in london are to remain closed for the start of term. the city's mayor said the government had ‘finally seen sense‘. research confirms the new coronavirus variant discovered in the uk has a much quicker rate of transmission — the variant has now been identified in at least 18 countries around the world. the us struggles to roll out the covid vaccine, as the number of cases continues to surge to above 20 million — according to thejohn hopkins university. nearly 350,000 americans have died. a new era begins, as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union. # last christmas, i gave you my heart. and 36 years after its first release, wham's ‘last christmas‘ finally tops the uk music charts.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are jason beattie, assistant editor at the daily mirror and olivia utley, assistant comment editor at the daily telegraph. tomorrow's front pages starting with. .. a warning to the british public from the nhs fronts tomorrow's i. the paper says hospital admissions for covid—19 could double by the ‘peak of this third wave‘. the daily mail lead with the news that some doctors will rebel against the governments new advice about the time inbetween the two doses of the pfizer vaccine. keeping vaccines in mind, the times reports that two million doses of the oxford vaccine are going to be available every week by the middle ofjanuary bringing hope to many. school closures dominate the front of the telegraph. they say teachers are demanding

the closure of every school in the country after gavin williamson caved in to pressure to shut all primaries in london. that government u—turn on schools is also front and centre on tomorrow‘s guardian. the paper says it‘s down to growing pressure over the coronavirus and the ever growing pressure on the nhs. the express says ‘brexit britain to bounce back‘ as the prime minister pledges to ‘rebuild‘ with thousands more police, nurses and teachers. and the daily mirror looks back at new year‘s eve and what they call the ‘raving mad reckless revellers‘ who partied on despite warnings from the government. so let‘s begin. thank you both again forjoining us. let‘s go straight to the guardian front page. jason, number ten you turn on schools as pressure grows. number ten has done a u—turn so it seems on london schools at least, primary schools across london will close as opposed to in some burros.

pressure now to extend that to all primary schools. is that pressure fear do you think? yes, i think it is. -- fear do you think? yes, i think it is. —— pressure fair. primary schools they did this in london because infection rates are so high that the mutant strain of the virus is sweep into the country, it is being spared primarily by the under 20s according to the latest research, and it doesn‘t make sense that if you need to control the virus, and one of the ways to do this is to close primary schools in london, they can‘t close primary schools and other parts of the country where they also may have higher rates of infection. so nobody wa nts to higher rates of infection. so nobody wants to disrupt children‘s education. i have sympathy for many people here. they‘ve already seen the education kind of badly

interrupted by the first like them, so interrupted by the first like them, so people want to keep schools open. it is good for children‘s education and children‘s health. and it is quite good for parents as well. talk to any parent, home—schooling is no fun. i understand why they want to louisville when —— want to do it but while this virus is so infectious at the moment and summon new cases, whether 50 gather cases for the fourth day in a row, the death toll is tragic. —— over 50,000 cases. vaccines are taking time to roll out. i think they are going to be forced to review this, not necessarily across the whole of england but definitely in areas and the tear four, england but definitely in areas and the tearfour, which is quite england but definitely in areas and the tear four, which is quite a substantial part of the country. what do you think, olivia?” substantial part of the country. what do you think, olivia? i think it is incredibly hard to say basically because we haven't really seen any of the government working on this. it is hard to understand why we have it. it is completely true there is a lot of evidence to

show that under 20s are responsible for a lot of the beauty and coping spread. but what about primary school? some scientists say young children are particularly responsible. so where is the evidence? responsible. so where is the evidence ? where responsible. so where is the evidence? where are the benchmarks? where is gavin williamson saying at this point when it reaches this level of infection and this particular place we will close schools. while he seems to be doing is reacting to what the teaching unions or whatever pressure the unions or whatever pressure the unions have put on him and he never seems to be on the front foot, so it is difficult for us here sitting at home without really very much the evidence at all to say what should be happening. also i think we all know that it is incredibly damaging for children to be kept out school, particularly young children who are learning more much more difficult to home—school because they are not just learning reading or writing, they are learning how to interact and developing a very fast—paced and speaking to adults who want their parents for the first time in two

