and the series. euro 2017 strictly come dancing finalists. a record number of people tuned in to watch the strictly final last night — we'll discuss who waltzed away with the glitterball. and all the weekend weather. quite the next day, some areas called with some fog. further west, the next day, some areas called with some fog. furtherwest, rain the next day, some areas called with some fog. further west, rain moving in. —— some areas are cool. good morning. first, our main story. every worker aged 18 or over will begin saving into a workplace pension — unless they opt out. that's under government plans being unveiled today. at the moment, employers must enrol staff aged 22 and over into a pension plan if they earn more than £10,000 a year. ministers say they want to reduce the minimum age to 18 — a move that could affect around 900,000 young people. but the changes won't kick in until the mid 2020s, as our business correspondent joe lynam reports. olly browning is 21 and, like many young people, he hasn't started saving for his retirement. if the government has its way, he would soon be automatically enrolled for a pension at his company. it's not really crossed my mind yet. maybe i am a bit relaxed about the whole thing but i have always, especially in london, moved jobs quite frequently, i tend not to stay in one place too long, so pensions have always been low down the list of things i have been conscious of. at the moment, only those aged over 22 are automatically included in a pension scheme by their employers but this consultation could see that age lowered to 18. that could mean 900,000 additional people will be saving for their pensions. but, is that a good thing? it's important that people are educated about their options because if they don't understand what a pension is, they are far less likely to know what their rights are. to an 18—year—old, retirement must seem a very long way off. especially if they don't earn much and saving for a house is a lot more pressing. if this plan proceeds, it could help younger people financially in decades to come. joe lynam, bbc news. mps have expressed "serious doubts" that the ministry of defence will be able to afford all the new military equipment it plans to buy. a report by the commons defence select committee says the mod will struggle to make the necessary savings it needs to pay for newjets, warships and armoured vehicles, as ian palmer reports. she is the flagship of the royal navy. hms queen elizabeth, commissioned by her majesty the queen earlier this month. at 218m long, she has space for a0 jet planes but defence in this century doesn't come cheap. the biggest warship the british navy has ever had cost more than £3 billion. another aircraft carrier is being built in scotland. the ministry of defence wants to spend £178 billion on more military equipment over the next ten years but it has to make savings to achieve that goal. to do that it will have to sell buildings and make efficiencies. however, the defence committee is extremely doubtful the mod can make those savings from an already stretched budget. the committee says funding pressures will inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of warships, jets and armoured vehicles the mod can buy. the government is currently carrying out a defence review. it is widely expected to recommend more cuts. with the changing nature of and increase in global threats, it said britain needs to strengthen its armed forces but will the government have the cash to pay for it? ian palmer, bbc news. theresa may says the government is "proving the doubters wrong" with its brexit negotiations. she's written in two national newspapers, saying she won't be "derailed" from securing an "ambitious deal". let's speak to our political correspondent jonathan blake. jonathan, comments today not only from the prime minister but from the foreign secretary, too? first some stirring words from the prime ministerfor first some stirring words from the prime minister for anyone enthusiastic about brexit, taking this opportunity. two newspapers to remind us of her achievements, singling out citizens rights of something she was able to get what she wanted in amid getting on wrong and amidibenolsegetflngon! job. if? onto phase of brexit she exciting that is for it but ; forei . n $217, secretary an and regulatignsv-esi‘fijid diverged; could go from a member state to a we could go from a member state to a vassal state. that is the agreement at the heart of government about the end the of brexit. the cabinet will meet the this week to discuss that. police in australia have arrested a man suspected of being a north korean agent. 59—year—old chan han choi has been charged with trying to sell missile parts and technology on the black market to raise money for pyongyang. the case against mr chan, who has lived in australia for more than 30 years, is the first of its kind in the country. more people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in california, as raging wildfires continue to spread. flames have now reached santa barbara — home to many celebrities. the fire is the third largest in the state since records began. fresh northerly winds are expected to drive the flames towards the pacific coast. some of the conditions the firefighters were facing last night were where we expected the sundowners to hit between 2am and 4am. strong winds north pushing the fire back downhill. extremely gusty, cold and with relative humidity being low, it's a very hazardous firefight. the un security council is considering a proposal declaring that any decision to change the status ofjerusalem would have no legal effect, and would need to be reversed. it comes after president trump's controversial decision to recognise the city as the