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Is Birmingham Airport open as snow closes runways across UK?

If you happen to’ve acquired a flight booked for immediately, you may be questioning if the runway is open and if the airport remains to be permitting passengers to reach.

Right here’s what we all know concerning the present state of affairs at Birmingham Airport.

Is Birmingham Airport open?

Sure, Birmingham Airport is open on the time of writing. Nonetheless, it did briefly shut by means of the night time on Sunday.

Birmingham Airport closed in a single day with its X account telling passengers at midnight that it could be a brief closure, lasting “a minimal of two hours”.

Simply after 3am, it issued one other replace telling passengers that the runway had been re-opened “after snow clearing”.

It added: “The airport is working along with airline and dealing with agent to get passengers on their method following the #snowclosure.”

Birmingham Airport’s newest replace posted to X says: “On account of resilience groups working all through the night time, the beginning as much as the schedule stays enterprise as normal.


Winter security suggestions: Keep heat, secure and wholesome


Really useful studying:

“Passengers travelling to the airport are suggested to permit loads of time, we are going to proceed to replace passengers all through the morning.

“Please test our web site and along with your airline for the newest flight info.”

It offered two web site hyperlinks – one for departures and one for arrivals. The web site and X account will hold passengers up to date.

West Midlands: Weather warnings remain in place as snow hits region

Concern of floods in Staffordshire as snow begins to softenprinted at 13:50 Greenwich Imply Time 5 January

Simon Humphreys
BBC Radio Stoke

Picture caption,

Children take to the slopes in Brough Park in Leek, Staffordshire

The chief of Staffordshire County Council, Alan White, has instructed us he is involved about flooding as snow on the bottom melts and turns to slush.

“We at the moment are shifting on… to an amber
warning for flooding as a result of as that snow melts, the surplus water begins to run
off and we now have obtained to keep watch over how that water is managed,” he stated.

“We hope
to see that water run off in a managed method however, as all the time with these
issues, we now have simply obtained to maintain a watch out.”

Councillor White stated gritting groups had labored by means of the evening and thanked native farmers for ploughing roads on the Leek Moorlands.

Elsewhere, youngsters have been having fun with sledging in Brough Park in Leek – a “legendary” spot in keeping with one participant.

‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ Creator Was 81 

Britt Allcroft, the British author, director and producer who steered the animated locomotive Thomas the Tank Engine to tv 40 years in the past en path to launching a beloved, profitable franchise, has died. She was 81.

Allcroft died on Christmas Day in Los Angeles, her daughter, Holly Wright, informed The New York Occasions.

Thomas the Tank Engine was created by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry in a sequence of Forties kids’s books (he primarily based the practice on a wood toy made for his son). Allcroft’s first adaptation, which she financed by mortgaging her home, was a 26-episode sequence that bowed in 1984 on ITV within the U.Ok. as Thomas the Tank Engine & Buddies.

Allcroft picked Ringo Starr to function Mr. Conductor, the light present’s first narrator, and the Beatles drummer can be adopted by the likes of George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Pierce Brosnan.

Thomas rolled into the U.S. on PBS in 1989 because the spinoff Shining Time Station, created by Allcroft and American producer Rick Siggelkow. In 1996, she created one other spinoff, Mr. Conductor’s Thomas Tales.

Allcroft additionally was behind Magic Adventures of Mumfie, an animated sequence about an elephant that was impressed by books written by Katharine Tozer. It bowed in 1994.

Born on Dec. 14, 1943, in West Sussex, England, Hilary Mary Allcroft landed a job with the BBC when she was 19. She went on to work for Southern Tv and type her personal manufacturing firm to launch TV and stage exhibits.

She found Thomas in 1979 whereas she was making a documentary on British steam trains, and it will take her 5 years to get her present with the character up and operating.

British firm Hit Leisure purchased her firm in 2002, and Mattel in flip acquired Hit in 2012 as a part of a $680 million deal. Allcroft later wrote, directed and produced the 2000 movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

Survivors additionally embody her son and her grandchildren.

