population of endangered water voles in the lake district. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's tolsun tollett. thank you very much indeed. after guiding england to success at the euros last year and now the final of the women's world cup, it's no surprise that sarina wiegman is set to be a manager in demand. but whatever the result on sunday in the final against spain, wiegman will not be going anywhere, according to the football association's chief executive, mark bullingham. there is speculation wiegman could be in line to take charge of the usa, with vlatko andonovski stepping down from his post, but bullingham insists as long as all parties are happy, wiegman stays. sarina has done an incrediblejob

since she started. she has built an incredible culture in the camp and is incredibly calm. that translates through to the players and she is a brilliant tactician is well. we have seen how she's moved formations from one to another and initially transformed this team in the tournament. in the premier league, michael olise's move to chelsea looked like a done deal, but it turns out he'll be staying in south london. the winger has signed a new four—year deal with crystal palace just two days on from chelsea reportedly activating olise's release clause of £35 million. the frenchmanjoined from reading on a five—year—deal in 2021, but was in chelsea's youth system before leaving aged 1a. meanwhile, arsenal manager mikel arteta insists he doesn't have a number—one goalkeeper for the new season. aaron ramsdale has been the club's first choice, but they signed david raya from brentford this week on a season—long loan. is there a number one? in any position. _ is there a number one? in any position. n0- _ is there a number one? in any position, no. nine, _ is there a number one? in any position, no. nine, seven, - is there a number one? in any position, no. nine, seven, 11,| is there a number one? in any - position, no. nine, seven, 11, six,

goalkeeper, no, there is not. and bayern munich head coach thomas tuchel has been singing the praises of harry kane ahead of his bundesliga debut this weekend. the german champions are away to werder bremen tomorrow night, with the england captain portraying a positive influence at the club already, according to tuchel. my my first impressions of harriet are fantastic. he is a top professional. the quality is outstanding. and he is a fantastic human being. he is very open. he is first on the training pitch, open in the dressing room. i think he has a leading effect in the dressing room of this personality, his approach to football, his love for the game. in the hundred, the trent rockets women have held their nerve and kept their campaign alive. in their must—win match, they came out on top against the manchester originals, restricting them to 107 and then chasing down their target with 36 balls to spare. lizelle lee securing the victory in style. the men's match between the same sides gets under way in an hour. owen farrell will play no part in england's world cup warm—up match

against ireland on saturday after world rugby appealed the decision that saw his red card against wales overturned. farrell has been left out of the squad, with his immediate future unclear. if the appeal is successful, farrell would miss england's opening game at the world cup and possibly more, depending on the punishment. george ford will start at fly—half instead in dublin on saturday, whilst courtney lawes will captain the side. meanwhile for ireland, cian prendergast, seen here in the green, will make his first start for his country as head coach andy farrell names a strong side for the match. prendergast will start at number eight, whilst bundee aki, garry ringrose and ross byrne all start, too. there's been a blow for commonwealth games 10,000—metres champion eilish mccolgan as her preparation for next year's olympics has suffered a big setback. a knee injury means she's pulled out of the world athletics championships, which starts on saturday in budapest. mccolgan says with the olympics just around the corner, the stakes are too high for her to take a risk.

better news for britain's beth potter as she out—sprinted home favourite cassandre beaugrand to secure victory in the paris 2024 triathlon test event. it was potter's first—ever win in an olympic—distance race. more on that and everything else on the website but i'll be back a little bit later. thanks very much. more now on the death of one of the biggest names in british tv, sir michael parkinson. he interviewed some of the world's biggest stars on his chat show, which first appeared on bbc television in 1971. let's look back at some of the show�*s best—loved exchanges. you understand the viet cong are not all bad, but america's still dropping bombs. in hiroshima, japan wasn't bad, but they still dropped the bomb. in korea, they wasn't bad, but they still dropped the bomb. so now i'm going to forget the 400 years of lynching and killing and raping and depriving my people of freedom, justice, equality,

equality, the first fired, last hired, the lowest of the low, last respected, and i'm going to look at two or three white people who are trying to do right and don't see the other million trying to kill me? laughter. would you like to see them? i'd love to. would you? i have never in my life! laughter. those are exquisite! would you like to touch them? could i? yes. she sighs. thank you. you've made a woman pig happy. do you find that your figure, your physical attributes, which people always go on about, hinder you in your pursuit, in your ambition of being a successful actress? a successful and serious actress because serious actresses - can't have big bosoms. is that what you mean? i call him golden balls now... laughter. you know, because now... laughter. golden balls beckham, eh?