capital of israel. the proposal is likely to be vetoed by the united states. south africa's ruling party is set to elect a new leader to replace president jacob zuma. mr zuma is stepping down as leader of the anc ahead of the party's campaign for the 2019 general election, and he's faced several allegations of corruption during his decade in charge. our reporter milton nkosi is injohannesburg this morning. what's expected to happen today? what we expect today is the actual voting for the leaders, who will replace president zuma as head of the anc and potentially south africa's next president. the delegates are arriving, trickling in. we arejust delegates are arriving, trickling in. we are just over one hour delegates are arriving, trickling in. we arejust over one hour behind schedule. this is what the newspapers are saying today in south africa. there is only one story in town in south africa. look at the tabloids. this one normally doesn't carry any serious stories itself. this refers to nkosazana dlamini—zuma. all eyes are to the south of johannesburg. dlamini—zuma. all eyes are to the south ofjohannesburg. only dlamini—zuma. all eyes are to the south of johannesburg. only two credible candidates out of seven? del us about them. two have left the race. others will drop out. leaving cyril ramaphosa, negotiated to end white minority rule. he left for business and returned in 2012 and is the leading contender. he is up against dr nkosaza na the leading contender. he is up against dr nkosazana dlamini—zuma. the former wife of president zuma. to be fairto the former wife of president zuma. to be fair to her, that is not the only eventual, anti—apartheid activist, medical dr, from bristol university, more qualifications from liverpool university. those two adi leading contenders and we will hear later around 9am uk time. leading contenders and we will hear lateraround 9am uk time. —— leading contenders and we will hear later around 9am uk time. —— 7pm leading contenders and we will hear lateraround 9am uk time. —— 7pm uk time. severn trent water says most customers who were cut off in the tewkesbury area of gloucestershire have now been reconnected. 10,000 homes were left without water when a main burst on friday. the company said repairs to the pipe — which lies underneath flooded fields — had been difficult. the world's steepest funicular railway will open today in switzerland. it's cost £40 million and taken 1a years to build. its unique design allows the floors of the carriage to adjust to the slope of the mountain. but worry not, if you've not got a head for heights, the journey lasts just four minutes. ido i do not think i would fancy it. if you need inspiration for your christmas cake, take a look at this. a 6—foot edible nativity scene made by lynn nolan. as you would expect from something that they come it took six months, 240 by, 50 kilograms of marzipan and four litres of whiskey. i am laughing at the four litres of whiskey, it sounds great. what an impressive achievement. look at the size of it. auctioned on wednesday, all the money will be sent to a local primary school. four litres of whiskey! you must also be a lover of marzipan. maybe split it up. i will have the whiskey park. —— whiskey part. a labour of love. with a record two million people in the uk either problem gamblers or at risk of addiction, last year bookmakers introduced a scheme to try to help. known as the "multi—operator self exclusion scheme" — it aims to help gambling addicts by circulating their photograph and details to local betting shops, meaning they shouldn't be served by them. but an undercover report from bbc radio five live investigates has exposed the frailties of the scheme. we're joined now by its presenter, adrian goldberg. explain in theory at how the multi—operator self exclusion scheme should work. the multi-operator self exclusion scheme, we wanted to find out how that works in practice. we sent a reporter rob k undercover to grimsby, like a lot of poor northern towns, awash with betting. he filled out a form, said in a photograph and in theory should be banned from every mainstream betting shop in the country. the idea is his photographic identification is circulated. if he tries to place a bet, particularly in fixed odds betting terminals, effectively slot machines, up to £300 per minute, someone should tap you politely on the shoulder and say, sorry, you cannot comment. if you get a lot of people signing up, it is quite a challenge to put faces to names and ask people to leave. that is arguably the biggest flaw in the system. designed to be a national scheme but if people are travelling around from one part of the country to another are moving from one suburb to another or a major city and town, it can be difficult. the example in grimsby proves the point rather. he gave a grimsby address. 21 bookmakers he went into and attempted to play on the fixed odds betting terminals. in each of the 21 betting terminals. in each of the 21 betting shops. in 19 of them, even though his photograph should have been situated and had asked to celtic ‘s good, but in only two of the shops. —— asked himself the betting shops will have customers they are familiar with. they will know the faces. is it too much to ask to keep track of strangers? some say the betting industry is a clever and sophisticated industry, using all kind of algorithms for online gambling and so on. we found problems with people trying to self exclude from online gambling sites which you would think would be easier. under pressure from the regulator to make sure people who wa nt to regulator to make sure people who want to self exclude can self exclude. there are big questions to be asked about the responsibility of the gambling industry. the industry makes a lot