other children, so it is really important that children are getting this time in classrooms, so what is gavin williamson the plan to mitigate this closure of schools in lockdown? i think it is quite likely other schools in primary schools and other schools in primary schools and other parts of the country will have to close very soon. what is his plan? where is he saying schools will have to carry on into the holidays? this is no holiday period and this period can be moved into the next term or teachers will be right up the vaccination programme? why hasn't that happen? why isn't he talking about mass vaccination programmes and schools wood testing programmes and schools wood testing programmes being rolled out? where close to mass testing programmes being possible. why isn't he saying schools will be a top priority? he always seems to be a bit behind. it is really hard to see why at this point, i felt sorry for him in the first like that and still write it to the summer because it was so difficult to navigate. that's the first lockdown. now he has all of

the evidence, he the what will happen and he see social mobility gap has grown when children are kept away from schools and how disadvantaged children suffer the most. and he still doesn't seem to be on the front foot. what do you think? say stated advice to government to close our schools. in the following designs? -- sage stated. i don‘t think the government has been following the signs to the letter for some has been following the signs to the letterfor some time. has been following the signs to the letter for some time. they have been balancing the scientific advice. that‘s following the science. with the economic pressures both and now they are trying to navigate us through this difficult path of what is best that children‘s education and best way of controlling the virus as olivia said. but the problem with this is if they do not follow the science as they said they would come of the public start to lose trust in what they do. let's move lose trust in what they do. let's m ove o nto lose trust in what they do. let's move onto the daily mail. front page

here talking about doctors revolt on jabs. the story here is a family doctors are apparently plenty to rebel against the government covid—i9 vaccine u—turn. they have been told not to get some patients a second dose which some are due this second dose which some are due this second oath and a few days‘ time. instead to say those vaccines and use them as a first dose for other patients. what is your view on this story? some people might argue you can‘t blame these doctors because if they don‘t get the vaccine to patients to come is trust not be right up between doctor and patient? precisely. this is where i think the doctors are right. the patient‘s we re doctors are right. the patient‘s were told in good faith they would get both doses. and now they made the decision but possibly understandable reasons but will better try and inoculate as many people as possible in the first dose rather than both doses immediately. the problem here is one as the story

mentions, the trust between the doctor and the patient is quite important. but the second one is the point i would make is a lot of patients, the hopes are raised they will get both doses. and they are going to be worried if they don‘t get both doses. that is because the first dose of the astrazeneca vaccine is 77% effective, better than many flu jobs, by both doses are up to 95% effective. if you have been shielding for example, you are not going to be necessarily reassured by just being not going to be necessarily reassured byjust being 77% effective. therefore you likely will still be curtailed and may not wish to go out. very understandable reasons. you think you are still at risk. and i think once you have been promised that you are going to get

that vaccine and get a vaccine which is 95% effective, i would feel this is 95% effective, i would feel this is an bad faith that you will not get it. let's go to the telegraph front page. let‘s talk about the vaccine. can you tell me what is happening? drug firms are saying that the governments claims that there is a shortage of vaccines is just not true. no problem with supply and the government saying we are able to get enough of these vaccines and drug companies like pfizer and astrazeneca are saying we have enough of these vaccines but the problem wasn‘t with us. have enough of these vaccines but the problem wasn't with usm have enough of these vaccines but the problem wasn't with us. it is a very difficult start to get to the bottom up here. it could be a flight out the government is blaming the manufacturing companies because there is a problem with distribution and they don't want to take the hit that. in the manufacturing companies are blaming the government. so we could be a straight forward is that and it does seem to be true astrazeneca is saying it has

