engaged two separate star casts, so that... which i don't think anyone's ever done before, and we've it as a precaution so that if someone were to test positive in one of the casts, then we have another cast that can step in straightaway. and the audience, delighted to be back. magical. amazing. utterly magical. so amazing. ifelt quite emotional, like, going inside. what have you missed about the theatre in the last year and a bit? the whole communal feeling of being in a house together and enjoying the same thing at the same moment, i think. yeah. laughing with somebody else. yeah. theatre is an important part of the uk economy. each year, normally, 3a million people go to see a show. through tickets, travel and restaurants, that generates over £1 billion in vat for the government. and the sector employs almost 300,000 people — on stage, backstage and supplying things like costumes and props.

despite this week's reopenings, there are fears that could be an unwelcome plot twist. the bigger shows, like matilda, hamilton and the lion king are more expensive to stage and plan to return only after the next easing of rules, where they can fill the seats without social distancing. that is expected on the 21st ofjune, but if it is delayed, there will be questions about whether the shows can go on. ben boulos, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here is chris fawkes. another day where you keep the umbrella handy, loads of showers and today's massive shower clouds bursting through the blue sky is about six miles high, clouds that big bring hefty downpours and we had seen plenty of those. these troughs are pushing away in this direction, meaning many across england will see downpours today and we have another of these

features waiting to come and we have another of these features waiting to come in across south—west england and probably southern wales too. so heavy downpours, certainly, widely across southern england with big storms entail, another batch of big showers across the midlands to lincolnshire, the more organised area of the injury rate pushes into the south—west quickly, reaching southern wales. a better chance of showers in northern ireland compared to yesterday and be storms in scotland slow moving. north wales at north—west england might have a chance of slipping through the gap, perhaps a dry afternoon if you lucky. 0vernight, more rain, the area of cloud will bring the wet weather across southern counties and weather across southern counties and we have more rate pushing across northern scotland, but in between, gradually getting a bit quieter and drier overnight. another one of sunshine and showers tomorrow, most of them will be across eastern areas where we have the trough, further

west, pressure rises. south—west england, wales, a decent shout of having a try afternoon with long spells of sunshine. it is may sunshine, meaning temperatures about 15 or 16 will not feel too bad if url to and about. make the most of that, because this is coming our way, thursday and indeed friday, another area of low pressure, though it is a more general soaking, might start with bright weather across eastern areas and it will be very windy too, gusts could reach around 50 or 60 mph around the coasts of southern wales in particular, very windy, windy and up to bring down tree branches, there could be localised transport disruption. more of the same on friday, low pressure continues to bring heavy rain and strong winds, through the weekend and into next week we are looking at

and into next week we are looking at a return of those unsettled and showery conditions with temperatures not that great for the time of year. so it will stay unsettled for quite a while. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. good afternoon, it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. you're watching bbc news, i'm 0lly foster at the bbc sport centre. after four years at crystal palace, roy hodgson will leave at the end of the season. the former england and liverpool manager 73 and says the time is right to step away from the rigours of the premier league. palace are heading for another finish in the bottom half of the table but as our football reporter alex howell told me, his tenure will go down as a success he came in after the... appointment,

pulse rate the bottom of the league, no points and goals, he turned it around. he no points and goals, he turned it around. , ., , , , ., around. he is the only crystal palace manager _ around. he is the only crystal palace manager to _ around. he is the only crystal palace manager to keep - around. he is the only crystal palace manager to keep the i around. he is the only crystal. palace manager to keep the club around. he is the only crystal- palace manager to keep the club in the premier league for four seasons in a row. there will be frustrations at times from fans but ultimately, he has not had a lot of money to spend and when you look back at the time, it will be views a success. this was his boyhood club, played on the terraces —— played and watched from the terraces. 6500 fans will be very positive watching and he delivered what they asked of him. that will be their final home game against... tottenham's interim manager ryan mason says their only focus rim manager ryan mason says their only focus is on finishing the season strongly, after being questioned over the future of harry kane. there's been feverish speculation that the england captain wants to leave the club this summer, although we understand that he has not asked for a transfer.