of money from the repeat gamblers, especially fixed odds betting terminals making them money. is it in the interest? the association of british bookmakers say they take the issue of problem gambling seriously. senate, the independent organisation who administer the multi—operator self exclusion scheme, say n independent survey said 82% of people who chose to self exclude fund the scheme had been to their satisfaction. we found if you are a serious problem gambler, you want to self exclude but have elapsed, it is all too easy to carry on gambling. but have elapsed, it is all too easy to carry on gamblinglj but have elapsed, it is all too easy to carry on gambling. i suppose it is plausible that if you are a problem gambling you will go to another town where you are not known to feed your addiction. a small town like grimsby, you have 21 bookmakers. the idea people might only go to the local betting shop, you might go just a few doors down where you might not be known. what has the government said, under pressure to act? planning to introduce new exclusion schemes for online gambling. in general they do expect bookmakers to take their responsibilities to help problem gamblers seriously. thank you, an interesting story. you can hear more. you can hear more about this with adrian on 5live investigates from 11 o'clock this morning. and if you've been affected by addiction, help and support is available on our actionline website — bbc.co.uk/actionline. it's 8:17 and you're watching breakfast from bbc news. the main stories this morning... workplace pensions are to be automatically given to 18—year—olds — under new plans being unveiled by the government. mps say they have "serious doubts" the ministry of defence can afford all the new warships and jets it plans to buy. after the snow and ice advice we can from a different picture this morning. here's stav with a look at this morning's weather. it isa it is a mix. but not heavy snow like last weekend. disruptive for transport. this weekend, quieter but messy. rain spreading eastwards, some quite heavy across scotland and northern ireland. further east, cold, dry start with mist and fog to watch out for. a different situation from east to west. you can see the ice of bars are tightly packed. —— isobars. heavy across scotland the next few hours. clearing in northern ireland, drying up. sunshine appearing soon. the rain into north—west england, north and west wales, south—west england. temperatures lifting but south and east cold and dry. particularly until lunchtime. rain falling on cold surfaces, ice risk. sweeping eastwards, lifting temperatures but it will not feel like that because of the breeze, rain and a cold start. 10—11 but will not feel like that. north and west, scotland and northern ireland, sunshine returning after the rain. that will compensate. rain clearing from the east. dry night for most. light winds, clear skies, temperatures close to freezing in towns and cities in the north. frost in rural places with mist and fog. ice across the south east after temperatures drop and the rain clears. high pressure is the dominant feature for monday. starting the week on a dry and bright note. julie start, plenty of sunshine, light winds, not feeling too bad. cloud across the north and the west. temperatures in the south—west lifting slightly, single figures again on monday. that is the last cool air for a while. mild airforthe is the last cool air for a while. mild airfor the next is the last cool air for a while. mild air for the next few days. you will notice that, mild. but with the mild, moist air, will notice that, mild. but with the mild, moistair, bringing will notice that, mild. but with the mild, moist air, bringing a will notice that, mild. but with the mild, moistair, bringing a bottom club. some drizzle over western hills. given brightness across sheltered eastern parts, very mild indeed tuesday or wednesday. watch this space, you two. more later, grey and damp. i missed the crispy white stuff. you're watching breakfast from bbc news, it's time now for a look at the newspapers. poet and broadcaster ian mcmillan is here to tell us what's caught his eye. we'll speak to him in a minute. first let's look at the front pages. the sunday telegraph reports that the prime minister is confident she's silenced doubters in her cabinet, after securing britain a deal in the first stage of brexit negotiations. the sunday times on the other hand quotes the foreign secretary borisjohnson, who says theresa may should do more to maximise the benefits of brexit by making sure britain has the power to scrap eu laws. a sense this morning that different factions within the cabinet making their voices heard. the observer, highlights our top story today about new plans to extend automatic pension enrolment to people aged 18 and over. currently only applies to people 22 and over. and the mail on sunday highlights another example of the abuse mps and their families face from online trolls. after an incident in the house of commons. the prime minister tweeted late last night — saying the threats were "unacceptable". disgusting. a big week but so much in the headlines. ian mcmillan, welcome. what have you picked out? this one in the observer. where theatre gets performed, what it can do. a couple of young men took a theatre show to the calle so—called jungle. —— calais. theatre and arts can make you think hard in times of despair. reflecting back to ourselves. politicians think on it. culturally we should think on it. theatre can go to places where maybe it wouldn't be expected to go, come back and show us what it saw. this from inside the mail on sunday. the boss of the entertainer toy shop stores remaining closed on christmas eve, always closing out of a sunday —— closing on