produced 3 million files ready for next week and it could send them out tomorrow. it is not a problem with them. but there is another factor. it is quite complicated because it is definitely true that there are vaccine production levels, the uk production levels were too low at the start of the pandemic. we have figures near successive governments have chosen to outsource our vaccine production to cheaper countries and that art company focused on cancer research and cancer care. —— and let our companies. and i will get to the states were countries like india which were producing vaccines will use their vaccine supplies to supply their own population first which is why india has 15 megadoses ready to go. we only have 530,000. there is a long—term problem which is building up long—term problem which is building up here. —— 15 megadoses. it is possible in astrazeneca has massively backed up production in the last year. —— 15 million doses. they have worked really well to get all these rolled out as quickly as

possible. so it is possible they are there with the numbers and it is just a distribution problem. sol think it is a question of who says what and who to believe. it might just be that in the week or so to come we discover that there isn't actually a problem and it isjust everybody getting a bit worried in this initial stage. obviously the la st this initial stage. obviously the last thing we went after the peaky problems of so many overpromising in a delivering from the government here the last thing we want is the same team to be happening so everybody is wary and has her eyes firmly trained on how this vaccine programme roll—out is going. it might be there isn't really a big problem just teething issues. let's go to the daily mirror. let‘s get this in before we run out of time. raving mad as the front page. a lot of people out partying on new year‘s eve apparently. a lot of people out partying on new year's eve apparently. yes. considerable anger about this. it is

twofold. one is, extraordinary pressure on the nhs. doctors were proceeding people before new year‘s eve to adhere to social distancing and adhere to the guidance and not gather in large numbers because people on the front line have seen how bad it is and when you have hospitals across the country declaring emergencies, it seemed incredibly selfish to go out and gather in this way. pictures in our paper today outside schools and people outside st. thomas hospital in london, the second reason why i think it will be so deplorable is that if you have been shielding and you have been following the rules over the last eight to ten months, you have been doing everything you can to do your little bit to try and help control this virus and keep yourself safe, protect the nhs, and

yourself safe, protect the nhs, and you see the scenes, you will feel a bit insulted, that is why the mirror has raised this because it is kind of it is not really in the spirit i would it‘s been happening in this country for the last ten months. and it is one saltine too dangerous. what do you think, olivia? the truth

is there are a lot of young people they probably won't it is having a bigger impact on younger people than the old variant. all i'm saying is that i think it is helpful language. people have been making a lot of sacrifices. it is a huge... and not threatened. i'm not sure. i'm presenting the other side. young versus old thing might not

if you can go out in the snow and prevented from getting cold, is even worse. i'm so sorry that we've run out of time as they are thank you for both of you for talking to us this evening. thank you once again. and thank you for watching tonight. coming up next is a click. stay with us, bye—bye.

ah, there you are! come on in! welcome to clickmas 2020! i hope you‘re doing ok. it‘s all a bit different this year, isn‘t it? normally we‘d be getting together around the table, having a laugh, cheering, having a good time. well, pretending to have a good time. filming a clickmas party is the most stressful thing in the world. butjust because we can‘t all be together doesn‘t mean we can‘t all be together! hello, everyone! hello! there you are! look at you all! it‘s the fam! chris, loving the jumper! candles are a go atjen‘s place. lj, that must be a musical rainbow, i‘m guessing. omar, christmas furby, i see. and paul with his christmas duck, of course the well—known symbol of the festive season.

oh, the duck is brilliant and spencer, your house looks so festive! you have totally outdone me with your decorations once again. thank you. not to mention the outfit — amazing. how is your clickmas going so far? costly on the electricity front, i have to say. but guys, i‘m really missing you. i really just want to get in the same room with you again. i just wanna do that. oh, it‘s been a tough old year but we are so grateful that we have stayed on your screens and today, at least we can have a get—together — albeit 2020 style — for the last show of this year. yeah, that‘s right, and for this show, we‘ve been able to go out and about filming just a little bit, and if santa had asked me what would i like to do for christmas, if i could do anything at all, what would i say? i‘d say "i want to be like you, big guy, and fly". well, it‘s pretty early in the morning. i‘ve been told to meet my driving instructor richard here, and he‘s told me i need to wear these. don‘t know why.

loud whirring. dramatic music.

