earlier i spoke to barry cryer, a scriptwriter on the russ abbot show.soul. a joy to work with. peter vincent and i were the script editors and we wrote for the russ abbot show and we saw that she had become typecast. bella was cast as a large and unattractive woman in a situation and we thought, no, we don't like that, so we started just casting her as a character ina sketch that any actress would play. i think she realised that we were not casting her as a stereotype and so that was good, that was our little thing for bella. she was delightful to work with. she said in an interview she did with the mirror just a few months ago now that she still has the costume of blunder woman and every few days she just looks at it and thanks her lucky stars. some people might ask if that was a stereotype of the fat woman in a glamorous costume, but she took it a lot more seriously. she had the balance in her mind and she thought, ok, i am built like i am, and if i am remembered for something like that then, yes, i can live with that. underneath, bless her heart, she

the comedy actor who became a household name on the russ abbot show is described as "a huge comedy talentnis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". and the woman who can smell parkinson's disease. that's a bbc scotland investigation in half an hour, here on bbc news. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the leader of the liberal democrats, sir vince cable, has warned the government not to agree to bailout the construction company carillion with tax payers money. there are fears the firm, which has debts of £1.5 billion, could collapse after creditors rejected a possible rescue plan. carillion employs about 20,000 people in the uk and is one of the government's main contractors. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. this is liverpool's newest hospital under construction, it will be the biggest single—bed hospital in the uk and it's being built by carillion. now there's concern that projects like this could be affected if the company collapses. from prisons to hospitals, to schools and rail, carillion is responsible for some of the uk's largest infrastructure projects. should the

scriptwriter on the russ abbot show.st be slightly depressing constantly having to pay tribute to old friends who are passed on, but tell us what was special in your view about bella emberg both as a performer and a friend. i have a season ticket for funerals. your friends drop of the twig as life goes on. she was the most delightful and gentle and funny soul. ajoy to most delightful and gentle and funny soul. a joy to work with. peter vincent and i were the script editors and we wrote for the russ abbot show and we saw that she had become typecast. bella was cast as a large and unattractive woman in a situation and we thought, no, we don't like that, so we started just casting her as a character in a sketch that any actress would play. i think she realised that we were not casting her as a stereotype and so not casting her as a stereotype and so that was good, that was our little thing for bella. she was delightful to work with. she said in an interview she did with the mirror just a few months ago now that she still ha

the comedy actors became a household name on the russ abbot show, he has described her as a huge comedyalent. les dennis said she was a lovely, funny friend. the travel show team is at the church of the nativity in bethlehem. that's in half an hour here on bbc news. good morning and welcome to bbc news. the african union has demanded an apology from president trump after he reportedly used a vulgar and disparaging term to describe nations on the continent. it was apparently made during an oval office meeting on immigration with members of congress. the union, which represents 55 african countries, expressed its "shock, dismay and outrage" and said the trump administration misunderstood africans. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. it has been an extraordinary week, even by donald trump's standards. it ended with a medical, a routine checkup that all presidents undergo and word from mr trump's doctor that the commander in chief is in excellent health. for the past two days have seen the president of my but the past two days have seen the president mired in controversy, a

gone, but not forgotten, posting a picture of her alongside russ abbot as blunderwoman.tweets, such sad news. we've been chums since appearing together in a summer show with russ abbot at the princess theatre, torquay in 1981. a genuinely nice woman, and despite her fierce on—stage characterisations, a truly gentle soul. actor and comedian, jon challis, joins the tributes with a picture of bella as blunderwoman and the caption, sad news. goodbye to bella emberg. and the actor and comedian, bobby davro, tweets, so sad to hear of bella emberg's passing. she was such a wonderful lady. a true comedy talent and a friend. rip bella #comedylegend. bella emberg appeared alongside the actor and comedian les dennis in the russ abbot show. four british friends have broken the world record and become the fastest ever to cross the atlantic ocean in a rowing boat. the amateur crew, dubbed the four 0arsmen, made history when they reached the island of antigua just after 1.30am this morning, having spent 29 days at sea and beating the previous record by six days. and here they go! shout

