nick quraishi, bbc news.e singer's house in north london. still a lot of people coming to lay flowers among other things, presumably? absolutely, a stream of people have been arriving all morning, gathering outside his house, people stopping to tie balloons to the railings, to lay flowers, light candles, leave m essa 9 es flowers, light candles, leave m essa g es of flowers, light candles, leave messages of love to the singer that they are heartbroken has gone from their lives. we're talking about people who grew up listening to george michael, dancing to george michael, he was part of a teenage memories. along with members of the public, they have been messages from celebrities, paul mccartney, kylie minogue, sir elton john celebrities, paul mccartney, kylie minogue, sir eltonjohn perhaps as per the most exemplary, he said he was "kind, generous soul and a print artist". a picture is emerging out of a superstar who was a brilliant singer, perform and the producer but also a man of the heart of gold, it appea

nick quraishi, bbc news. and we will be talking a bit more about george michael shortly.dia is reporting that the black—box flight recorder has been recovered from the military plane that crashed into the black sea on sunday. 92 people were on board, 11 bodies have been found so far. 3000 people are involved in the search operation, including 200 divers. liz smith, the actor best known for playing nana in the sitcom the royle family, has died at the age of 95. a spokesperson for her family announced she passed away on christmas eve. peter ruddick has been looking back at her life. what is she? she's a vegetarian, nana. 0hhh! could you have some wafer thin ham? could she have wafer thin ham, barbara? no! 0hhh. from dotty nana norma speakman in the royle family to the eccentric baker letitia cropley in the vicar of dibley, liz smith carved out a niche playing scatty but hilarious older ladies. it's chocolate spread! chocolate? yeah, yeah. you promise? yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah. all right, i will. very...unusual taste. well, i put in a little something extra as well. she had be

joining me now is our correspondent nick quraishi. , are there any other details about what happened 7 nick, are there any other details about what happened? the police first announced this and obviously it is christmas evening, ii first announced this and obviously it is christmas evening, 11 o'clock, just before 11 pm. so details are scant at the moment but police tell us scant at the moment but police tell us that south central ambulance services attended a property in oxfordshire north—west of london. this happened at about 0xfordshire north—west of london. this happened at about 20 minutes past two in the afternoon on christmas day. they found george michael dead there. police say they are treating the death as unexplained but at this stage there are no suspicious circumstances. we had a statement in from the star's publicist saying that it is with great sadness we confirm that george michael passed away at home over the christmas period. the family asked for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time. it goes on to say

nick quraishi, bbc news.side the singer's house in north london. it would seem, still, a stream of people coming to that house there. absolutely, all morning more and more people have been arriving here, they want to gather outside the house just behind they want to gather outside the housejust behind me, some quite large crowds now gathering, a police car isjust passing, large crowds now gathering, a police car is just passing, making a large crowds now gathering, a police car isjust passing, making a large noise, but people have wanted to stop, they have laid flowers, they are lighting candles, leaving m essa 9 es are lighting candles, leaving m essa g es of are lighting candles, leaving messages of love to george michael. just to express how sad they feel that he has done. these are people who grew up with his music, they remember enjoying it when they were teenagers, dancing around, it's that kind of sense of loss that so many people feel, they didn't know him well, but they are genuinely sad. also, we're

nick quraishi looks back at his life. his popularity was not limited to his fans.sicians were equally overwhelmed by his talent. here he is rehearsing for the 1992 freddie mercury tribute concert. according to his publicist, he passed away peacefully on christmas day. he died of heart failure. andrew ridgely said he was heartbroken at the loss of his beloved friend. madonna said, farewell my friend, another great artist leaves others. eltonjohn said, iam artist leaves others. eltonjohn said, i am in deep shock, i artist leaves others. eltonjohn said, iam in deep shock, i have lost a beloved friend, the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. paul young duetted with george michael. he paid tribute today. he always had an incredible p0p today. he always had an incredible pop sensibility and a voice that could touch people. some people have a voice that cut straight to your heart. he had that ability. as well as success over heart. he had that ability. as well 3s success ovei’ the years, heart. he had that ability. as well as success over the years, he als