kane is still waiting to win his first trophy after 12 years at spurs, and he has another three years left on his contract. he has scored 220 goals in 334 appearances. i don't think anything is awkward because there is always speculation around the best players. i am sure there has been a lot of speculation in the last three or four weeks about the new manager coming in, all of these? switch is normal. when you are a big club, this is normal. 0ur are a big club, this is normal. our focus is on the next game, i have said it all along, focus is on the next game, i have said it allalong, my focus is on the next game, i have said it all along, my mind has not deviated from that i am sure harry's has not and the rest of the group, no one has deviated from that. we have to be ready tomorrow to compete and hopefully get three points. it's the penultimate round of premier league fixtures over the next couple of nights. after leicester beat chelsea in the fa cup final three days ago, they meet again.

both teams are still trying to seal a top—four finish to qualify for next season's champions league. defeat for either side would mean that's out of their hands. both can still be caught by liverpool following their injury—time win over west brom thanks to their keeper. everything is still in our hands. the players have been absolutely brilliant up until this point. we have european football, we have two games now to arrive into the top four. it was obviously an amazing header by alisson to score that goal, to have intuition to take that there and head it. if we focus on ourselves, we have a great opportunity to qualify. with two games to go, we aim to take it. an american court has thrown a spanner in the works in the build up to the world heavyweight unification fight between anthony joshua and tyson fury in august. they've ruled that fury has to fight deontay wilder, the former wbc champ, for a third time

before september 15th. that's just a month afterjoshua and fury are set to meet in saudi arabia. fury�*s promoter frank warren says discussions are ongoing with wilder's team to try and make him step aside. the australian bowlers involved in the infamous ball—tampering match against south africa in 2018 have released a joint statement again denying that they knew what was going on at the time mitchell starc, pat cummins, josh hazlewood & nathan lyon have responded following an interview with batsman cameron bancroft, who was banned for using sandpaper to scuff up the ball in the cape town test. he appeared to suggest the bowlers would have known the ball had been tampered with. the quartet have protested their innocence and have requested �*an end to the rumour—mongering andinnuendo! i'll have more for you in the next hour.

thank you very much. you are watching bbc news. you are watching bbc news. let's hear more now from the prime minister — he's been at a covid vaccine centre in central london this morning. mrjohnson was asked how worried we should be about the new fast—spreading india variant. we are looking at the epidemiology the whole time as it comes in and at the moment, i think partly because we have built up such a wall of defences with the vaccination programme, i don't see anything conclusive at the moment to say that we need to deviate from the road map. we have got to be cautious and we are keeping everything under very close observation. we will know a lot more in a few days' time. you're not changing your steps yet? we are keeping everything under very careful and close review looking at all the data when it comes in from places like bolton, bradford, bedford, sefton and other places, just looking at those curves

where they are moving and trying to understand whether the indian variant is more transmissible and if so by how much more it is transmissible and also trying to understand to what extent our vaccine programme is already sufficiently fortified us all against it. i'm afraid we just have a few more days of looking at that data but as things stand at the moment, i can see nothing conclusive in the data to say that we have to deviate from the present road map but we have to be cautious and we will be people know in a few days' time. we have just got to be cautious about the way we approach it and we will be letting people know as much as we can assume —— as soon as we can but at the moment, we don't see anything conclusive that makes us think we have

to deviate from the road map obviously, we will be letting people know us as we have the data. your own nhs data shows that in late march and april, india had higher figures for covid than bangladesh... why then did you waste to weeks before introducing.... if you introducing. . .. look at what actually happened with a variant that we are talking about, the so—called indian variant, the 61712. india was put on the red list before this was even a variant under investigation, a variant of concern, so we took prompt action and we will continue to take very very draconian action in respectable variants coming in respect of all variants coming from around the world.

you have 150 flights a day going to amber—listed countries. i think it is very important to people to grasp what an amber list country is. it is not somewhere where you should be going on holiday. let me be clear about that. if people do go to an embolus country, it absolutely has to be for some pressing family or urgent business reason to have to go to an amber list country, then please bear in mind that you will have to self—isolate, take tests and do passenger location forms and all the rest of it but you also have to self—isolate for ten days when you get back. that period of self isolation that quarantine will be enforced with fines of up to £10,000 so it is important people understand what an amber list country is. george eustice this morning said it is ok to go to embolus countries to

visit family and friends, is he wrong? i think it is very important that people understand if you go to an amber—listed country, if you absolutely have to go for some pressing reason, not a holiday, bearing in mind you have to pay for testing, all that kind of thing. but you will also have to self—isolate for ten games ——ten days, at home, not going out and if you fail to be that, you will face fines of up to £10,000. people need to understand that an amber—listed country is definitely not a green list country. do you think people who are refusing to get vaccinated should share the blame for the increasing numbers? i want to thank everybody in this country who is coming forward to get vaccinated. that's the way i look at it. this country is quite extraordinary. there was a poll done last night which showed have

