debenhams bows out after 200 years.'ll look back at the good, and bad, times for the iconic brand. and times for the iconic brand. with foreign traveller lo tricky, and with foreign traveller looking tricky, blackpool is hoping to welcome more visitors than ever as more of us are likely to holiday in the uk. i am more of us are likely to holiday in the uk. iam here more of us are likely to holiday in the uk. i am here at madame tussauds where tess daly on the other stars looking forward to welcoming visitors back through the doors. claudia having some last—minute hair and make—up checks before the doors open once again. the chase is on for the champions league for liverpool, as they beat manchester united 4—2 at old trafford, as the race for the top four intensifies. fa ncy fancy playing your part in naming one of the tower of london's iconic raisins? i'll have the details plus the forecast, which believe it or not contained yet more rain. join me later in the programme. good morning. it's friday the 14th of may. our to

but all debenhams stores will close for good this weekend after 250 years of trading. speaking to two workers who've been with the firm for more than 20 years. it is the end of an era. it was a great place to work. totally lost its way, - totally lost its way and this is the result of it. like many towns, debenhams was mansfield's department store, a big corner of a shopping centre, and these are its final few hours. the end of a chapter forjulie and glenys, too. 75 years of service between them. i have to think about it and think, god, it's been my whole life there, you know? like i say, i grew up there and i've grown old there stop i think it became like a family unit, yes. they and their former colleagues like to remember the good times. janice was the store director's secretary. when the store was first opened in 1976, there was fitted kitchens, carpets. glenys has even reminded me we used to sell greenhouses! in the early '805 onwards, when the mines, the industries, debenhams was the harrods of this area because of course the money was so affluent. it was so thri

but all debenhams stores will close for good this weekend after 250 years of trading. the new owner boohoo said the business will now run online—only. a number of them closed today. our business correspondent emma simpson has been speaking to two workers who've been with the firm for more than 20 years each. it's the end of an era. it was a great place to work. totally lost its way, - totally lost its way, and this is the result of it. like many towns, debenhams was mansfield's last department store, a big corner of its shopping centre, and these are its final few hours. the end of a chapter forjulie and glenys, too. 75 years of service between them. i have to think about it and think, "god, it's been my whole life there," you know? like i say, i grew up there and i grew old there. i think it became like a family unit, yeah. they and their former colleagues like to remember the good times. janice was the store director's secretary. when the store was first opened in 1976, there was fitted kitchens, carpets. glenis has even reminded me that we used to sell greenhouses!

debenhams closed its remaining shops today, after more than 240 years on the high street.siness correspondent, emma simpson, reports. the final few hours. not much left for the bargain hunters now. these stores reopened after lockdown to allow the remaining stock to be cleared. the last 28 shops closed today. the end of an era. debenham's roots can be traced back to 1778, with a draper�*s store in west london selling fabrics, hats and umbrellas. by the 1950s it was the uk's biggest department store — and it continued to expand, pulling shoppers in with its famous blue cross sales. but it failed to keep up with the competition. its problems were years in the making. it first collapsed in 2019. the pandemic then finished it off as it failed to find a buyer. by christmas, the business was being wound down, with 12,000 job losses. it's one of the biggest retail failures since woolworths, emblematic of the retail shakeout as shopping habits change. the chain was an anchor store in many town centres, and its demise will leave large gaps for landlords and local authorities to fil

but all debenhams stores will close for good this weekend after 250 years of trading.nt emma simpson has been speaking to two workers who've been with the firm for more than 20 years each. it's the end of an era. it was a great place to work. totally lost its way, - totally lost its way, and this is the result of it.

but all debenhams stores will close for good this weekend after 250 years of trading.lt of it. like many towns, debenhams was mansfield's department store, a big corner of a shopping centre, and these are its final few hours. the end of a chapter forjulie and glenys, too. 75 years of service between them. i have to think about it and think, god, it's been my whole life there, you know? like i say, i grew up there and i've grown old there stop i think it became like a family unit, yes. they and their former colleagues like to remember the good times. janice was the store director's secretary. when the store was first opened in 1976, there was fitted kitchens, carpets. glenys has even reminded me we used to sell greenhouses! in the early '80s onwards, when the mines, the industries, debenhams was the harrods of this area because of course the money was so affluent. it was so thriving i in the '70s and '80s. tougher times now with the retail shake—out sweeping through britain's high streets. it is like many other towns, it's exactly the same. and ijust hope the high stree

debenhams — which has been a presence on uk high streets for 240 years — fell into administration inof the pandemic. however, the brand will continue to trade online after it was bought by fashion retailer boohoo. china has become the latest country to land a spaceceft on the surface of mars. the rover has been circling the planet since february. the solar—powered rover will collect rocks and scan the surface of the red planet over the next three months. china's president xijinping has called the mission an "outstanding achievement." the band, the specials, sang that their home city was becoming "like a ghost town" back in 1981, but it's come a long way since then. today, coventry kicks off its reign as the uk city of culture. the year—long celebration of the city s arts, heritage and history was due to have begun injanuary, but everything was put on hold because of the pandemic. david sillito reports. it was meant to have been a non—stop year of art and culture, a city—wide party. but then came the pandemic. however, four and a half months on, things are finally happening in coventr

