 times, your 100th birthday's coming up, we'll pay you a pound for every length that you do," and i think i said, "let's raise some money for charity." and he said, "well, let's raise it for covid—19, for the nhs. " you're doing a good job, carry on, old boy! thank you from myself and from everybody at the royal armour corps and the nhs for everything you're doing. thank you, captain tom!

we were talking earlier to tom moore, who's walking 100 lengths of his back garden before his 100th birthday on 30th april. and he hoped he would raise about £1,000. that went up to about £5,000. when we spoke to him and his lovely daughter hannah, in the first half of the show, they had just over £200,000. well, since we talked to him, another £45,000 had gone into hisjust giving page. the target had gone up to £100,000. let's make it £300,000, can we? can we do that? we then went i believe back on bbc breakfast on the bank holiday monday and i think the rest is chartered in history. i'm not sure we will ever forget it, but it's really hard for us to even rationalise it, to understand what truly happened, because from then things went crazy.

huge congratulations, captain tom, you are absolutely brilliant. we love you. well done. congratulations on passing the million, you are an inspiration to us and to the millions of bbc breakfast viewers who have been supporting you as well. amazing. well done. what you've managed to do just shows how great humans are. the funds that you have managed to raise for the real heroes today is simply sensational.

you may have heard the name captain tom moore around the world... newscast in german. he's the humble world war two veteran who has captured the world's hearts. i know you must be absolutely exhausted, tom. no, lam. iam. you are! remember, i'm a yorkshireman. thank you so much for all of your assets and how much you have raised for the nhs. thank you!

in less than a fortnight since captain tom began his challenge, he'd become a global sensation. your generosity meant that on the morning he was due to complete his 100th lap, he'd raised more than £11 million. inches to go and there he is. congratulations. well done! absolutely amazing, amazing achievement. captain tom, how do you feel this morning? fine fine es imeani'm surrounded by the right sort of people, so yes, i feel fine. i hope you're all feeling fine too. it is amazing, what i love also is he is a 99—year—old veteran and he has been around a long time, knows everything and it's wonderful that everyone kind of being inspired

by his story and his determination. no, i think he is a one—man fund—raising machine and god know what is the final total will be. it's absolutely amazing that my super prince can say some things like that. so, how do you top that? you'd think that a message from a future king would be the icing on the cake. but as he finished his walk, something happened on bbc breakfast that would mean that he and i would embark on an extraordinary musical journey together. we have got a special guest with us. we have got michael ball with us, who i know whose company you enjoy very much and michael wants to say thank you in his special way. morning, michael. good morning, naga, and good morning, tom and hannah. i go to bed it's10 million, i get up, it's 12 million. what's going on? tom, it's an extraordinary

achievement and i have been trying to think of a song that encapsulates what you're doing, how you're inspiring all of us and... i have one, i think. i'm sort of stealing it from the people of liverpool. but it seemed appropriate. is it ok if i sing it for you? michael, i suggest you go ahead and we all, tom included, will listen. # when you walk through a storm, hold your head up high... # and don't be afraid of the dark. # at the end of the storm there's a golden sky. # and the sweet silver song of the lark...# sing it with me.

# when you walk through a storm, hold your head up high. # and don't be afraid of the dark. # at the end of the storm there's a golden sky. # and the sweet silver song of a lark #. i need to say congratulations because you are the uk's official number one. that really is truly amazing, isn't it? also, this is another world record because the oldest person in the world to ever be numberone. laughter. that's lovely! it's hard to say what it is. it is so funny! it really is. that is a special something.