sunday out of respect to his staff. it will not change. interesting because you imagine harassed parents rushing to the shops as some do on christmas eve, it is shut. amazing moments. the opposite of miracle on 34th st. then you think, why not? shop workers working christmas eve, a brief respite to get surgery done them and backin respite to get surgery done them and back in on boxing day. —— get turkey done them. i will alter the calendar a bit, he says. lost sales could cost them £2 million. but people might respect the decision and go in afterwards. and making a difference for the staff? lost sales, gained a jov- for the staff? lost sales, gained a joy. and free advertising! you love your words. are do a stickler for grammar? i love the self appointed grammar? i love the self appointed grammar police. they have told off a chef for using the wrong there rather than there. fish don't evolve into humans, it is an evolving thing. actually, i think you are find, i am right. talking about good writing, but they always put the other person down. my personal view is that the' will be deadin personal view is that the' will be dead in 15 years. bold words. do basic mistakes to know you? sometimes, barnsley‘s defensive mistakes. the grammar police cannot solve that! you have delved inside the newspapers. 1903, what happened on this day? on this day, the first powered flight took place with wilbur and orville wright. it only flew from here to the christmas tree with breeze blocks but that began the 20th and 21st centuries. it is like macbeth's blasted heath. i am so pleased i found like macbeth's blasted heath. i am so pleased ifound it. we should celebrate. i might try and fly when i get home across my garden. my yorkshire pudding. where do you stand on yorkshire puddings at christmas dinner? we have 11 people. i will have to make the batter with my special wrist action which people talk about all over the north of england. early on christmas morning. the first year we have had a fully functioning kitchen, we have lots in reserve because who knows how it will turn out. and betty aunt bessie? though, there is a time and it pays for yorkshire puddings and christmas dinner is not one of them. come to mind. have a happy christmas. hello, this is breakfast with ben thompson and rachel burden. coming up before 9am, stav will have the weather. a bit ofa a bit of a mixed picture at there. but first, a summary of this morning's main news. every worker aged 18 or over will begin saving into a workplace pension unless they opt out. that's under government plans being unveiled today. at the moment, employers must enrol staff aged 22 and over into a pension plan, if they earn more than £10,000 a year. ministers say they want to reduce the minimum age to 18 by the mid—2020s — a move that could affect around 900,000 young people. mps have expressed serious doubts that the ministry of defence will be able to afford all the new military equipment it plans to buy. a report by the commons defence select committee says the mod will struggle to find the money it needs to pay for newjets, warships and armoured vehicles. the department says it's making good progress towards making £7.3 billion worth of savings. theresa may says the last ten days have marked a watershed in the uk's departure from the european union. writing in the sunday telegraph and the sunday express, the prime minister says she will not be derailed from securing an ambitious brexit deal. meanwhile, the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has told the sunday times that it's vital the uk doesn't mirror eu laws in the long term. police in australia have arrested a man suspected of being a north korean agent. 59—year—old chan han choi has been charged with trying to sell missile parts and technology on the black market to raise money for pyongyang. the case against mr chan, who has lived in australia for more than 30 years, is the first of its kind in the country. south africa's ruling party is set to elect a new leader to replace president jacob zuma. mr zuma is stepping down as leader of the anc ahead of the party's campaign for the 2019 general election. he's faced several allegations of corruption during his decade in charge and there are fears that bitter infighting could split the party. more people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in california, as raging wildfires continue to spread. flames have now reached santa barbara, home to a number of celebrities. the fire is the third largest in the state since records began. fresh northerly winds are expected to drive the flames towards the pacific coast. severn trent water says most customers who were cut off in the tewkesbury area of gloucestershire have now been reconnected. 10,000 homes were left without water when a main burst on friday. the company said repairs to the pipe which lies underneath flooded fields had been difficult. the american defence department has acknowledged that it ran a secret programme to investigate ufos. a pentagon spokeswoman said the project ended in 2012. documents describe sightings of objects speeding through the skies or hovering with no visible signs of life. the new york times claims the programme had a budget of £15 million a year. that is your news this morning. now the voice of doom returns. that is your news this morning. now the voice of doom returnslj that is your news this morning. now the voice of doom returns. i am sorry! i hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is all i have got! you say it with such a smile on your face. not going well for england, thatis face. not going well for england, that is an understatement. they have to see out the final session on day four, and our left, they will not want to lose any more wickets, and