Been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. And coming up in half an hour on bbc news, we take a look back at a busy year in the sporting world in review 2019 the year in sport. Hello, good evening. The queen has used her christmas message to say that she has been struck by the sense of purpose younger generations have shown in tackling issues like climate change. Her majesty also acknowleged that 2019 had been a bumpy year. It comes after a year of intense political debate about brexit, as well as a number of personal events affecting the royal family. This morning members of herfamily joined the queen in attending the annual Christmas Day service at sandringham in norfolk. Our royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell reports. Morning service at sandringham. Notable for who attended and who was absent. Making their first appearance, six year old Prince George and four year old princess charlotte. Absent from the main service, Prince Andrew. He decided to attend an earlier private service for the family. After the 11 oclock service, the queen headed back to sandringham house, where Prince Philip had remained after his discharge from hospital yesterday. That left the cambridges to lead the royal party greeting the crowds. A little daunting for george and charlotte, who havent done this sort of thing before. Unsurprisingly, they stayed close to their mum and dad as they received flowers and, for charlotte, a hug. In her christmas message, the queen spoke of her delight at the birth of her eighth grandchild, archie, who is currently in canada with his parents, the duke and duchess of sussex. Turning away from family matters, she acknowledged the efforts being made by young people to protect the environment. The challenges many people face today may be different to those ones faced by my generation. But i have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate. The main theme of the broadcast was the need for reconciliation. The queen recalled the 75th anniversary of d day lastjune. There was a lesson to be learned from it. By being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost. The queen said the need to seek harmony and understanding was at the heart of the teaching ofjesus christ. Many of us already try to follow in his footsteps. The path, of course, is not always smooth and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference. And it is those small steps, the queen said, which can bring about the most lasting change. That description of a bumpy year is almost certainly a reference to the divisions caused by the brexit debate. But theres no denying its been a difficult year too for the royal family. The queen, doubtless, will be hoping for a smoother passage in 2020, both for the country and for her family. Nicholas witchell, bbc news, at buckingham palace. And nicholasjoined me a little earlier and gave me more of his thoughts about her majestys message. I think it again underlines the importance to her of her own christian faith. She generally now refers to the teachings ofjesus christ and she weaves the message of reconciliation around his teachings. I think it also underlines the importance to her of the wartime generation of whom, of course, she is a part. The fact that in this 75th anniversary year of d day, she made reference to that, and again used that also around the theme of former sworn enemies, as she said, coming together, settling their differences, moving on and coming together 75 years after the end of the Second World War in peace and amity. I think that was the main message. The need for reconciliation and although she never mentions current political divisions, i think it is reasonable to suppose, as i was saying at the end of that piece, that that is the principal thought in her mind as she emphasises the need for the country to move on. And a thought about the reference to the bumpy year, that her own family. Difficulties there and we cant escape that. And we are none the wiser as to whether that was in her mind. When she talked about a bumpy year, was she talking personally or professionally, as it were, as head of state . Perhaps it is a mixture of both. It has been a difficult year for the royalfamily, as we have observed on a number of occasions now, and i suppose that was brought home again this morning with the nonattendance at the main service, the main Church Service at 11 oclock, of Prince Andrew. He chose to go privately to an earlier service which was also attended by members of the royal family. We can see him there, striding out across the fields with, i think, his elder brotherjust behind him and the two of them went together. Slightly misty so its not entirely clear. But i think that was a significant absence from the main service. Normally one would have expected to see Prince Andrew there with his two daughters, beatrice with her fiance, eugenie with her husband. But he chose not to because i suppose he recognises that he has now become a little bit of an embarrassment to the royal family at the moment. The spanish resort where a british man and his two children were found dead in a Swimming Pool have released a statement saying there were no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place. Its thought a nine Year Old Girl got into difficulties in the water at the Costa Del Sol resort, and her 16 year old brother and theirfather died after trying to help her. The Foreign Office says its helping a british woman. Nick quraishi reports. The Christmas Holiday that turned to tragedy in one of spains top tourist destinations. Police divers visible next to the pool which claimed the lives of the three family members. It is understood a nine Year Old Girl first got into difficulty in the water. Her 16 year old brother and father, who was 52, then jumped in to try to save her. Why none resurfaced from one of the many pools here is now the subject of a major investigation. Hotel firm clc world resorts, which runs the complex, released a statement. It said. It goes