Thomas the Tank Engine within the 2016 particular ‘Thomas and Buddies: The Nice Race.’

Common/Courtesy Everett Assortment

Ilona Maher draws record crowd on Bristol bow but Gloucester spoil party | Premiership Women’s Rugby

Premiership Girls’s Rugby has by no means seen a debut like Ilona Maher’s for Bristol Bears. The membership greater than doubled their file attendance with the 9,240 supporters additionally breaking the group file for a standalone PWR regular-season match. Maher’s presence was the reason for the inflow of followers with the fixture in opposition to Gloucester-Hartpury moved to Ashton Gate from Shaftesbury Park after the USA worldwide’s signing was introduced in December.

Such is the Maher impact that the sport was broadcast internationally, together with the US and New Zealand. Supporters needed to wait to see the 28-year-old in motion as she began from the bench however she entered the fray within the 61st minute to a deafening roar. She made an awesome hit on Rachel Lund as her first motion on the pitch however Maher, who was enjoying 15s rugby for the primary time since 2021, didn’t obtain a cross. It was additionally not the end result she or Bristol would have needed as Gloucester upset the social gathering with a bonus-point win over their rivals.

After spending greater than an hour signing autographs post-match, Maher mentioned: “It’s attention-grabbing, it is extremely totally different from sevens. Sevens is a really fast little battle. Sevens is a battle and 15s is a battle, it carries on in so many moments. The ball goes this fashion, we finish the half up after which it shifts the opposite means. I feel it was robust on the market.

“I used to be simply making an attempt to look at and perceive; OK Ren [Reneeqa Bonner], Millie [David] are doing this, what do I have to do once I get in? I feel every sport I’m going to be taught increasingly. You do be taught lots by shedding but in addition it places a hearth below you for the following sport.”

Pre-match the bottom was abuzz with Maher fever and two hours earlier than kick-off followers had been already beginning to arrive. Overheard conversations had been all concerning the membership’s star signing and among the many file crowd had been a bunch of gamers from Macclesfield RUFC, who drove over 120 miles for Maher.

Numerous supporters had been attending their first rugby sport, together with fan Tally Bevis. Initially from Nashville, Tennessee, however finding out a graduate diploma at College School London, Bevis travelled to Bristol simply to see Maher and has been following the participant for the reason that buildup to the Paris Olympics.

Bevis, who was carrying a brand new Maher Bristol shirt, mentioned: “I knew this might be doubtlessly the primary sport she might play [but] I actually didn’t thoughts if she performed or not, I simply knew she can be right here and I needed to help the group she had joined. She is so viral, cool, actual and humorous on-line that it felt pure for me to leap on a prepare, order a jersey and get to the sport.

“I’m so excited to see a brand new sport. I really like the truth that an American lady is coming to the UK to hone her craft, to get higher and try to obtain much more. Some individuals would cease as an Olympic medallist, it seems like a peak for most individuals, however she hasn’t stopped and it’s so encouraging. It’s so thrilling she is right here, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Ilona Maher takes a selfie with followers after the match in opposition to Gloucester-Hartpury. {Photograph}: Andrew Boyers/Motion Photos/Reuters

When she first emerged for a warm-up, Maher ran throughout the pitch and a ripple of cheers flowed round Ashton Gate. It was additionally no shock that when the groups had been introduced, the largest cheer got here for the US participant. Fireworks welcomed the groups to the pitch earlier than Maher took her seat on the bench.

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Much like their sport in opposition to Exeter Chiefs final outing, Gloucester absorbed a number of stress within the early phases however had been the primary to attain. A superb weaving run noticed in-form full-back Emma Sing over. Bristol responded completely as David, the league’s prime strive scorer, hit again along with her twelfth strive of the season.

Gloucester’s Lleucu George was proven a yellow card subsequent and Bristol took full benefit of being a participant up. An excellent dummy cross and footwork from Alisha Joyce-Butchers noticed her rating to provide the facet a 10-7 lead on the break.

What began out as a moist and windy day turned calm and sunny for the second half however the icy edge to the native derby didn’t thaw. Gloucester’s co-captain Mo Hunt sniped to attain to sway momentum of their path with Maud Muir and replacements Lund, Mia Venner and Georgia Brock all dotting down.