they will have to try to see out tomorrow, very difficult, especially after what australia produced in the first innings. let us produced in the first innings. let us bring you the story of the day. england's hopes of retaining the ashes fading fast. there were some long—awaited australian wickets first thing but it feels like little consolation. mitchell marsh didn't add to his 181 overnight. and aussie captain steve smith was out for 239 eventually. he declared their first innings on 662—9, a lead of 259. england lost mark stoneman early on and then alastair cook went as well — caught and bowled byjosh hazelwood. england captain joe root was the third man out to nathan lyon's first ball of the day. james vince did make a half century but was bowled by a great ball from mitchell starc. england 122—4. defeat is looking likely and it would leave them 3—0 down and hand the ashes back to australia. manchester city showed their unstoppable best yesterday, thumping tottenham 4—1, to make it 16 wins in a row. they are now 14 points clear at the top of the premier league, for the time being at least. james burford was watching all of yesterday's action. the rain may be falling in manchester but so are the records. this winning run that city are on, 16 games, is the longest in english top division history. tottenham are not used to being dismantled like this but no team seems impervious to pep guardiola's players. the boss knows his next target — beating the 19—game winning streak he managed at bayern munich. that's happened because i was with three amazing clubs. barcelona, bayern munich and this one. all three clubs, they support me and all the decisions we believe and they provide me with outstanding players. without good players and club support, your ideas, it is impossible to achieve these kinds of things. such is being made of city's form, nobody seems to be noticing that chelsea won eight of their last ten. marcus alonso's winner against southampton set them level on points with second—placed manchester united. arsenal, meanwhile, made it 13 wins out of 14 home games thanks to mesut ozil's rocket against newcastle. they drop into the bottom three, without a win in nine premier league matches. obviously, keep working this way. after, we can get the results, totally different. and then try to go to january and bring some addition and that will give a lift to the rest of the team. crystal palace, on the other hand, jump out of the relegation zone, scoring their first league away goal since april in a 3—0 win at leicester. roy hodgson then battling through the pressure. someone in the spotlight is mark hughes — his position as stoke manager is under threat. the 3—0 defeat against west ham leaves his side hovering just two points above the relegation zone. who knows what records manchester city will break this season. it's not even christmas yet and already they are 14 points clear. aberdeen are up to second in the scottish premiership, narrowing the gap on leaders celtic to just two points. gary mackay—steven scored a hat—trick in their 4—1 victory over hibs who hadn't lost at home since march. elsewhere, there were wins for dundee, hamilton, kilmarnock and stjohnstone who won in the league at ibrox for the first time since 1971. it's a pivotal weekend in rugby union's champions cup with the second of the pool stage double headers going some way to decide who will make the quarterfinals. bath got revenge for their late defeat to toulon last weekend by beating the french side 26—21 in a thrilling game at the rec. that win moves bath above their opponents to the top of pool 5. scarlets are back in contention to qualify from the same pool. they sit third, a point behind toulon, after beating benneton 31—12 in italy. premiership champions exeter have their work cut out to qualify after dropping to third in pool 3, after letting a 14—point lead slip at leinster. at one stage, the chiefs led 17—3, but luke mcgrath's late try sealed a comeback for the home side in dublin. leinster stay top of the group and look sure to go through. two of the tournament's surprise packages will contest snooker‘s scottish open final this afternoon. neil robertson beat the home favouritejohn higgins 6—3 to set up a meeting with the world number 67, china's cao yupeng, who stunned judd trump earlier in the day. robertson has fallen outside the world's top 16 recently, but has been in much betterform in glasgow. gary anderson is into the second round of darts pdc world championship. the 2015 and 2016 winner easily overcame jeff smith in straight sets, hitting seven 180s along the way at ally pally. later today, james wade and dave chisnall start their first—round campaigns. with the winter olympics on the horizon, some of britain's athletes are continuing their preparations across europe. andrew musgrave took bronze in the 15km freestyle at the cross country world cup in italy. while britain's women's bobsleigh team finished 10th in their latest race in austria. the team have done well to even make it to these race meetings though, having secured most of their funding this year through crowdfunding appeals. britain's olympic and world champion adam peaty has won his fair share of medals in his time and it would appear he's got so many he's happy to give a few away. after winning gold in the 100m breaststroke at the european short course championships, he took his gold medal over to a very lucky young girl in the crowd. he has got a fair few, perhaps he has got a fairfew, perhaps he can spare one or two! very nice. inspiring the next generation. we will keep an eye on her! thanks very much. nice to see you. the christmas season is a time forjoy and celebration for many, but for those who've lost a loved one, it can be one of the most difficult