laughter. that's a good one, that one, isn't it? that's one of those things i shouldn't have said about him. laughter. applause. laughter.

dickie bird, the celebrated former cricket umpire, was a close friend of sir michael. we spoke to him earlier today. today, i feel down. i feel very low. and you'll have to excuse me from time to time because he was so dear to me. not only was he a true friend, he was a dear friend, and he would help me if i had any problems. he was always there by my

side to help me and... ..i feel very, very sad this morning. and my condolences, of course, goes out to mary, his wife and his lads and... ijust, if, you know, during this interview, if i shed a few tears, you'll have to excuse me. but i only spoke to him yesterday morning, and his voice didn't seem... ..his voice seemed weak to me and he said to me, "you know, dickie, i get the feeling i'm getting towards the end." and i said, "no, come on, keep, keep going. you got to keep your chin up. keep going." and we shed a few tears, and we said our goodbyes. yesterday morning. and he's gone. well, one person who knew sir michael parkinson well was the tv presenter gloria hunniford. she said he was quite simply the best in the business. over the years, you know, i interviewed him, he interviewed me, and he very kindly had me on his television programme,

which of course, was a landmark for me. and even one of my sons came along to just walk down the stairs before the programme began to know what it was like to walk down those stairs. so, legendary, the best in the business. and what i loved about michael, probably more than anything, is the fact that not only was he the most brilliant interviewer, but he was the most brilliant listener. and that's why he got so much out of all his guests. and so i really feel sad. i kind of always felt that michael would always be there, you know? so i can't help but feel very sad today. but on the other hand, there's such a supply of interviews, wonderful interviews, world class. ijust think that he was an all—round person, you know what i mean? i mean, his passion for cricket, his passion for music, his passion for people and his kindness. i mean, i'll give you one example, because when my daughter karen passed, she was writing two books and i finished them off and amalgamated them. and that's when i was asked to go on a television programme, which really, if i think back

on it, was a dream for me because i never thought i'd be down those stairs. and but after the show, he said to me, "look, if you ever want me to do a theatre show, including clips from my programmes and things to raise money for your foundation, i'll do it. " and so he did. many people would've just said that and never would've heard from him again. but almost immediately we had a great sort of evening in windsor in one of the theatres there, and it helped to raise money for the foundation. so he was always caring about people and one step ahead as to how he would help. michael got to choose his music for sunday— michael got to choose his music for sunday morning any champion people like jimmy— sunday morning any champion people likejimmy cullen sunday morning any champion people like jimmy cullen because he set this boy— like jimmy cullen because he set this boy is — like jimmy cullen because he set this boy is really talented so he champion— this boy is really talented so he champion others. and we talked to dickie _ champion others. and we talked to dickie byrd about cricket and his extreme — dickie byrd about cricket and his extreme passion for it was there and he was _ extreme passion for it was there and

he was a _ extreme passion for it was there and he was a good yorkshire man on top of that _ he was a good yorkshire man on top of that but — he was a good yorkshire man on top of that. but he was at all rounder and so _ of that. but he was at all rounder and so he — of that. but he was at all rounder and so he was interested in people. if if i and so he was interested in people. if if i have _ and so he was interested in people. if if i have time, i will tell you what are _ if if i have time, i will tell you what are the thing because what i said we _ what are the thing because what i said we used to meet dennis soho in london _ said we used to meet dennis soho in london every monday morning, it was only to _ london every monday morning, it was only to watch movies. when i say we used to meet down in soho in london every monday morning, it was only to watch movies because i was doing a chat show at the same time and we had to watch the film of the person we were interviewing. so this time he said to me, "who have you got this week?" and i said, "i've got robert mitchum." and i was excited. and he said, "do your homework." and i went, "i always do my homework." he said, "well do triple, then." and michael was right because i did triple. and i have to tell you, robert mitchum was a yes—no person. but anyway, so so he was very kind to people.