# you'll never walk alone... #. i think on a personal note, and georgia can say it as well, he's been our hero since before we were born, we've always loved and cherished him, i've lived with him since i was three and she said she was born. he's been a vital part of a life, we had struggling moments when dad has been in hospital and so on and he's been a real rock in the family and it shows in interviews when you see him that he is a really good guy and i'm so glad we can share him with you. everyone‘s like, "aren't you captain tom moore's granddaughter?" like, yes. everyone is coming up to us. it has been great even though we had a social distance, everyone coming in saying thank you for what we have done.

good morning, it's 8am and this is a very special breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. we are saying happy 100th birthday to captain tom moore. just three weeks ago, he set out to raise £1,000 for the nhs. almost £30 million later, he is celebrating with a special honourfrom the queen, as the captain becomes a colonel. i was always proud to be in the duke of wellingtons and i still am. and i think to get these, that is the icing on the cake. happy birthday, captain tom! happy birthday, captain tom, happy birthday to you! we can talk to the man himself. on behalf of bbc breakfast and everyone who has celebrated your achievements across the uk, let me wish

you a very happy 100th birthday. thank you very much. how does it feel? 100 years old today! it hardly feels any different than yesterday! i don't know what you're meant to feel like when you get to 100, i've never been 100 before! i know i speak for the whole country when i say we wish you a very happy 100th birthday. your heroic efforts have lifted the spirits of the entire nation and you've now inspired the most incredible generosity, raising over £29 million, supporting the cause closest to all our hearts. it is so well—deserved. what you have done in bringing

together a nation and inspiring those who need it most. honestly, i am in awe of you. good morning and happy birthday to you. ican i can officially call you an honorary member of the england cricket team. congratulations.

i am one of the few people here who have seen hurricanes and spitfires flying past in anger. fortunately, today they are all flying peacefully. fantastic! and thank you very much. thank you. the pleasure is all ours, captain tom. # happy birthday to you. # happy birthday, captain tom. # happy birthday to you!# applause.

captain tom, we meet at last. where have you come from?! i've been lurking down the bottom! how are you? i'm fine thank you, how are you? marvellous to see you. it is marvellous to see you, it really is. an absolute surprise, i'd never expect to see you, and you disappeared from nowhere, thank you for coming, it is my greatest pleasure, and never ever expected to see you. it's been a long time coming, this. yes! since then, imean... it has been so amazing... before you and i was singing... that song...

i knewjust a few words, i knew, and i didn't know all the words. i could never sing them in a various order but not in the right order. now the whole world knows that song and all the words, thanks to you. no — thanks to you, sir. you're marvellous, and i can walk up and down here singing that little song. can you believe we were top of the charts? absolutely amazing! you were top of the charts, i was coming along behind you. i have to disagree, this was absolutely about you. i've never actually asked you what the music is that you were inspired by when you are growing up, what you listened to and what you like to listen to now. i like to listen to the sort of music that you and i sang. that is the sort of music i like, country and western

type of music, i like. so do i. i always liked western films because the good one always wins. i don't like watching films where all the baddies come out and the baddies win. i don't believe in that. i think the good ones should always win. if you were in a western, you'd be wearing a white hat? that's it. but you do love ken dodd, don't you? yes. the voice of ken dodd. he was a great singer. what's that lovely song? # when you're smiling. # the whole world smiles with you...# that's exactly right! what was the most surprising thing that has happened to you? i think when we started here and we thought, well, if i walk up and down we might make £1,000. and we did. and, then, hannah had an idea to go locally. after that, it went boom!

so quickly it did and that was a big surprise. so, day after day the money kept coming in. it was unbelievable. as it grew, it grew and it grew, and it went on until that magnificent figure in the end, wasn't it, for the nhs... over 32 million! that's a lot of money, isn't it? we never, ever anticipated that sort of money. i think you became almost a symbol and a focal point that people wanted to do their bit and they could do that through you. the thing i always believed when i said tomorrow is a good day, i think people, a lot of people, took on to that. it is because tomorrow

could be a good day. the fact it never comes is another story. laughter. you can't say that! you can't say that. tomorrow will be a better day. tomorrow is a good day, it is. one of the things i think people admired, and why they listened to your message, is because you are from that generation that went through the biggest trauma in world history with world war ii. do you think there were lessons that you learnt during that time when you fought, that related to today? we were all comrades throughout the war and we remained, and we were all friends together wherever you came from. if we are comrades in a battle

against this virus. the other thing i haven't heard anybody ask you yet, and it's always fascinated me, what do you think your late wife would've made of all of this? she would've thoroughly enjoyed it, but she probably wouldn't, she would've thoroughly enjoyed it, but she would've stood back a little bit and would've been standing like me and saying, that's what she would've done, enjoyed it quietly. she would've been very proud, i'm sure. that's right. it is so well—deserved, what you have done in bringing together a nation and inspiring so many and helping those who really need it most, honestly, i am in all of you.

