and thistlecrack wins the king george at kempton. good evening and welcome to sportsday.ts clear at the top of the premier league after a club record 12th straight win. they beat bournemouth 3—0 at stamford bridge — the tenth clean sheet of that winning run. two goals from pedro plus a penalty from eden hazard leave chelsea closing in on arsenal's iii—game winning record. it's important now to continue this run. infour it's important now to continue this run. in four days we have a tough game against stoke city, we have to prepare well. when you face the other teams, every tea m wa nts to when you face the other teams, every team wants to beat you. arsenal are up to third in the table — at least for the next hour — but they left it late against west brom at the emirates. olivier giroud headed the only goal of the game in the 86th minute, on what was his first start of the premier league season. just one in the end, from a special ci’oss just one in the end, from a special cross and a special header. west brom were very well organised and disciplined. if you don't score ea

and thistlecrack beats cue card to win the king george at kempton.evening and welcome to sportsday. chelsea are seven points clear at the top of the premier league after a club record 12th straight win. they beat bournemouth 3—0 at stamford bridge, the tenth clean sheet of that winning run. two goals from pedro plus a penalty from eden hazard leaves chelsea closing in on arsenal's i4—game winning record. it's important now to continue this run. within four days will have another tough game against stoke city and we have to prepare very well because now, here, when you play the other teams, every team wa nts to play the other teams, every team wants to beat you. manchester city are up to second in the table after their 3—0 victory away at hull. all the goals came in the second half as pep guardiola's men had to overcome a stubborn hull side, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table. drew savage reports. you don't always get what you want over the festive season but manchester city are a very well—connected club these days. pep guardiola, confident

thistlecrack! well said, keeping me up. time now for a look at the newspapers.e. good morning. good morning, merry christmas. happy boxing day. we will ta ke christmas. happy boxing day. we will take a look at the stories you've picked out, but let's have a look at the front pages first. the news that george michael has died came late last night, so the second edition shows this in the daily mirror, george michael dead at 53. the front page of the times as well has the news that... the first part of his career in wham!. it's as he died peacefully. the sun says george michael has died at the age of 53 suspected heart failure. the daily telegraph has a look at the greed of foreign aid groups to be exposed. the picture it has on its front page is of prince george. and the express has a look at the queen —— lee's state of health, saying she was too ill to attend the christmas service in sandringham. it is understood she has a cold. george michael's death. it's a real shame, a tragedy. 53 yea rs it's a real shame, a tragedy. 53 years old. i suppose one of the interes

and thistlecrack beats cue card to win the king george at kempton.he top of the premier league after a club record 12th straight win. they beat bournemouth 3—0 at stamford bridge — the tenth clean sheet of that winning run. two goals from pedro, plus a penalty from eden hazard, leaves chelsea closing in on arsenal's14—game winning record. it's important now to continue this run. in four days we have a tough game against stoke city, we have to prepare well. when you face the other teams, every team wants to beat you. manchester city are up to second in the table, after their 3—0 victory away at hull. all the goals came in the second half, as pep guardiola's men had to overcome a stubborn hull side, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table. drew savage reports. you don't always get what you want over the festive season, but manchester synergy. pep guardiola was confident. the first half at hull did not go to plan. given time, this tale of two cities up and up. then hull began to gain confidence and a foothold in the game. there was hope of lifting

the favourite thistlecrack claimed an impressive win in the big boxing day race at kempton park — theden by tom scudamore, thistlecrack charged clear on the final circuit to ease to victory ahead of cue card and silviniaco conti. it was only thistlecrack‘s fourth race over fences. it took them until boxing day, but bristol rugby have their first win of the premiership season, beating worcester 28—20. the table's bottom side played much of the match with ten men, but a hat—trick from tom varndell helped them close the gap on their opponents at the foot of the table to just two points. there were three derby matches in the pro12. glasgow ended a run of three straight defeats by beating rivals edinburgh 25—12 at murrayfield. cardiff blues beat newport and munster beat leinster in the day's other games. that is all of the sport for now. i'll be back at 0700, but now on breakfast, rebecca morelle looks back on the year in science, from the mission of a lifetime, this was the year british astronaut tim peake spent six months in space. to a colossal feat of engineering. in 2016, the world's