russ abbot gave her a great tribute, as well, a couple of years ago. and she was a fabulous queen, she loves the business. she had a new series coming out, as well. in more recent years she did a lot of children's programmes. she kept working for a long time. yes, she did. we're watching clips of her with russ abbot and other roles, as well, there was a shown element of slapstick in her performance. yes, there was, a big element of slapstick when she hit les dawson! she also did pantomime with sue hodge. i know they used to play a double act. the ugly sisters for the she loved pantomime and she used to do that every year. she loved performing. she was a great personality. very strong. very fun to be with. thanks forjoining us. thank you. four british friends have broken the world record and become the fastest ever to cross the atlantic ocean in a rowing boat. the amateur crew, dubbed ‘the four 0arsmen', made history when they reached the island of antigua just after 130 this morning, having spent 29 days at sea and beating the previous record by six da

the comedy actor who became a household name on the russ abbot show is described as "a huge comedy talent she was a "funny, lovely friend". england batsmen joe root england batsmenjoe root is fit england batsmen joe root is fit to play and tomorrow's first one—day international against australia in melbourne after recovering from a viral illness. and the dateline london panel focus on the iranian nuclear deal, president trump, and brexit. that's in half an hour, here on bbc news. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the leader of the liberal democrats, sir vince cable, has warned the government not to agree to bailout of the construction company carillion with taxpayers' money. there are fears the firm, which has debts of £1.5 billion, could collapse after creditors failed to agree a possible rescue plan. carillion employs about 20,000 people in the uk and is one of the government's main contractors. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. this is liverpool's newest hospital under construction. it will be the biggest single—bed hospital in the uk and it's being built by carillion

the 80 year old became a household name on the russ abbot show as blunder woman, the hapless sidekicknd herformer co—star les dennis has called her "a lovely friend" time for a look at the weather. to go with the grey skies, somewhat weathered three today. this wider front is not moving in any hurry. the knights, it stays across parts of western scotland, the fringes of england and wales. itjust starts to those allowed. the rain turning lighter and drizzle by the morning. brea ks lighter and drizzle by the morning. breaks will be limited but maybe a touch of frost entered the morning. for most of sunday, patchy drain —— patchy drizzle. either side of that, we could see more cloud breaks through the day but generally another cloudy story. windy across scotla nd another cloudy story. windy across scotland and northern ireland later. idnof scotland and northern ireland later. i dn of the and northern ireland are not just windy but also wetter. i dn of the and northern ireland are notjust windy but also wetter. a speu notjust windy but also wetter. a spell of heavy rain and gale force win

the comedy actors became a household name on the russ abbot show, he has described her as a

the comedy actress who became a household name on the russ abbot show is described as "a huge comedyt" les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. this week on the travel show, we catch up with our blind backpacker tony giles as he arrives in bethlehem. this is the place wherejesus was born. here is the star where he was born. simon is here with his top tips for travelling by train across europe and i am in paris seeing the city of light turning into an all—night art party. the number of people going to nuit blanche is just crazy, we are talking about 800,000 people, you know? first up this week, we are on the road with a backpacker who has clocked up more than 120 countries on his travels and has done all that without being able to see. my name is tony giles, i am from england, i am totally blind and severely deaf in both ears and i travel around the world, trying to visit every country. previously wejoined him as he explored jerusalem. massive blocks. very smooth. but today he heads into palestinian territories to make his way t

the comedy actor, who became a household name on the russ abbot show, is described as "a huge comedyent" les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". now on bbc news, it's time for click. this week alone angry man tries to open e—mail. hologram takes on human form. and the x factor reaches a new low. i've had enough. enough of old tech. it's all going obsolete, or so it seems. even the days of desktop computers are numbered. right. let's see what they've got for us this year. the consumer electronics show in las vegas is the place to find out. it's where the new products and concepts are launched for 2018 and some of them might just change the world. one of the highlights of ces for me is always finding out how bendy lg is. previously, they have been slightly bendy and then quite bendy. this year, i think they have nailed it. it's a 65—inch rollup 4k display and the image quality is really very good. and it does roll completely up into an admittedly fairly chunky box. it's an 0led display, the only display tech that can be fully flexible. the circuitry is built on a segmented ba