nick quraishi looks back at his life. # you put the boom boom into my heart #...ched hair and upbeat songs propelled wham to number one around the world. they even conquered china. # last christmas i gave you my heart # but the very next day you gave it away #... their most famous song heard every year will now have added poignancy. born georgios kyriacos panayiotou in north london, george michael was 12 years old when he met andrew ridgeley. they left school at 16 and set up wham in 1981. # and time can never mend a careless whisper #... his biggest hit, careless whisper came in 1984 but was written and produced when he wasjust 17. three years later, his solo album, faith, marked a shift from teen idol to serious singer—songwriter. # cos i gotta have faith #... with the success came brushes with the law. an arrest for lewd behaviour in a public toilet in los angeles. a driving ban in the uk. he had a stint in prison after crashing his car into a shop. george michael announced he was gay, later revealing he had been in the closet for years to prevent his mother fr

nick quraishi reports. he was a huge personality, whose life played out in the headlines.had volunteered to work in a homeless shelter, provided it was kept quiet. he paid for a game show contestant to have ivf treatment. and gave sport relief £50,000 when david walliams swam the english channel. children, cancer patients and many other charities also received donations. last night, tributes came from those closest to him. george michael‘s partner, fadi fawaz, said he‘d never forget this christmas, having found him dead, peacefully in bed, first thing in the morning. his former long—term partner kenny goss paid tribute to an extremely kind and generous man, saying he loved him very, very much. at his home in goring—on—thames in 0xfordshire, fans came to remember their icon. there were emotional scenes at another of his houses, highgate in london, from people struggling to come to terms with his death from suspected heart failure. i know that 2016 has been a bad year, and it is very sad for a lot of artists, but it was george michael that got me, it was. i think we grew up

nick quraishi looks back at his life. # you put the boom boom into my heart...ns, bleached hair and upbeat songs propelled wham to number one around the world. they even conquered china. # last christmas i gave you my heart # but the very next day you gave it away. their most famous song heard every year will now have added poignancy. have added poignancy. born georgios kyriacos panayiotou in north london, george michael was 12 years old when he met andrew ridgeley. they left school at 16 and set up wham in 1981. # and time can never mend a careless whisper. his biggest hit, careless whisper came in 1984 but was written and produced when he wasjust 17. three years later, his solo album, faith, marked a shift from teen idol to serious singer—songwriter. with the success came brushes with the law. an arrest for lewd behaviour in a public toilet in los angeles. a driving ban in the uk. he had a stint in prison after crashing his car into a shop. george michael announced he was gay, later revealing he had been in the closet for years to prevent his mother from worry

nick quraishi reports. he was a huge personality whose life played out in the headlines.ind this onstage persona, details of george michael's charitable donations are now emerging. he had volunteered to work in a homeless shelter, provided it was kept quiet. he paid for a game show contestant to have ivf treatment. and gave sport relief £50,000 and david whalley ‘s son the english channel in 2006. children, cancer patients and many other charities also received donations —— them out. last night, tributes came from those close to him. his partner said: his former long—term partner kenny paid tribute to an extremely kind and generous man, saying he loved him very, very much. at his home in oxfordshire, friends came to remember their icon. there were emotional scenes at another of his houses, highgate in london, from people struggling to come to terms with his death from suspected heart failure. i know 2016 has been a bad year, and it is very sad for a lot of artists, but it was george michael beck got me. i think we grew up michael beck got me. i think we grew up with him,

nick quraishi looks back at his life. # you put the bohm ballmer into my heart..., bleached hair and upbeat songs propelled went to number one around the world. they even conquered china. # last christmas i gave you my heart but the very next day you gave it away. their most famous song heard every year will now have added poignancy. born in north london, george michael was 12 years old when he met andrew ridgeley. they left school at 15 and set up wham. # and time can never mend a careless whisper his biggest hit, kellas whisper came in 1984. three years later his solo album, faith, marked a shift to serious singer songwriter. with the success came brushes with the law. an arrest falling behaviour in a public toilet in los angeles stop he had a stall in prison after crashing his car into the shop. george michael announced he was gay, later revealing he had been in the closet for yea rs revealing he had been in the closet for years to prevent his mother from worrying about a stock in 2011 he nearly died in vienna after a bout of pneumonia. but more work was in the