# let it snow, let it snow, let it snow # it doesn‘t show signs of stopping # and i‘ve brought some corn for popping # the lights are turned way down low # let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...#. that was jill barber and the phantom azz band. and after the performance, i managed to catch up with her at the bar. so, jill, just to start with, can you tell us about where we both are? sure, you and i are sitting at the palomar supper club which is a club that was demolished in 1955. how are we doing that? i am actually sitting in front of a green screen in a film studio in vancouver, british columbia,

canada, and you are 7600 kilometres away at a studio at the bbc in london. but through the magic of cross reality technology, we can be here together at the palomar. showcap, the company behind the performance, created this virtual venue using the unreal engine, a platform created for gaming. with the performers in motion capture suits shot against a green screen, they could be transported to the ‘50s while maintaining their intricate human movements. # i quit pretending...# historically, motion capture and virtual production techniques have been used in the creation of blockbuster films, in big budget video games, but with cinematic quality computer

graphics that can be rendered in real time, we're starting to really sort of explore the use of these things in live performance. jill‘s first palomar concert was broadcast online in november, but unlike many other performances we‘ve all watched over the last year, for me, something about this really stands out. it‘s more than just you performing in a space. you‘ve created a back story and a feeling around it. tell me about how that came about, and for example, why the palomar? the palomar also has this incredible history of hosting the likes of ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong and the mills brothers, billie holiday, and i thought how cool to continue that legacy and perform on the same stage that those artists graced back in the day.

oh, that is so brilliant. that is just so brilliant, but i‘m afraid that is it for the short cut of our special clickmas special. the full—length cut is waiting for you right now on iplayer and hopefully, we‘ll we‘ll be back to normal next year. now, normally, the show that follows clickmas is a look back at our last 12 months, but who here really wants to look back to 2020? thought so. so, instead we will bring you a special live show where we look back at the past 20 years of click. that‘s right! until then though you can find us on social media, youtube, instagram, facebook and twitter... spencer, are you ok? yeah i am, i‘m just taking it all in really... i mean, this truly has been a special day. we didn‘t think that we‘d be able to do it, but we posted the gifts to each other, we got everyone together, and when i say

everyone, i mean everyone! it‘s been a challenging year for us all, but we have done our best to bring you your weekly dose of click. and everyone on the team just wanted to be here to say thank you. thank you for watching us, thank you for being part of our click family, so until next time, it‘s goodbye and merry clickmas! merry clickmas! # hurry down the chimney tonight #.

hello there. this thing called this week and for all areas. quite a bit of sunshine around by further with you showers by part two of the weekend and most of the showers will affect the eastern side of the country. the cold and blue air mass firmly in place, northerly winds pushing showers to northern scotland, northern ireland and weston wales down to the far south and increasingly so across the north sea coast. these will push further inland and we could see slushy deposits and places. some sunshine around. it will be cold, to at best. heading into sunday, subtle changes taking place. high pressure to the north and north easterly winds developing which will turn stronger. it will feel quite wrought along the north sea coast. a lot of showers in easton scotland pushing further west. the best of the sunshine will be across more sheltered weston areas. another cold day for all of us.

this is bbc news. i‘m maryam moshiri with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. more than 20 million coronavirus cases now recorded in the us. with over 350,000 thousand deaths, the country has the highest figures in the world. scientists confirm the new variant of the coronavirus first identified in the uk is the "most serious change in the virus since the epidemic began". all primary schools in london are to remain closed for the start of term after a u—turn by the british government. the uk goes its own way as the brexit transition period ends and formal separation from the european union begins. and not so flash — the adobe internet plug—in for playing