russ abbot called her "a huge comedy talent", while les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend".main storage. it is eight minutes past eight. —— the main stories. perhaps this morning you are knocked over by flu, will be feel better soon, over by flu, will be feel better soon, you are over by flu, will be feel better soon, you are not alone, there's been a surge in the number of cases in the uk and the number of people seeking treatment has doubled. john maguire has been out and about with agpto maguire has been out and about with a gp to get tips on staying safe. after a slow start flu season is here but how best shouldn't protect ourselves and how should we try to prevent the virus spreading? peter isa gp, prevent the virus spreading? peter is a gp, should we even shake hands? and is fine, we are both well, we wa nt and is fine, we are both well, we want the social niceties so no problem. but if you're not feeling well, if you have a high temperature of the sniffles, then back off, try not to pass things on, and make sure you look after each other. whatsapp of distance and we'r

the comedy actor, who became a household name on the russ abbot show, is described as "a huge comedy talent." les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". now on bbc news, a bbc scotland's elizabeth quigley talks to a woman who discovered she can smell parkinson's disease, this is the woman who can smell parkinson's. that may sound impossible, but it's true. she was telling us that this individual had parkinson's before he knew, before anybody knew, so then i really started to believe her, that she could really detect parkinson's. but this is also a story about one woman's promise to her dying husband. he said to me, "you won't let this go, will you? "you promise you will do it?" i'm doing it. how doesjoy do this? could her ability really change the lives of people with parkinson's bbc scotland has been following the scientists who will answer those questions. i'm really excited. i'm also incredibly humbled because in the end these come from patients and the story comes from joy who lived with les for a very long time and now he isn't here any more. it's an amazing story, offeri

on the russ abbot show, is described as "a huge comedy talent". les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". now on bbc news, it's time for dateline london, with jane hill. hello, and a very warm welcome to dateline london. this week we discuss the future of the iranian nuclear deal, as president trump says he'll tolerate it for just a few more months. what impact will that have inside the country? and as two key british cabinet ministers made brexit pleas in germany, was anyone in the eu listening? my guests this week: the french journalist agnes poirier, from the magazine marrianne, the american writer and broadcaster jeffrey kofman, the iranian writer, broadcaster, and journalist amir taheri, and the british political commentator and writer adam raphael. welcome to you all. the iran nuclear deal survives, at least for a few more months. president trump has declared he will extend sanctions relief for iranjust once more, giving european countries what he called "a last chance" to fix "terrible flaws" in the 2015 deal. for example, the white

she became a household name in the 19805 on the russ abbot show, playing characters including blunderapless superhero cooperman. abbot called her "a huge comedy talent", while les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". four british friends have broken the world record and become the fastest ever to cross the atlantic ocean in a rowing boat. the crew, dubbed the four 0arsmen, made history overnight when they reached the island of antigua in 29 days, beating the previous record by six days. dan johnson has more. here they go! the end of an epicjourney, rowed in record time. the four 0arsmen hadn't even been on a rowing boat 18 months ago. now not just now notjust challenge winners but the first across the atlantic in so many days. it feels overwhelming. the challenge as we said before was relentless, never ending, pain. just rowing, the whole thing and coming first was something beyond our wildest dreams. they left the canary islands 3000 miles away. a real test of endurance, surviving on rations, taking it in turns to eat, sleep and grow. it's amazing to complete it. we set out

she became a household name in the 19805 on the russ abbot show, playing characters including blunderpless superhero cooperman. abbot called her "a huge comedy talent", while les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". four british friends have broken the world record and become the fastest ever to cross the atlantic ocean in a rowing boat. the crew, dubbed the four 0arsmen, made history overnight when they reached the island of antigua in 29 days, beating the previous record by six days. dan johnson has more. that's it, lads, you've done it! the end of the net the journey done in record time. the four 0arsmen hadn't even been on a rolling boat 18 months ago. here they go! now they've not only won this year is athletic challenge, they are world record holders. the first to make the crossing in under 30 days. they left the canary islands one month ago, facing 3000 miles of blood and blisters, sweat and tears. producing their own freshwater on—board, surviving on rations and taking it in turns to eat, sleep and a row, their motivation was personal. it's amazing to compete and we s