all the countries in the world, we are the most positive about vaccinations. the numbers are incredibly high. i know that some people have been more vaccine hesitant than others but actually, across the whole of society, the numbers continue to go up in every group, in every age group and that is very very encouraging. i would encourage everybody who is eligible for a vaccine, when you get your call—up, when you get a notification from the nhs, come and get yourjab. what do you say to those who, many in your own party, we cannot go on with the unlocking because of those who do not take up the vaccine? i would just go back to the point i made about where we are on the road map. we are looking very carefully at the data and the epidemiology. trying to work out what extent the new variant may be more transmissible but at the moment we see nothing conclusive to say that we have to deviate from the road map but obviously we will be keeping people informed,

that's why i said what i said on friday, we will keep people continually updated. the prime minister was speaking at a vaccine centre in london a few hours ago. in london a few hours ago. the director of the group which developed the astrazeneca covid vaccine says it seems �*morally wrong' that children in some richer countries are being offered a covid jab before high—risk adults in poorer countries. professor andrew pollard from the oxford vaccine group has been speaking to the all party parliamentary group on coronavirus. when you look at the overall aim of a global vaccination problem, in a pandemic is to stop people dying. we know who those people are, it's the over 50s, it's those with health conditions and to some extent also health care workers so they are the priority groups. in the uk and the global ones through the world health organization policy recommendations.

yet we are in a situation where there are many vaccinated unvaccinated people in the world but not enough doses for everyone yet. while people at risk, are being vaccinated, as ken mentioned, including children who have near to zero risk of disease so that inequity is absolutely plain to see at this moment in actually a very troubling way, as we see these images from south asia on television screens of the awful circumstances there. i work in nepal and bangladesh and colleagues there are facing the most appalling circumstances. they are not working in a situation where there is an nhs to support them. it feels completely wrong to be in a situation morally first of all, where we are allowing that to happen whilst in many countries vaccines are being rolled out

to younger populations at very very low risk. professor andrew porter from oxford university. professor andrew porter from oxford university. a ban on the sale of gas boilers from 2025 has been proposed by the international energy agency. it's part of a new study exploring how the world can achieve net—zero emissions by the middle of this century. the recommendation is one of 400 proposed by the agency in a new report. this afternoon, we'll be answering your questions on these recommendations in �*your questions answered'. jane hill will bejoined by our energy and environment analyst roger harrabin and the deputy editor of the carbon brief website, dr simon evans. you can get involved by tweeting your questions using the hashtag bbc your questions or by emailing yourquestions@bbc. co. uk. that's coming up at 3.30. the headlines on bbc news... as surge—testing for the indian covid variant continues —

borisjohnson says that at present, plans to unlock are on track. police prepare to excavate at a cafe in gloucester, searching for mary bastholm — a suspected victim of the serial killer, fred west. violence between israelis and palestinian militants shows no signs of easing — president biden has nowjoined calls for a ceasefire. a teenage footballer who was killed in a knife attack 15 years ago is being added as a player to the computer game fifa 21. kiyan prince was part of the youth team at qpr when he lost his life and has now been created virtually to play for the club as a 30—year—old. graham satchell reports. my name is kiyan prince. and i am a professional footballer. at least, i would have been.

had i not been killed when i was 15. kiyan prince was trying to break up a fight when he was stabbed and killed outside his school. he was just 15. his bubbly, joyful personality was infectious to everyone around him. for such a big guy, at such a young age, you know, looked intimidating but honestly, just a gentle giant. some people are special, like, they are, and he was special. and he didn't have, special in the sense that, never thought he was better than anyone but he was better than a lot of us. 15 years on, kiyan�*s friends remember him as a boy becoming a man with huge potential to be a great footballer. he'd already been signed as an academy player for qpr. from watching him play at that age, and i think the progress he would have gone through, he would have been at the euros in two weeks' time, 100%. beautiful boy. beautiful.

the kind of son that every parent, especially a father, just wants to have. kiyan�*s dad mark was determined to do something in his son's name. he set up the kiyan prince foundation, a charity dedicated to stopping knife crime. on this, the 15th anniversary of his death, the foundation has done something remarkable to keep kiyan�*s name alive. this picture of star wars character han solo is by the artist chris scalf, renowned for the photorealism of his work. the foundation commissioned chris to create an image of kiyan as he would look today. there's a certain point where halfway through, when i start to feel like i'm getting it, and feeling confident, but not confident enough, until i get the final acknowledgement from the people who it really matters too.