debenhams — which has been a presence on uk high streets for 240 years — fell into administration inwill continue to trade online after it was bought by fashion retailer boohoo. china has succeeded in putting a spacecraft on mars — making it the second country to do so — after the us. the solar—powered rover is expected to collect rocks and scan the surface of the red planet over the next three months. for 264 hours, 50 drummers from across the world will play non—stop — to raise funds for mental health charities. among them will be famous names from coldplay and duran duran. mike liggins has been to meet some of those taking part. 77—year—old crissy lee in her back garden near colchester, still drumming, still loving every minute and keen to take part in the drumathon. crissy started drumming in a salvation army band at the age of four. in the �*60s, she was part of a band called the beat—chics who had a hit with skinny minnie. the beat—chics toured with the beatles, and today, more than 50 years on, crissy says drumming helps keep her young. i'm still quite strong, and jamming, you

debenhams bows out after 200 years. traveller looking tricky, blackpool is hoping to welcome more visitors than ever as more of us are likely to holiday

debenhams has shut down and topman has shut down. our town is turning into a ghost town.lt 15 months. the focus of blackburn college has been on education and welfare. determined this pandemic doesn't hold back its students. there is enough challenges in this world already. we need to make sure that our students get the best possible grades they can and they get them at the same time as the other students in the country. our students need to be going on to university, they need to be going on to getjobs and we need to make sure they are not disadvantaged. the government insists this is guidance only and is down to all of us to be responsible and act with common—sense. ed thomas, bbc news, blackburn. and the latest government figures on coronavirus show 2,493 new infections and 15 deaths in the latest 24—hour period. cases have been rising slowly over the past few weeks and the number of people who have now died is 127,739. in the vaccine roll—out, 122,379 people have received a first vaccine dose in the last 2a hours. in total, more than 38 million people have now had the

debenhams, one of the biggest casualties. tomorrow, the biggest casualties.s of trading. emma simpson, bbc news. a meteorite that crashed in gloucestershire in february is going on display at the natural history museum in london. scientists are busy studying the rock, which contains chemical elements that existed at the formation of our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. rebecca morelle reports. blazing across the night sky at 50,000 kilometres an hour, the dramatic arrival of the uk space rock, and some of it ended up here, burnt into the wilcock family's driveway in winchcombe, gloucestershire. look at the incredible dent in that. yeah. i mean, this is tarmac so its solid, it's a solid drive isn't it? yeah, it's the kind of thing, if that had hit you or hit the car... it would hurt! it would really hurt, wouldn't it?! now, though, the family has a chance to see a piece of the meteorite again. it has a new home alongside the natural history museum's most prized minerals. it's mind—blowing! that was on hour drive and now it's in the natural history

it recently added dorothy perkins, karen millen and debenhams to its portfolio of online brands. trends and offering access to those trends quickly. it's winning idea, but even harder than it sounds. ah, a post lockdown pleasure. hitting the high street again to try clothes on. there's been a huge uptick in footfall, but for how long? covid has caused shopping habits to change. the mass shift to online has provided a fatal blow to so many big brands. boohoo has been there to swoop in and snap some up. 25 million for dorothy perkins, burton and wallis, 55 million for debenhams. but that is the brands only. no shops and no shop workers, meaning massive savings. but virtual sales come with their own very real costs. when people don't try on clothes and they buy poorly fitting clothes, that leads to really high rates of returns. that's very, very costly for retailers. the whole deliveries are costly. alongside that, there's going to be more investment needed. so they're going to have to, there's going to be higher costs involved, they're going to have to invest in sizing tools, which

debenhams — which has been a presence on uk high streets for 2a0 years — fell into administration inhip contest in their 50 year history. he succeeds arlene foster who will step down on the 28th of may. he will remain as agriculture minister and will not take on the role of northern ireland first minister. i think we are going to bring you the weather. here it is. hello, i don't think any of us can deny it's been an unusually cool may so far. if you're wondering where the warmth is this weekend — well, it can be found across southern parts of spain and portugal. temperatures above 30 degrees here. even warmer in finland than it is here in the uk, where temperatures are well down on where they should be for this stage in the month. and to go with that cool feel, there's more rain in the forecast. this afternoon and particularly tomorrow, some nasty thundery downpours can be expected for some of you. not for all. out there at the moment, we've got a zone of cloud, outbreaks of rain coming and going, stretching from east anglia, northern england into northern ireland. after the brief bi