periods of the year. so, what's the best way to cope if you're one of the millions who'll have to deal with grief this christmas? we'rejoined by linda magistris who lost her partner, graham, three years ago and is the founder of the good grief trust. nice to see you. we were speaking earlier, for people who were not with us then, explain your story and why you founded the charity. we were together for why you founded the charity. we were togetherfor eight years why you founded the charity. we were together for eight years and three yea rs together for eight years and three years ago he died of a soft tissue sarcoma. when he died, i was struggling, i thought i was going crazy. i went to my gp but sadly i was not signposted to the charity that actually could have helped me, nobody seemed to know it existed which i thought was mad. something that could really benefit me was out there and i did not know about it. i thought, this needs to change. we have brought all of the services, the local, regional and national charities, support groups, phone lines, together under one new website, good grief trust, everybody will be able to go there, if you have lost a child, parent, sibling, friend, there is support for you, for your particular circumstance which is key. we have to find targeted support for these people and people like me. how do you feel as christmas is approaching? is it now period you can look forward to with a sense of sadness, with dread, anxiety? well, the first year was pretty awful, but the second year, for lots of people who lose someone, it is even worse because they are further away from you. for me, i am very busy with the charity, to be honest. graham is with me every day of the week, he is with me, i speak to him, for me, it is a comfort. we wa nt to him, for me, it is a comfort. we want other people to be able to find each other and for me peer support is really key and it is really good for other people. a time when people get together and talk about family, you were saying you should talk about the loved one who has died, keep their name alive, their presence. it will not upset the person who has been bereaved. absolutely. can i read this again? on our facebook, it has reached 40,000 people yesterday, if you know someone who has lost a very important person and you are afraid to mention them because you think you may make them sad by reminding them they died, you will not reminding them, they didn't forget they died, what you are reminding them of is that you remember that they lived and that is a great gift. this is what we need to get out there, talk about that person who has died. a lot of people getting in touch this morning. thank you for your messages. beverly says, many people send cards at this time of year without naming the person who died, as if they have forgotten, it can be very upsetting. similar thing from paula, 17 years since she lost her mum, but it is good when someone remembers, says her name, what a beautiful woman she was, wonderful when other people remember her too. another quote, it is ok to miss them, it is ok to say their name, it is ok to cry, laugh, breathe deeply, smile when you think of them. it is 0k, smile when you think of them. it is ok, whatever you do, it is ok. people have responded in different ways in terms of celebrating christmas. for example, we lost mum to cancer this year. very sad dealing with her absence especially at this time but yesterday all five of her children and grandchildren gathered at her empty house and put up gathered at her empty house and put up her try one last time. another, christmas is a very special time but i cannot do it, even the tree, every bauble, it reminds me of him. her husband, kevin. it is about working out how you can manage it in the way best for you. do not please other people. there are no rules with grey. please do not think you have to go this way, that way. —— there are no rules with grief. find a support group. we have to good grief trust card which will be crucial, going out across the country in the new year and that will signpost every person who need support to the website. please look out for that. for people who have children, there isa for people who have children, there is a tendencyjust to get through christmas for the children. maybe the parents put themselves last. any advice? goodness, just tried to just really be as resilient as you can be. do not put your own grief aside because you will need the support yourself as much as your children. please do go and find it eventually, when it is ready and you are ready because nobody can rush you, there is no timeline for grief, do not let anyone say, you should do this. it is your grief and no one elseelse's. some really moving messages of how you are going to cope this christmas. thank you for sharing them. this is where we say goodbye to ben, he is going to read the news on the andrew marr show. how is the weather looking? it is looking very mixed. a bit of a disappointing afternoon as the rain reaches england and wales. across eastern areas, pretty dense fog around, central, southern, south—eastern areas. watch out, problematic for the next few hours. some of the rain starting to push into the cold air in northern england and scotland producing an ice risk. that will lift at 11. by penny, rain across scotland, heavy bursts, north—west england, north—west wales —— by 10am. very cold in the fog, temperatures below freezing even across norwich at around ten, 11 a. the ice warning, watch out for that, rain will move eastwards. falling eventually into the south—east where it will remain chilly. double figures in the south—west. but it will not feel like that because of the wind and the rain. sky is brightening up over scotla nd the rain. sky is brightening