it was the younger of the two, the 11—10 favourite thistlecrack, with jockey tom scudamore on board,s. he is over safely. a brilliant hurdler. a brilliant chaser. what a win! tom scudamore waving at the crowd. meanwhile, the other top—class horses in behind him, fighting desperately for second. fantastic win for tom scudamore. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. russia has recovered some fragments of a military plane, which crashed in the black sea with 92 people on board. a huge search operation has been taking place near sochi where the aircraft had taken off from. the first of the bodies have this morning been airlifted to the russian capital. 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg reports. across russia, they prayed for the dead — for the 92 victims of yesterday's plane crash. there was a special service today in every orthodox church in russia. this is a day of national mourning. as a sign of respect, russian flags were flown at half—mast. this is thought to be the last picture ever taken of the tupolev154. a few hours later it crashed into the black se

thistlecrack. this kind of makes you. there are only five horses in this race. you're watching breakfast on bbc news. let's look at the papers. the broadcaster rob mccloughlin is here to tell us what's caught his eye. how you doing? merry christmas. i've got my credit card soldier. we can got my credit card soldier. we can go after the programme finishes. second additions these are because the news that george michael died came from about 11pm last night. she was 53. the front page of the mirror we did with that. a front—page of the times also about george michael. the times also about george michael. the main story is about from's trader chief saying that they will steal trade from the uk. the front page of the sun is also about george michael. george michael pop icon pass away yesterday. the front—page of the daily telegraph carries a picture of prince george. she is leaving the church service yesterday. she attended with his pa rents yesterday. she attended with his parents and sister. the main story says that charities and contract is profit from foreign aid

the younger of the two thistlecrack with jockey tom is good or on board took it ahead of last yea r‘s up the commentary now. commentator: tom is good or waving at the crowd. the other horses fight desperately for second place. they were the bit part players. a truly astonishing win. that is another spot for now, plenty more later on. back to the death of george michael. some of the biggest names in music — and fans from around the world — have been paying tribute to george michael, who's died at the age of 53. his manager says he suffered heart failure at his oxfordshire home. friends and fans have been sharing their memories. sir eltonjohn has led tributes. said from his former long—term partner, kenny goss. after news of the death of george michael, stories have been emerging, detailing his philanthropic and charitable work and we will hear from the actor and activist, emily mondo, who worked with george at a homeless shelter. tell us about it, it was about four yea rs tell us about it, it was about four years ago? why he wanted to do it and what sort of work he was doing. it was qu

after thistlecrack claimed the king george yesterday, native river was favourite for this one and hit13 left to jump. he held off a late charge from raz de maree to win at chepstow. bbc radio 5 live‘sjon hunt describes the closing stages. a famous victory again for the trainer, richard johnson in the saddle at what a performance by native river, winning the wales grand nationalfrom native river, winning the wales grand national from raz native river, winning the wales grand nationalfrom raz de maree. and absolutely splendid performance. a quick update from anfield, liverpool having to go back to second in the premier league. after going one goal down they now lead 4-1 with going one goal down they now lead 4—1 with a fourth goal from daniel sturridge. around 20 minutes left to play and a win would take them six points behind the leaders chelsea. that's all from sportsday. there'll be more sport here on bbc news throughout the evening. welcome back and you join us with breaking news that the actress best known for her role in star wars as princess leia, carrie fisher, has passed away.

such a wonderful story as well with thistlecrack.me now is 8:37am. as we have been hearing this morning from carol, today's whether expected to be mostly foggy and cold but the majority of us are yet to see the bitter temperatures you might expect this time of year. in fact, this winter has been pretty mouth so far, which has had a huge impact on the uk's wildlife. let's find out more from breakfast‘s tim muffett, who's at tyntesfield national trust estate, near bristol, for us this morning. inaudible temperatures generally have been pretty mild. hopefully you can hear what i'm saying right now, if you technical issues, but as we have been hearing, the impact weather has had on wildlife is something the national trust assess every year, and what impact has it been having this year? i have finding out. this year beef farmer rob havard made a while the sun shone. and was the rain came. and still his grass grows. we have seen a really good grass growth rate throughout the season. there was a lot of grass on the ground at the moment, and

this year's race was won by favourite thistlecrack with tom scudamore on board.d place, just over three lengths back. there are three matches today in rugby's pro 12, all of them derbies. cardiff blues saw off their south wales rivals newport gwent dragons 27—16. steven shingler scored the first try for cardiff and went on to set up another, as all the points were scored in the first half. elsewhere, edinburgh lost at home to glasgow. in ireland, leaders munster are currently behind against second placed leinster. and in the english premiership, tom varndell scored all three tries for bottom of the table bristol as they beat worcester 28—20. and that's your sport. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we are back with the late news at 10:40pm. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. goodbye. hello. this is bbc news, with lu kwesa burak. some of the biggest names in music have been paying tribute to george michael, who's died at the age of 53. his manager says he suffered heart failure at his 0xfordshire home. sir eltonjohn has