on. The firm says its helping the authorities fully with their investigations into the deaths, while the Foreign Office has confirmed its offering assistance to a british woman following what happened. Nick quraishi, bbc news. Our correspondent emily unia is following this story. Shes been telling me that, more than 2a hours since the incident, theres still little known about what actually happened. Very few details have emerged about this and we know the sequence of events, there was a nine Year Old Girl girl in a Swimming Pool, a big complex, 21 pools in all and she got into some kind of difficulty. Her 16 year old brother and 52 year old father both jumped into the pool to try to rescue her and they all died. That is all we know. We know the Emergency Services were on the scene and the people tried to resuscitate the victims and they did not succeed. Other than that, there is very little detail. We have heard some rumours circulating about the availability of lifeguards but we dont know whether there were lifeguards present at the time, or other life Safety Devices around so were still trying to establish a lot of the details but all we know for now is that a Christmas Eve tragedy occurred for a british family. A woman has died in a crash on the mi motorway. It happened last night on the northbound side, nearjunction12. It was one of two accidents on the motorway overnight with police from both hertfordshire and bedfordshire forces involved. Both the north and south bound carriages have now reopened. The woman who died has not yet been named. Religious leaders have been giving their traditional christmas addresses. In the vatican, pope francis said god loves everyone even the worst of us thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. The archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, talked about the darkness of the London Bridge attack. John mcmanus reports. Midnight mass at manger square, the place where, for christians, it all began just over 2000 years ago. And this year, a special link to the past a wooden fragment which the church says is from the manger ofjesus, back in the holy land after 1300 years. The holy family famously became migrants, fleeing from king herod to the relative safety of egypt. And at the vatican city today, pope francis once again repeated his concern for the plight of those forced to leave their homes. Translation it is an injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries. It is an injustice that forces them to endure unspeakable forms of abuse, enslavement and every kind of torture at inhumane detention camps. 0 come all ye faithful. In his sermon this morning at canterbury cathedral, the archbishop of canterbury who was recently in the war torn democratic republic of congo drew a link between the suffering there and the recent terror attack in london. Darkness is a monster that lies. Its growling claims seem to call out with a louder volume than the love filled whispers of light. We see the shadows out of the corner of our eyes they may be violence, as in the congo or on London Bridge. And there is one more christmas message, from british grime artist stormzy, reciting a passage from st lukes gospel. He was born on this day in the city of david, the saviour. He was the messiah. The story of the first christmas. Meanwhile, the dean of Westminster Abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. Speaking before the midnight service, dr david hoyle said he was hoping the nativity could unite people after years of political conflict. Our religion editor, Martin Bashir reports. This is the first Christmas Season for the new dean of Westminster Abbey, doctor david hoyle. An ancient cathedral where monarchs have been crowned and poets celebrated, it is at the heart of our nation, a nation that he says is bitterly divided. I see the divisions everybody else sees. I feel them. I get angry. And i get disturbed. I live in westminster where i bump into it all the time. We need some hope in all of this. I think weve become angry and i think weve become despairing. Doctor hoyle says that we need an intervention from outside and that the message of christmas offers the possibility of genuine engagement without hostility. Peace isnt the moment when the arguments stop. Peace is the moment when we can contain our arguments. And thats where we are really struggling at the moment, it seems to me. We cant enjoy our variety. You have to be this or that. I think the gospel suggests this and that, they are both god given. We can do this together. The story of a child refugee born in perilous circumstances is not the image depicted on most christmas cards. And yet, as the dean of this historic abbey makes clear, redemption and reconciliation are possible, though the task ahead is a challenging one. Martin bashir, bbc news. The australian prime minister, scott morrison, has praised his countrys firefighters in his christmas message. Hundreds of firefighters many of them volunteers have been battling bush fires in New South Wales which began in september. The public too have been showing their gratitude to the fire service, as shiamaa khalil reports from australia. Taking a brief christmas break before heading back to the fire front lines. Many of these firefighters have been working nonstop for weeks. Despite a lull in the weather, with cooling temperatures and predicted rain in some areas, the risk is not over. Teams brace themselves for hot conditions later in the week. The New South WalesRural Fire Service is the Worlds Largest volunteer organisation, with more than 70,000 members. Most are local volunteers who have taken on the task to project the rural communities. And many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. Just overwhelming support, like. Obviously all the presents and stuff for the kids. Thats just what they need at the moment. I havent even gone Christmas Shopping or anything for my daughter. Shes about to turn one in january, on the 11th. Just thank you, thank you very much. Last