up over scotland and northern ireland. the rain clears overnight and a dry picture overnight with clear skies, light winds, chilly, touch of frost in places, little bit of mist and fog. cloudy in the south—west, temperatures around 6 degrees in plymouth. the ridge of high pressure with a starting the week, a fine day on monday, plenty of sunshine, cold start, little bit of frost, but that should clear, lots of sunshine. more cloud for northern and western scotland, northern ireland, south—west of england. bit breezier here too. it will feel cool but at least you have the sunshine to compensate. after monday, we lose the blue—collar than the milder air makes inroads off the atlantic. —— we lose the blue colours. barely any sunshine. we could see the can of cloud for spots of rain, mainly over western hills. back to you. thank you very much. should mobile phones be banned from the classroom? the french government has announced plans to do just that. from next year, children aged between six and 15 in france will be allowed to take the devices to school, but they won't be able to use them — even during breaks. so is a ban on phones something we should try in the uk? we've been asking some of you what you think. different schools will have different policies. ido i do not think it would work, to that degree because we all need them for safekeeping. it is not i object to it, it would be incredibly difficult to administer, people would say that schools have lost their phones. i do not think it is fairon the their phones. i do not think it is fair on the schools. i think it is a nice idea. if the parent needs to get in touch, they can call the school. maybe more support in school around why you do not want them in lessons and do not have them on show as opposed to a ban.|j lessons and do not have them on show as opposed to a ban. i do not think anyone would be happy because most of us spend half the day on our phones. it is nice to have this certainty that i can reach her whenever there is a calamity, but it is foolish, actually. from a pa re nt‘s is foolish, actually. from a parent's point of view, it allows us to keep in touch in emergencies. that is a really bad idea! we are joined now bya by a headteacher you might remember him from the tv series educating greater manchester, and by the school ‘s operation manager. greater manchester, and by the school 's operation manager. tell us what you do? we really wanted to have a conversation with staff and the students about how we could deal with it in the most sensible way and when we started to have that conversation, there was a split in the staff, some people think they are destruction, other people said, actually, 2017, it is a learning tool —— think they are a distraction. we have a middle ground, red, green sign. if the green sign is up, the students can use mobile technology when they are allowed to do so. the red sign is up, they are not allowed to. what about between lessons? they are allowed to use them at break times. social media texting, anything they like? anything within reason. we help them to monitor how they use it because we feel schools are very well placed to help them use it appropriately and responsibly. if we do not duguid, who will do it? you took a different approach? that is individual choice. —— if we do not do it, who will do it? we are quite traditional in terms of standards and expectations that we have taken the approach we have an agreement with pupils and parents, fully informed as to why we have this agreement in place, we understand the pupils want them about their person because parents generally wa nt person because parents generally want them to have the mobile phone in terms of getting into school, leaving school, but when they crossed the red line to come into school, they are switched off and out of sight. we do not want to see them, we do not want to hear them, but they have them, if they need them on the way back. it is about respect, preparing them, we think they get a lot of education in terms of using mobile phones and it can be a distraction and we do not want that responsibility of potentially... imagine a pe class, 120 pupils, four classes at once, while handing in their mobile phones. we manage it alongside the stu d e nts phones. we manage it alongside the students and create systems to allow that to happen. we are constantly reviewing it. some research comes out, the best school, we were talking about this earlier, the best schools constantly look at practice, the latest research, what is the best thing to do for young people? we are very much of the mind, who will teach young people how to use these devices? education is abrupt preparing young people notjust for work but for life —— education is about. i have just work but for life —— education is about. i havejust had my work but for life —— education is about. i have just had my eldest start secondary school, a whole new world for me, her homework, messages coming through about homework, it is all online, they pick it up on their phones. presumably you have that as well? absolutely. we even develop learning apps. in school, we are keen on creating equality of access and aspiration and we feel that another tension... a lot of our pupils come from less affluent areas andl pupils come from less affluent areas and i think taking out your mobile technology in class, it gives it another opportunity for pupils to compare and contrast between the havess and there have nots. everyone at school has a better phone than my daughter! every kid at school has a better phone than me! i remember when i started teaching which was around 20 years ago now and i was challenged because i was using vhs videos. radical! it was at the time. some people probably watching this morning will