to say that it looks like kiyan. working with the special effects team behind avengers endgame, chris created this 3d model of kiyan. and this is the moment mark prince saw the picture of his son at 30 for the first time. he looks absolutely fantastic. what a greatjob. kiyan�*s image will be on billboards, on match attax cards, and he'll become a qpr player on fifa. kiyan prince, how about that! brought back to life as the footballer he should have been. graham satchell, bbc news. the government is expected to announce a legally—binding target to halt the decline of nature and wildlife. it will outline plans

for a taskforce to reintroduce animals such as the wildcat to england, as our science correspondent victoria gill reports. emerging, post—lockdown, into spring sunshine. when we've been allowed out, so many of us headed to natural spaces and green landscapes — like this protected woodland in cheshire. but while it's helped us to cope, nature is in crisis. in the uk one in seven species is under threat. now the government's revealed how it plans to build the restoration of the natural world into a post—pandemic recovery, with a legally binding target to halt the loss of species by 2030. bringing together all the different actors in those landscapes — the farmers, the conservation groups, the water companies, the house—builders, the local government — then this really could work. and if you see the power of a legally binding target that

we've seen on climate change — which has really shifted the dial in this country — then i'm very hopeful that something comparable on nature will begin to move us in the right direction on that subject, too. the new plans set out to tackle the nature and climate crises together, by planting more trees and also restoring 35,000 hectares of peatland — an area about the size of the isle of wight. but that's only about 5% of the peatland in england. so this is black lake... a promise to phase out the sale of peat in garden centres has been welcomed by conservation groups, but they say it's long overdue. it'd be deeply embarrassing if, by the time cop26 happens, that this is still for sale in our garden centres. that we're still bagging up a carbon sink and selling it to gardeners. absolutely right. peatland is really valuable for our carbon, it's really valuable for tackling climate change. and what we're doing at the moment is we're digging it up, putting it in plastic and putting it on sale. sites like this have been a refuge for many of us, and these new plans aim to make space for nature in every landscape.

victoria gill, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello there. this afternoon we are going to see widespread showers and thunderstorms so keep that umbrella handy. today's clouds have already been bursting through the skies above nuneaton in warwickshire. clouds can actually get to six miles tall today. clouds that big are capable of hefty downpours. we have already seeen a few of those. we have an organised feature pushing showers against wales and southwest england, showers will be widespread. then we have another curl of cloud pushing in against southwest england so here more general cloud and heavy outbreaks of rain pushing in through the afternoon. heavy downpours then for south—east england, big thunderstorms too across midlands towards lincolnshire, a greater chance of showers for northern ireland

and today's showers in scotland will be quite slow—moving but some areas will dodge the downpours. favoured spots, north wales, north—west england will see fewer showers, so you might get away with a dry afternoon with sunshine here. 0vernight, cloud and rain pushing eastwards across southern counties in england and also thicker cloud in northern scotland bringing rain overnight here. for wednesday, another day of sunshine and showers, but most showers forming across eastern areas and eastern scotland by this trough. furtherwest, pressure building under this ridge. this means south—east england, the west midlands, wales, north west england should have a dry afternoon with spells of sunshine, long spells at that, and temperatures here around 15—16 , not too bad at all. into thursday, not looking good at all, low pressure moving in from the atlantic, this one bringing heavy rain widely

and also strong winds. although it starts on a bright note in the east of the uk, cloud will gather and rain willspread, becoming increasingly windy. strongest winds in the southern coast and hills of wales. gusts of 50—60 mph. strong enough to bring down tree branches and there could be localised transport disruption. notjust for thursday, low pressure remaining for friday bringing rain and strong winds. as it clears through the weekend we are looking at a return of those showery conditions. that is your latest weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines... keeping to the plan. the prime minister says there is "nothing conclusive" in current data that means england would have to deviate from the road map out of lockdown. i don't see anything conclusive at the moment to say that we need to deviate from the road map but we have got to be cautious and we are keeping everything under very close observation. extra vaccination centres have been opened and surge—testing is continuing in areas affected by the indian covid variant. a call to tackle the global imbalances in covid vaccine rollouts. it feels completely wrong to be in a situation _ it feels completely wrong to be in a situation morally, first of all,

where — situation morally, first of all, where we _ situation morally, first of all, where we are allowing that to