weeks catastrophic fires have been fuelled by record temperatures of more than 41 degrees. An extreme heat wave swept across the country, combined with strong winds and dry conditions. Australia has been fighting wildfires for months. The early start to the fire season is stretching already scarce water resources. Pictures of a thunderstorm in the North Eastern city of brisbane showed some respite in the hot weather. But firefighters say a lot more rain is needed in many more places, with not much forecast over the next few weeks. Shiamaa khalil, bbc news, in sydney. Hundreds of pro democracy protesters have held a rally in a hong kong Shopping Centre in the sha tin area. The city has seen Anti Government clashes over the past six months due to a controversial extradition bill. Protestors were seen putting up posters on walls which read, wwe have not won the revolution, we need to keep going. The time is 16 minutes past six. The headlines on bbc news. The queen has delivered her annual christmas message, highlighting the need for reconciliation in whats being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. The spanish resort where a british man and this two children were found dead in a Swimming Pool say there were no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place. In the vatican, pope francis says god loves everyone even the worst of us thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. A few different stories here now. A bakery in the uk claims to be the first in the country to make bread out of insects. Each of the loaves at roberts bakery in cheshire contains more than 300 crickets mixed into the flour. Eating insects can help boost nutrition and reduce pollution, according to a un report. Peter marshall reports. Theyre still is making the usual bread at roberts bakery. But there is a new batch in production where the key ingredient is this. Crickets. The bakery claims to be the first in the uk to make insect bread, a crunchy cricket loaf. We really want consumers to think about their food and where it comes from. And also about the impact that food is having on the environment and the world. This is our little way of saying to consumers, take the challenge. Try one of our loaves and see if you like cricket bread. Its not as unusual as you might think. The un estimates last year around the globe at least 2 billion people ate insects. Theyre a good source of protein. Producing them is less environmentally damaging than producing meat. When we grow crickets, we need a small land area but more importantly, crickets emit very little Greenhouse Gas. We know there has been a lot of discussion lately about animals and the impact they have on their Greenhouse Gas emissions. So that is the big sustainable credibility around crickets. I dont know who did the counting, but they reckon there are 336 crickets in each loaf. Although it is called crunchy cricket bread, it shouldnt be crunchy cos theyre ground down and mixed with wheat flour. However, can we convince the good people of northwich to give it a go . Its all right, though. It tastes disappointingly normal. Itjust tastes like nice brown bread. Give it a go. They reckon there are 336 crickets in each loaf. Thats nice. It tastes nutty. Youre disgusting you cant taste the crickets. If i can, they taste good. The first batch is only 100 loaves. Theyll await public reaction before deciding if crunchy cricket bread has a serious feature. Peter marshall reporting. But, disappointingly normal santa claus is known for travelling the globe in his sleigh, but over the last 2a hours, hes been spotted testing out some other modes of transport. Rebecca bailey can explain. Cheering. Swapping reindeer power for horsepower, santa claus wows spectators with his water skiing skills on the Potomac River in virginia. I thought it was really cool. It was really cool, it was definitely worth it. Santa and food and drinks you cant get better than that. Hes always had an incredible ability to defy the space time continuum, which could explain how, whilst all this was going on. Almost 600 santas were riding the waves at cocoa beach in florida. Looks like David Hasselhoffs got nothing on santa. Meanwhile, in kosovo, he was seen abseiling down the walls of a Childrens Hospital with batman, spider man and superman. Cheering. Also spotted injapan five paragliding sa ntas. But luckily, it looks like his love of extreme sport hasnt got any way of deliveries. Cheering. Merry Christmas Rebecca bailey, bbc news. Its the bookies favourite to be the most watched programme this Christmas Gavin and stacey is back on our screens with a one off special tonight. James corden has been telling our entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson why they decided to bring it back. Are you asking me to step in . What . Are you asking me to. Step into christmas we can watch the snow fall forever and ever. James corden, i never thought this would happen. Back on the set of gavin and stacey, what made you decide to do it again . It was more of a sense of i think ruth and i thinking, why dont we just explore it, see if theres anything there, if theres a story there, it would be interesting to see where they are. We didnt tell the bbc, we didnt tell any agents or anything, we just did what we did the first time around, really, which was sit in a room and talk about it and see what we have. We used the house up here as our sort of greenroom. And look to you find in any of these houses, it is ruthjones and joanna page, relaxing between scenes. I feel like i have walked into the show, this is very peculiar. Yeah, yeah. It is quite funny, were sort of like our characters, just gossiping. What are you reading . Mind your own business. For ruth and i there was very much a feeling of like, well, the time to do it is when you dont need to. The last thing we wanted the show to look like was a sort of emergency, break glass quest to get back on television orfor relevance somehow, you know . And so, look, it comes with a huge amount of