go, what are those? i do not think anybody would think it was a bad idea but i was challenged about that, vhs videos helping learning, creating the best learning environment possible. i am nervous that perhaps in a few years time, we might be in the same position saying, what, we were not using mobile technology? fascinating. that is not an easy way to settle it. i appreciate you both coming in and talking to us. enjoy your christmas holidays. you too. you deserve it. we should warn you, if you haven't watched the strictly final yet, you might want to make yourself busy for the next few minutes. last night, after months of rigorous training — and spray—tanning — joe mcfadden and his partner, katya jones, were crowned champions of this year's strictly come dancing. the former holby city star swept his way to the glitterball trophy with a doctor zhviago themed viennesse waltz, a quirky charleston, and a magical cinderella showdance. let's have a look at some of last night's highlights. ladies and gentlemen, your 2017 strictly come dancing finalists... # and if it's quite all right # i need you baby...# how you keep a smile on your face when you are upside down with that one hand between your legs... let me say, if i had an 11 paddle for that fleckerl, you would be getting an 11. # rolling, rolling on the river...# it really is an instant classic, it's my favourite dance of the season. # you're making my dreams come true # give it up...# you come out there, you lift that leg, you look with that fierce face... # you can't keep a good girl down # do—be—do—be—do. ..# the perfect end to a great final. i can now reveal the strictly come dancing champions 2017 are... joe and katya. cheering and applause he was the hotly tipped favourite and in the end he went on to win, but all the performances last night we re but all the performances last night were absolutely stunning. that speak to the strictly champion and professional dancer karen hardie. good morning, everybody. what a night! radio times tv critic francis taylor here too. what did you make of it? the most viewed series of strictly which seems incredible. absolutely phenomenal. i never cease to be blown away by how strictly comes back bigger and better than before and just when you think it cannot do it, it does. this year we have had record viewing figures of 11 million people per episode. when you consider today the fact linear traditional tv viewing is on the decline, it is staggering this amount of people gather around the tv every saturday night. bucking the trend. from a professional point of view, what did you think about the standard of the dances last night? what intrigued me, we all missed had two finals, debbie and alexander with what we have said over the series, maybe dance experience in the background —— alexandra. and a whole competition going on between those two. and gemma atkinson and joe, we are in the final? what goes on behind—the—scenes, the professionals, they are going, come on! one more dance! that is the magic, the camaraderie, teamwork. let's get to the finish line, get the trophy. magical. the ridiculous salsa left, the mind still boggles how debbie managed to do that! —— the ridiculous salsa lift. how exhausting is it being part of the show? it is a long show, three, four months. every day, your training. show? it is a long show, three, four months. every day, yourtraining. on top of it, the final, the adrenaline. you could feel the adrenaline. you could feel the adrenaline from the professionals and celebrities, any of those lifts, ido and celebrities, any of those lifts, i do not think i have ever seen so many lifts in a final, in a salsa, viennese waltz, show dances. one of those could have easily... we could have had a hand slip, anything. adrenaline and determination and commitment and chasing the glitter ball down, no one was going to put a foot wrong and we were not left disappointed. the show dance, including a brilliant costume change, i love amid dance costume change, i love amid dance costume change, what was interesting is every year you look at the strictly line—up and you think, nothing much of interest here, but the chemistry between the contestants, it really worked. absolutely. that is what happened this year, at the start, a few headlines saying, we're not sure who these people are. it does not matter at all because we get to know these people and celebrities over these people and celebrities over the weeks and we grow to love them and gemma, very deserved winner. a lot of the best moments have not been to do with the dances, more to do with the judges —— and joe, very deserved winner. and when there was bruno tonioli missing from the panel, tv moment for me, falling off the chair. i cannot get enough. surely has been a fantastic addition. let us hope she signs for another series. i wish we had longer to talk. come back next year. thank you so much. that is it from us today. dan and naga will be here tomorrow morning from 6am. have a lovely weekend. goodbye. and happy christmas from me as well. goodbye. this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. six people have been killed and a seventh is critically injured after a multi—vehicle crash in birmingham, west midlands ambulance service have said. plans to automatically enrol hundreds of thousands of young people in workplace pensions for the first time, to help them save for retirement. i think especially in london, moved jobs quite frequently, tend not to stay in one place too long, so pensions have always been lower down the list in things i've been conscious of. a new leader of south africa's ruling anc party is expected to be announced today — after years of scandal and corruption. england's ashes hopes are fading — captainjoe root one of the men out