and favourite thistlecrack won the big boxing day race at kempton park, the king george vi chase.y three lengths. a great result for jockey tom scudamore. that's a great name, as well as smack thank you very much. that's all from me for this morning. charlie and sally will be back with breakfast from 6am tomorrow. now, though, mark kermode takes a look back at the big releases of the year, sorting the crackers from the turkeys, in review 2016: the year in film. hello and welcome to this review of the year in film. i'm mark kermode, and we're here at the cinema museum in south london where, for the next half an hour, we will be looking back at some of the best movies released in uk cinemas in 2016. 2016 was a pretty tumultuous year, what with the brexit vote in june, and the results of the american election in november proving that the unexpected really can happen. in the world of politics, uncertainty can be alarming. but when it comes to movies, it is the unexpected which really makes it all worthwhile. while the naysayers claim that movies today are just an endless slew of seque

tizzard's horse thistlecrack claimed the king george yesterday. that's all sport for now.e actress who has died at the age of 60. she shot to stardom as princess leia in star wars. her star wa rs princess leia in star wars. her star wars co—star, our —— harrison ford, has just wars co—star, our —— harrison ford, hasjust paid a wars co—star, our —— harrison ford, has just paid a tribute as well. harrison ford saying she was one of a kind who lived her life bravely. his thoughts are with her daughter, billy, her mother debbie, her brother todd and her many friends. we will all miss her. harrison ford, carrie fisher's star wars co—star, saying she was one of a kind. the government has defended its proposal to make some voters in england show id before casting their ballot, saying it will preserve the integrity of the electoral system against fraud. trials will be conducted using a range of methods during the 2018 local elections. but critics believe the pilot schemes could deter some people from voting. here's our political correspondent, carole walker. these were the scenes

year's winner, cue card, one of the sport's long—term stars, faces his up and coming stablemate thistlecrackose stories on the bbc sport website. you can keep up—to—date with football as well. go to final score. don't forget the football. i told you there was a love of sport. russia is holding a day of national mourning for the 92 people who were killed when a military plane crashed in the black sea. authorities in russia say they've located the site where the plane came down yesterday, soon after it took off from sochi, heading to syria. the first of the bodies have this morning been airlifted to moscow. 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg reports. across russia they prayed for the dead — for the 92 victims of yesterday's plane crash. there was a special service today in every orthodox church in russia. this is a day of national mourning. as a sign of respect, russian flags were flown at half—mast. this is thought to be the last picture ever taken of the tupolev 154. a few hours later it crashed into the black sea. the search operation continued today, not for survivors — there were n

last winner is facing his up and coming stablemate thistlecrack. 12 days have been knocked off the worlden minutes and 38 seconds. the previous record was set bya seconds. the previous record was set by a frenchman. he set off from france and has not slept for more than he was at the time. an amazing achievement. have a great boxing day. back in one hour's time. thank you, mike. millions of showers will hit the high street today millions of shoppers will hit the high street today as the boxing day sales get under way. the numbers are expected to be down from last year, with analysts saying that earlier discount events like black friday and cyber monday will affect post—christmas sales. an estimated £3 billion is to be spent at the tills today, with a further £900 million spent online. 0ur correspondent amy cole is at birmingham's bull ring shopping centre and has been speaking to the manager of selfridges. some people have been queueing here since have passed to this morning. they are hoping to write themselves a deal. i'm in selfridge's. you can forget the traditional boxing day, people

year's winner, cue card, one of the sport's long—term stars, faces his up—and—coming stablemate thistlecracko say, i've tweeted a link to that clip that we couldn't play with james corden. if you are on twitter, you can get it via my page. if you are not on twitter, we will be playing it in the next hour. russia is holding a day of national mourning for the 92 people who were killed when a military plane crashed in the black sea. authorities in russia say they've located the site where the plane came down yesterday, soon after it took off from sochi, heading to syria. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. this is one of the final images of the tupolev 154 jet. it was taken by a journalist before he boarded the plane. the flight would end in tragedy. the aircraft crashed into the black sea. the russians scrambled helicopters and ships, but the search became a recovery operation. there were no survivors. the plane had taken off from a military airfield near moscow. it flew south, stopping in sochi to refuel. the final destination was syria, and russia's airbase, near latakia. but m