pressure. Its a strange feeling but we hope people enjoy dipping back into their lives for a moment, you know . Theyre all hyped up about tomorrow, they are. Hyped up . How do you think i feel . We send each other Little Things like i heard someone say this today in the supermarket and i thought it would be something pam would say. You were as fascinated as the fans are . We are as interested as everybody else in it to see where it is at. We are lucky we get to find out first. Weve just been filming upstairs, its 101. Ha when people watch this they will go, oh, i remember, that was the hottest day of the year, thats what it is. Basically james is rushing around in the hot room and i am lying under a very synthetic, thick duvet. The thing with the show has always been trying to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, you know . Thats where the show was born from. Its that, like, something so small as two people, seemingly so small, as two people choosing to spend the rest of their lives together has a monumental impact on lots of other peoples lives. This is where we shot a scene the other day, the top of the stairs here. Matt and i. It was incredibly tight for space. We always want to try and shoot it in its surroundings. So the famous scene where gavin and stacey talk that they had been engaged. Was on this very doorstep. It was right here, on glendas doorstep. Ijust had a drink with your ex fiance. Oh, my god. How do you think i feel, stace . Was it clifford . No. Leyton . No. Howell . No, ahmed but hes moved to swindon hes home to see his mum. Its an iced, erm, oat latte. Its incredible. Theres been a lot of cold acting, isnt there . Kind of like. But only when you remember to do it. So theres gonna be some takes where people are going brr, and other takes where theyre like, ah. Here we go. Have you not got suncream on . No, i havent. You got it . I dont know what im looking at. Hello. Hang on, hang on. You are back here in barry island. Mm. When you think you have a us talk show, it mustjust blow your mind. Yeah, the trick is not to think about it too much. Because i think its dangerous to have a sort of rear view mirror and looking at the things youve done, you have to keep looking at the things that youre going to do or want to do. I think thats the trick to sort of holding yourself together and not perhaps starting to think that youre a bit more of a dude than you really are. Fan hello hello. Anywhere i dont care. Are you sure . Yeah, yeah im positive. Ill sign it. But do not get this tattooed. Whats going to surprise people about this . Surprises . There might be a couple. You might find some things that youve been wondering about, mostly all we want it to be is a joyful hour. Here we are, all set, ready, and action oh, my god, oh, my god stacey, would you kindly inform everybody that dinner will be ever so slightly delayed . Well done, ben. Could this become a regular thing, every ten years you revisit the characters . Oh, that would be a terrible idea. It definitely will not become a thing that happens every decade. I can guarantee you that. People might watch the special be like that was awful, why did you ruin it . and thats the pressure of it. They all like each other, our characters, really, they re really lovely bunch to be around. We love our characters, they are a lovely bunch so it will be nice to see them having Christmas Day again. That report from Colin Paterson. A look at the weather in a moment but before that, some news coming through from the metropolitan police in the last few minutes were saying that a man died last night, Christmas Eve, in south west london, in battersea at around nine oclock last night. Officers were called to shots being fired, reports of shots fired and police and Ambulance Services attended the scene where a man believed to be in his 30s was pronounced dead. A man shot dead in battersea in south west london yesterday evening at around nine oclock. That is all the details we have at this stage from the metropolitan police. Now its time for a look at the weather with ben rich. Hello. The weathers gift to us today was a lot of dry weather, many of us got to see a lot of sunshine. But through this evening, fog is likely to cause some problems across central, eastern and northern parts of england and also southern scotland. It could be quite dense for some but probably wont stick around all night long because we will see cloud rolling in from the west. The breeze strengthens so that fog should tend to lift. At the same time, we see rain pushing into northern ireland, parts of west wales and the south west of england. Turning milder here by the end of the night as well but another chilly one for scotland, a touch of frost in some spots here to take us into boxing day morning. As we go through the day, we will see these outbreaks of rain trundling north eastwards, maybe a bit of snow mixed in over the very highest hills of the pennines and up into scotland. Behind that rain band, we will see some spells of sunshine, some hefty showers and more persistent rain back in the far south west later on but mild here, 12 degrees in plymouth, cooler the further north you look but it turns milder for all of us as we head through friday and into the weekend. A lot of dry weather around but a bit of rain towards the north and the west. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines the queen highlights the need for reconciliation in her annual christmas message in whats being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. The spanish resort where a british man and his two children were found dead in a Swimming Pool say there were no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place. In the vatican, pope francis says god loves everyone, even the worst of us thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. Hundreds of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. Next, some of the biggest names in sport sit down to relive the key events of the year, including the cricket world cup,