well, it's that time of year when there are trials, tribulations and, of course, celebrations as a—level results were opened by thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland. the proportion of a or a* grades is 27.2%, down from a peak of 44.8% during the pandemic. vocational t—level results are also being released, along with many as and btec level 3 grades. and across the uk, 79% of those receiving results gained a place at their first—choice university. our reporter nicky schiller spoke to some of those getting their results earlier today. here at leeds sixth form college, students have been coming in throughout the morning to collect their results, and i'm lucky enough to have been joined by two of them who have both done btec courses here at the college. and first question, of course, has to be did you get what you wanted and what have you been studying here? music production. and what does this result mean for you? well, it means that i get to go to uni. and where are you going to go? guildhall in london. and ijust...what�*s the process been? because a lot of people know that we've had covid, and you've had to go through that.

how have you found this course and also your reaction to the fact that you've got what you wanted? well, obviously, i'm really happy with how i've done. i think covid affected the results a tad bit. it affected it more than the duties. but obviously i had a bit of delay, and sometimes it runs through to my first year and there was difficulties coming in sometimes, but a lot of it was online, typically go home and do the course work. so i think covid helped the course because it's allowed people to do stuff more online, which has helped us to do our work online with that google classroom and stuff. so i think it's not been too bad and it's not affected us massively, but obviously it's had a bit of a bit of a problem sometimes. but you're studying music and you're going to guildhall in london. what do you want to do in the future? something in music, i'm not entirely sure, but i think doing music production, at least in college, has kind of helped me discover what i want to do and, like, it's helped me realise my options and what there are to do in music and what there is, because it's helped me like it's taught me about the music industry and so on. so i want to go to guildhall

and kind ofjust see what my options are and just go from there. i have to ask you, did you get much sleep last night? a little bit. i mean, 1am i had a dream that i died and then woke up from my dream and then woke up in real life and i was like, "ok, 7am, let's go one day, let's go do this. and how are you going to celebrate? probablyjust go up with my family, you know, go have a meal or something. 0k. well, congratulations. you are is here with us as well. did you get much sleep last night? yeah. lots of sleep, actually. more than usual. that's good. just explain what course you've done here at the college. so, this year, i've done level three prep in health and social care. and how have you found it? you found this course quite easy? not going to lie, because i've been doing health and social care here for the past three years now,

and i also did it in high school. so i've been doing it since year nine, so i've had quite a lot of experience with it. and what does this result mean for you now? it means that, like, i can go forward, i can do the access course, which is what i'm doing next, and i can also go to university most importantly. 0k. and you decided to do a btec rather than traditional a—levels. why did you decide to do that? because i thought btec will be less stressful because when you have a disability, you have to work twice as hard as any other student to get the same results, especially when you have a visual impairment. but research and a lot of other things takes more effort and, like, exams are also not a very easy thing. and i think doing coursework is more, like, laid back, more relaxing, and it's not about how fast you have gone, it's just about that you've done it and it may have taken more time, but at least i'm actually here now. and what is your long—term goal? go to university, which i will be doing, and then hopefully get a job, probably somewhere in counselling. but then i also want to work with people with visual impairments as well.

i can understand that. how are you going to celebrate tonight? i don't really know. probably family might come over. fair enough. well, congratulations to both our students here. they're both probably going to celebrate with their family, which i think is a good idea. let's bring you some breaking news from the edinburgh festival, and we have news that a second venue in the city has cancelled a standup comedy show featuring the father ted writer grandma lenihan, and it is, from the organisers. hours before the gig was due to begin, comedy unleased that it would go ahead despite the cancellation and ticket holders would be e—mail with another location. the initial venue pulled out of hosting the show amid concerns over graham linehan�*s views on transgender issues. he has threatened legal action if the venue refuses to reverse its decision and apologised, and all of this has

sparked a wider debate on freedom of speech. sojust there, the organisers have said that a second venuein organisers have said that a second venue in edinburgh has cancelled a standup comedy show featuring the father ted writer graham linehan. clean air zones are already in operation in hundreds of traffic choked cities across europe. london's ultra low emission zone is expanding to take in the city's outer suburbs later this month and will become one of the world's largest to tackle air pollution. our transport correspondent katy austin has been looking at how clean air zones have been working in other parts of england. signs like these have become a common sight. we'vejust entered birmingham's clean air zone. it's been in operation for over two years now, and it's one of seven that have sprung up in cities around england over the past few years. here, driving an older, more polluting car or van means an e8 daily charge. in one residential area,