—— in awe of you. by now a national treasure, the work for captain tom continued, a visit from david beckham saw him as leader of the line hard. captain tom, thank you for having me here today. i'm very excited about meeting you and it's a real pleasure for me to be down here to personally say thank you, and also to present you with a little present from the england team. i'm delighted to receive that from you, especially from you. thank you very much indeed. a squad made up from the public who had helped during the year. then, in december, we reunited for a performance on the royal variety show. we had hoped that tom was going to be able to be there live, but restrictions meant he couldn't, butjoined us virtually for the most emotional and powerful performance. it was a thrill. i came across captain tom

at a time when i needed him, i needed an inspiration and a light at the end of the tunnel, and i saw tom, and i've been privileged to get to know him as we all have, and he has provided that. he has shown us the strength, the dignity, the determination the spirit that makes this country so special. he epitomises it, sir tom, i salute you and i thank you from the bottom of my heart. he's not slowed down, magazine covers and setting up his legacy, the captain tom foundation, a charity which aims to help the lonely and people with mental health problems. so, tom, i think there is one less thing to do. i think we should sing a little bit of our song together. are you happy to do that? yes. # when you walk through a storm, hold your head up high. # and don't be afraid of the dark. # at the end of the storm

there's a golden sky. # and the sweet silver song of a lark. # walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart! # and you'll never walk alone! # you'll never walk alone! # and you'll never walk alone. # you'll never walk alone. # you'll never walk alone!#

hello. the year may have changed, but the weather, not so much. it is still cold out there and will remain cold for the next few days. some showers and a mixture of sleet and snow and also some sunshine. in the satellite picture, you can see a lot of cloud that has been pushing its way southwards, which has been producing some rain with sleet and snow over high ground, and that has been pushing across england and wales and will continue to do so through the rest of the day. some showers across eastern coasts

of england into parts of northern and north—east scotland. some of these wintry on high ground, but even to quite low levels later in the day. not a bad end to the day in northern ireland, but it will turn chilly into the first part of the evening and then through the night it will get very cold indeed particularly where we have clear skies. some showers for the north coast in northern ireland and northern scotland. these falling as snow even quite low levels, some showers and eastern side of england and some cloud, mist and murk towards the south—east. where we have those clear skies in the west and in the north—west, that is where it will get coldest of all into tomorrow morning. lows of —7 or —8. a chilly start to saturday with some ice around but there should be some sunshine in many spots. some showers for northern ireland, west wales, devon and cornwall and more for eastern scotland and england. some of those may drift inland towards parts of the north midlands as we go through the afternoon. could be some sleet and snow mixing in with those. another pretty chilly day on saturday. as we get into sunday,

this area of high pressure wobbles its way northwards, we slightly shift the wind direction. the winds will come in from the north—east and will be stronger by sunday as well, so it is going to feel particularly raw in those strong winds. but that will focus showers into eastern areas, whereas further west it should be dry by this stage. those temperatures will struggle, as i mentioned. add on the strength of the wind and it will feel really cold and raw. into the start of next week, high—pressure to the north, lower pressure down to the south. quite a few white lines on the chart squashing together. that shows it will be windy to monday and into tuesday, particularly across the southern part of the uk. that wind coming from a relatively cold place so it'll stay chilly actually throughout the coming week and we are likely to see some rain, sleet and snow at times.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. for viewers in the uk and around the world. research confirms the new coronavirus variant discovered in the uk has a much quicker rate of transmission. if the new variant is 110w transmission. if the new variant is now present, increasing the r number, instead of a decrease of 30%, we get a massive increase in the number of cases could triple. this is a more serious change in the virus we have seen. as the us struggles to roll out the covid vaccine, we look at which countries have responded best of the challenge. a new era begins as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union.

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