after thistlecrack claimed the king george yesterday, native river was favourite for the welsh nationalaree to win at chepstow. bbc radio 5 live'sjon hunt describes the closing stages. richard johnson in the saddle. what a performance. native river has won the welsh grand national from bars to murray. that's all sport for now. i'll have more for you here later. thank you very much, steve. 29 turkish police officers are going on trial in istanbul, charged with involvement in july's failed coup. they're charged with seeking to overthrow the government. the trial is the most significant to date, with more than a—thousand indictments prepared. with 40,000 others in detention, these trials are set to be the most far—reaching legal process in modern turkish history. 0ur correspondent, selin girit, is in istanbul for us. how have the trials been going so far today? it has been a slow start, if we can call it as such, because we are talking about 29 police officers tried today. first, the indictments were read out and then their defences were read out. this is going to take years probably to co

year's winner, cue card, one of the sport's long—term stars, faces his up—and—coming stablemate thistlecracke you later. 50,000 people in england at risk of type 2 diabetes could be helped by an nhs programme that's being extended from today. the advice on better nutrition and exercise had already helped 20,000 people. it forms part of a package of new measures to curb type 2 diabetes, including funding for more specialist nurses. a former bank of england governor says the uk should leave the european single market when it exceeds the eu. —— exit the eu. mervyn king told radio 4's today programme that trading under the same conditions as countries on the continent could stop britain from taking full advantage of the opportunities of brexit. i don't think it makes sense for us to pretend that we should remain in the single market and i think there are real questions about whether it makes sense to stay in the customs union. clearly if we do that we can not make our own trade deals with other countries. later today japan's prime minister shinzo abe will visit pearl harbor, and on tuesday, he'l

we have the defending champion against the young contender, thistlecrack.s he has been in, unbeaten. and of course a big contender for the cheltenham gold cup. is it unusual there are only five? i think that is quite a low number, yes. it is a keenly contested race. iam yes. it is a keenly contested race. i am watching out for the stars of nxt! 0nly i am watching out for the stars of nxt! only one week away. thanks very much. train travellers are facing significant disruptions this week as 200 sets of engineering works planned by network rail take place. many people will be travelling by coach instead. graham satchell is at victoria coach station this morning, they imagine it is getting very busy day? hgppy day? happy boxing day! good morning. yes, very busy. it is one of the few transport hubs in the country operating a full pretty much normal service today. boxing day is very busy for people as they go out to visit relatives, or get to the sales. football fixture list as well today. but if you are trying to get a train today you will struggle. have a quic

after thistlecrack claimed the king george yesterday, native river was favourite for the welsh nationale charge from raz de maree to win at chepstow. bbc radio 5 live'sjon hunt describes the closing stages. richard johnson in the saddle. what a performance. native river has won the welsh grand national from raz de maree. in fifth place, katie walsh. it is still goalless at anfield between liverpool and stoke. five minutes played. you can keep up—to—date with all those stories on the bbc sport website. we will be here with sports day at 6:30pm. a senior police officer has defended the government's anti—extremism programme, known as prevent, saying some criticism of the initiative has been hysterical. simon cole, who is responsible for implementing the strategy, said prevent is absolutely fundamental in helping tackle terrorism. the national union of teachers called for it to be scrapped. but mr cole says prevent is succeeding with vulnerable people: what it's about is putting an arm around people who might otherwise face some difficult choices. the kind of cases that prevent teams are de

after thistlecrack claimed the king george yesterday, native river was favourite for this one and hit's all from sportsday. goodnight. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the political journalist, sean dilley and the parliamentary journalist tony grew. let's start with a look at tomorrow's front pages. the actress carrie fisher's death he at the age of 60 is the main focus of the independent. the paper also claims to have seen plans to topple unite union's chief len mccluskey. carrie fisher also makes headlines in the mailas carrie fisher also makes headlines in the mail as does new analysis from researchers that 80% of the middle aged pop laying in the uk are in bad health. the express also features new health figures, reporting that diabetes among the middle—aged has doubled. the telegraph claims that the armed forces are facing another round of cuts, partly due to the fall in the found t also notes transport disruption due to cold weather across the united kingdom. the times reports that the government will reform cha