we got a sense of how opinions remain divided. a lot of people live here, ok, especially kids. at least, those cars which make a lot of pollution, i think we should consider the direction of banning them. there are a lot of people round here struggling to put food on the table. and as for the clean air zone, no, that won't work because the people round here won't be able to afford other cars. the manager of this shop did manage to switch to a car that doesn't attract a charge, but he still felt a financial hit. they order something to my shop. first question they ask me, "are you in the zone - or out of the taxi zone?" so when you say, "i'm i inside the taxing zone," they're going to ask - for £8 for your delivery. birmingham city council told us the proportion of the most polluting vehicles entering the zone had more than halved to 6.4% since it was introduced. but in the famousjewellery quarter, staff at this business, however much they support

the principle, it's come at a cost. we've noticed a definite drop in footfall. there's been a lot of confusion in what cars are allowed, what cars are not allowed. in bradford, the clean air zone is slightly different. the rules here mean that there isn't a charge for private cars driving into the zone, but there is one for taxis, vans, lorries and coaches if they don't meet the emissions standards. the council says 98% of local taxis now do, helped by grants. so has the scheme worked so far? we need to wait until the clean air zone has been in place for at least a year to be able to look at the impact on air pollution, but also to be able to look at the impact on health in bradford. it's already proved a practical headache for this delivery firm, based literally round the corner from the clean air zone boundary. bosses here say grants to help replace their noncompliant vehicles

would not have covered the cost, so now it's a case of avoiding charges whenever possible. we have a team that have to look at what vehicle - can go into what area. it's not always feasible| to send a large load in. we understand why they're doing it, but we just sometimes think that. sometimes it's rushed and not a lot of thought has gone into it- for businesses because you're trying to make a living. - they say the patchwork around the country can also be confusing, straying into a different city zone can prove a costly mistake. plans to introduce a clean air zone in manchester are under review amid growing discussion of the best way to clean up the air without hitting people too hard in the wallet. katy austin, bbc news. the lake district is well known for being home to rare creatures like otters and ospreys. now conservationists are arguing that water voles should get similar protection as their population has plummeted in recent decades, and they've launched a new project to push their numbers up. our science and environment correspondent victoria gill went to find out more.

being prepared for a new home. more than 200 water voles transported here all the way from devon are being checked, ready for release in this cumbrian valley. it's part of a two—year mission to bring the endangered mammals back to the lake district. oh, it's really exciting. when you work in conservation, you want to see things that should be in the landscape. and sometimes things come naturally, and sometimes you have to give them a bit of a helping hand. so all of the work that the team's been doing on site for the last few years to make sure that this site is suitable for water voles, for it to eventually end up with the release of water voles, is just a fabulous thing to see. water voles used to be widespread in the rivers, streams and lakes of cumbria, but there are nowjust a few isolated populations left here. all of these animals have been bred in captivity, and most of them will be introduced to their new habitats in these special soft—release pens. just very carefully carrying the water voles down onto the site. it's been prepared for about two years, this area, but it's being kept a secret,

the exact location to protect these mammals. a key way this habitat has been prepared for today is by controlling the population of non—native american mink, predators that decimated the water vole population. volunteers will check on the pens daily until the doors are opened in about three days' time. for a few of the more mature voles, though, it's straight into the water. and while some are enthusiastic to swim, others seem keen to hide in the undergrowth. it's really exciting. they're an important component of the landscape. their effects on vegetation by the way they burrow and how they make little lawns and graze. but they also provide a really good food source for native predators, the kind of animals that should be preying on water voles and eating them. so there is one in here. it'sjust good to see them back where there should be, you know, returning them back to the place where they should be

in the first place. in total for this project, 350 animals will be released in two locations in cumbria, bringing a missing species back to the landscape where it belongs. victoria gill, bbc news, haweswater. england's lionesses are just one game from world cup glory after knocking out australia in the semifinal. they'll play spain on sunday in their first ever world cup final. yesterday's historic match was the most watched of the tournament so far, with a peak tv audience of more than 7 million. our sport correspondentjane dougall reports from sydney. england's success has swelled. they'd had a wobbly start to their tournament, but like a patient surfer, they knew when to peak. the lionesses�* 3—1 victory over the hosts wiped out australia's dreams of a world cup final. australia's loss was of course england's gain, and fans across the uk went wild as the lionesses booked their spot in the world cup final. the aussie news stations reluctantly

acknowledged england's victory. for them, it was about the journey of their women's team. each of every one of you, the matildas, should hold your head high. thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you have done. 75,000 fans were in the stadium, but the lionesses silenced the aussie roar. you can see they were at absolute beacon _ you can see they were at absolute beacon of — you can see they were at absolute beacon of tight _ you can see they were at absolute beacon of light that _ you can see they were at absolute beacon of light that england - you can see they were at absolute| beacon of light that england team. but watching in the stadium last nightjournalists from both countries were impressed with england's performance. england knew it was going to be a cauldron and there would be against a wave of noise, and they knew their game plan was to possess the ball and stifle that by quieting the crowd.