debenhams that has shut down and topman has shut down. our town is turning into a ghost town.n college has been on education and welfare, determined, this pandemic doesn't hold back its students.— hold back its students. there is enou:h hold back its students. there is enough challenges _ hold back its students. there is enough challenges in _ hold back its students. there is enough challenges in this - hold back its students. there isj enough challenges in this world already, we need to make sure that our students get the best possible grades they can and get them at the same time as the other students in the country. our students need on the country. our students need on the going on to university, they need to be going on to getjobs and we need to make sure they are not disadvantaged. the we need to make sure they are not disadvantaged.— disadvantaged. the government insists this— disadvantaged. the government insists this is _ disadvantaged. the government insists this is guidance - disadvantaged. the government insists this is guidance only - disadvantaged. the government

boohoo recently added dorothy perkins, karen millen and debenhams to its portfolio of online brands.for retailers. the whole deliveries are costly. alongside that, there's going to be more investment needed. so they're going to have to, there's going to be higher costs involved, they're going to have to invest in sizing tools, which is something that there is huge demand for, online. and all of this technology, latest technology, it's actually costly. and boohoo has faced other reputational challenges. last year, it accepted legal findings pointing to the failings in working conditions, and low pay in its supply chain. it says it is working hard to fix the issues. and with tops on its website starting at a pound, can boohoo meet the sustainability challenge? oxfam says two tonnes of clothing are bought every minute in the uk. only 10% are recycled, but do shoppers care? i do try and pay attention to who makes the clothes. i try and make sure it's sustainable and it's something that i'm going to wearfor a longer period of time. something that's not going to go in the bin, a year down

debenhams will close its remaining stores today after more than 2112 years on the high street. administration in 2019 after several years of falling sales. here's our business correspondent, emma simpson. the final few hours. not much left for the bargain hunters now. these stores reopened after lockdown to allow the remaining stock to be cleared. the last 28 shops closed today. the end of an era. debenham's roots can be traced back to 1778, when a drapers store in west london selling fabrics, huts and umbrellas. by selling fabrics, huts and umbrellas. by the 19505 it was the uk's �*5 department store and it continued to expand, pulling 5hopper5 department store and it continued to expand, pulling shoppers in with its famous blue cross sales. but it failed to keep up with the competition. its problems were years in the making. at first collapsed in 2019. the pandemic then finished it up 2019. the pandemic then finished it up as it failed to find a buyer. by chri5tmas the business was being wound down, with 12,000 job losses. it is one of the biggest retail failures since woolwo

debenhams, one of the biggest casualties. years of trading. emma simpson, bbc news. prince harry says he wants to "break the cycle" of "pain and suffering" he experienced growing up, so he doesn't pass it on to his own children. the duke of sussex was speaking on a podcast, in which he said his life as a royal was like a mixture of the truman show and being in a zoo. harry suggested his own pain may have come in part from his parents, but said he wasn't "pointing the finger" at anyone. james reynolds reports. a month ago, at the funeral of the duke of edinburgh, prince harry briefly took the same path as the rest of his family. but, back in the states, on a podcast, he has again made his own tracks. isn't life about breaking the cycle, right? yeah. there is no blame, i don't think we shouldn't be pointing the finger or blaming anybody, but certainly, when it comes to parenting, if i have experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, i'm going to

it comes as debenhams said that its last high street stores will close on 15th may for the final time50 per item returned. the money will be given to them in the form of a voucher to spend at the store. the initiative was originally meant to start in november but was postponed due to lockdown. the swedish retailer says it wants to become "climate positive" by 2030. veterans unable to travel to normandy because of covid—19 travel restrictions are invited to mark the 77th anniversary of the d—day landings at an event in staffordshire for the unveiling of the british normandy memorial. the ceremony at the national memorial arboretum will be the first time the normandy veterans have been able to come together in numbers since the 75th anniversary, two years ago. with me is normandy veteran patron, george batts, and assistant director of commemorative events at the the royal british legion, bob gamble. welcome to both of you gentlemen. george, let me begin with you if i may. you were 18 when you are in normandy. describe your experience if you would, just briefly. i normandy. describe your

this week, one of the biggest casualities of the pandemic, debenhams, closes its doors for good after has been a cosmetics supervisor at the mansfield store for 35 years. we could tell, standing on the shop floor, what money was going through the tills, how quiet, your peak times started to dwindle off, and you just know. and it isn't all about online and covid. the company had lost its way, which is very sad. we are trying to be strong till the last day, definitely. you just can't describe it. i think almost unbelievable is the word. yeah, unbelievable. and this is shirley who runs a small business supplying merchandise for events. she's started making different products to get through lockdown but predicts more tough times ahead. it was a big worry for me whether or not i would survive. and it was literally taking every week at a time, and looking to see how we could make sure that we did stay afloat. i personally don't think that events and such things will pick up until later on in the year. i'm kind of thinking september at the earliest. things are still bad but they're not as ba