i don't say this lightly, and astray will never— i don't say this lightly, and astray will never say this lightly, good on england. _ will never say this lightly, good on england, you deserved it. what a past that is, it's russo! as england's third goal went in, attention turned to sunday's match. ever since i was younger, i've dreamed about a world cup and you dream about winning it and to have the chance to do that this weekend is what we have all worked hard for. spain is the final challenge with this tournament, so will england's may be on that trophy? there is almost an inevitability about it because the other teams have gone. so will australia get behind england now? i wouldn't say all of australia and if there is one thing that| australia loves as much as australia winning is england failing. - england are riding the wave of their success, and with so many favourites out, this could be their best chance

to win a world cup. jane dougall, bbc news, sydney. here's the weather with stav. hello there. the next 2a hours looks fairly unsettled with the risk of some really heavy, thundery rain in places and also strong winds. so quite a mixture of weather to come for friday. windy in places. it will feel quite warm and humid, and we'll have thundery showers spreading northwards. now, we've got two weather fronts associated with the low pressure system. this is the main weather front. ahead of it, we'll see a line of showers and storms spreading northwards. that's during friday. but through tonight, it should stay largely dry across much of the country, clear spells, more cloud through central and eastern areas. but we'll start to see those showers pushing to northern ireland, wales and south—west england, and some of them may turn out to be heavy and thundery in places. quite a warm and muggy night to come, particularly towards the south. then for friday, that line of showers, thunderstorms spreads northwards across northern ireland, wales, central, southern england, but starts to fizzle out as it moves northwards. it'll become very windy around irish sea coasts, especially northern and western wales, with gusts in excess perhaps of 60 mph.

not a bad day to come across scotland. best of the sunshine in the west, high teens here. further south, because there's a bit more cloud around and some showers, top temperature around 22—23 degrees, but it will feel humid. and then through friday night, the action really gets going. this band of heavy and thundery rain spreads northwards across pretty much all areas. you can see the livid colours indicating embedded thunderstorms there, so localised flooding could be an issue in one or two locations. and a warm and humid night to come for many, particularly across england and wales. so into the weekend, that area of thundery rain will continue to journey northwards with fairly strong, gusty winds on it. moving northwards across scotland through saturday morning, becoming confined to the northern isles, and then the rest of the country has a fine day. sunny spells with scattered showers across northern and western areas, and it'll be more blustery here with temperatures in the low 20s. so feeling fresher, but still warm in the south—east, 25—26 degrees. similar story for part two of the weekend. most of the blustery showers will be in the north

and the west of the country, where it'll feel a bit fresher. but again, across central, southern and eastern areas, closer to high pressure in the near continent, it'll stay sunnier, less windy. and we should see temperatures again around the mid—20s. now it could turn very warm or even locally hot across the south—east for a time monday and tuesday. plenty of sunshine here, but cooler and fresher with showers further north and west.

the veteran broadcaster sir michael parkinson, who interviewed some of the world's biggest stars, has died. he was 88. tributes have flooded in for the man who perfected the art of the chat show — combining a relaxed style with a journalistic curiosity. mohamed elneny, peter kay, olivia newton—john —— muhammad ali. stars of the stage and screen, of sport and politics,

flocked to his programme. his long—standing friend, the former cricket umpire dickie bird, spoke of his loss. parky will always stand out to me as the best. there will never be another one as good, and he's a legend, a true legend. we'll be looking back at some of the highlights of a tv career which spanned seven decades. also on the programme... oh, my god, i'm about to cry! the moment of truth — a levels, btecs, t levels and as levels — tens of thousands of teenagers get their exam results. out with the police in northern france, trying to stop small boats crossing the channel, we have a special report. and attempts to bring back the water vole, an endangered creature, in a new nature reserve in the lake district. and coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news... owen farrell could still miss the start of next month's rugby world cup, we'll have the latest on his red card against wales last weekend.