Bristol replied with a comfort strive from Sarah Bern. Gloucester transfer to second within the desk with the victory and the defeat provides stress to fifth-placed Bristol, with the battle for top-four locations taking place to the wire with six regular-season rounds left to go.

Ilona Maher: ‘Nervous’ rugby star makes Bristol Bears debut

BRISTOL, England — Ilona Maher admitted she was crammed with nerves forward of her Bristol Bears debut however believes she has taken a step ahead in adjusting to the 15s format of rugby as she performed 20 minutes within the Bears’ 40-17 defeat to Gloucester-Hartpury in entrance of a report crowd at Ashton Gate on Sunday.

Maher, who received Olympic bronze within the girls’s sevens with the U.S., is focusing on a spot within the USA Eagles squad for the 2025 Rugby World Cup. To assist that aim as she swaps the short-form sevens format of the game for 15s, Maher has signed a three-month take care of Bristol the place she goals to impress forward of the World Cup in England later this 12 months.

If Bristol fall wanting making the playoffs in Premiership Girls’s Rugby (PWR), then she has solely obtained six matches to impress. The primary of these got here on Sunday as she obtained her first expertise of PWR as a Sixtieth-minute substitute for Reneeqa Bonner. However her time on the ball was restricted, as Bristol struggled to maintain tempo with the back-to-back PWR winners.

“I used to be undoubtedly very nervous,” Maher stated. “I believe the coach [Dave Ward] was like, ‘okay, you are going to go on after 60 minutes.’ I used to be like, ‘okay, we positive?’ I simply needed to do my teammates proud and present that I deserved to be on the market.

“However as soon as I did get on the sphere, I simply felt like, that is rugby. It is one thing I have been doing for the previous 10 years now. It is one thing that is in my blood. So I felt actually assured once I obtained there, but in addition to my teammates who’re always speaking to me, like Jazz Joyce always telling me what she wants. It makes me really feel I can play to one of the best of my capability. Now, as I get extra snug, I believe I will be in additional moments and be ready to place myself into extra areas.”

Maher’s final rugby motion was to assist the U.S. safe their first ever medal in rugby on the Olympics again in August. Throughout Paris 2024 she offered behind-the-scenes entry within the Olympic village and grew her social media following, which stands at round 8.1 million throughout her numerous platforms, establishing herself as by far the most-followed rugby union participant on the planet.

Because the finish of the Olympics, Maher’s life has been a whirlwind. She introduced a number of new model partnerships whereas her merchandise shows her mantra “magnificence, beast, brains.” She was the quilt star for the Sports activities Illustrated Swimsuit version in October and completed second on “Dancing with the Stars” on the finish of November.

Maher was welcomed to Bristol at first of December, introduced to the gang on the Bristol Bears males’s staff’s match in opposition to Leinster, greeting them with a royal wave.

“She’s given everybody an enormous raise,” Holly Aitchison, the Bristol and England fly-half stated on the time. “Anybody with that sort of profile goes to place eyes on the sport, which may solely be a superb factor for us.”

Maher then returned to the U.S. to fulfil numerous business and TV duties and arrived again at her short-term dwelling at first of 2025. Her star energy meant Bristol Bears acquired unprecedented demand for tickets forward of Sunday’s match. They normally play at Shaftesbury Park — a floor with a capability of two,000 of which 250 is seated — however they moved it to Ashton Gate, the 27,000 robust stadium, in anticipation of Maher’s debut.

Maher final performed the XV-a-side format of the game in 2021, however the star energy was evident at Ashton Gate: digital camera crews following her each motion, supporters proudly displaying her title on the again of her shirts, and an attendance of 9,240 all desperate to catch a glimpse of a rugby celebrity.

“Sevens is a battle, I really feel like 15s is usually like a battle,” Maher stated afterwards. “There are such a lot of moments. It was powerful on the market. For me, I used to be simply making an attempt to look at and perceive, pondering, what do I must do once I get in? And I believe every recreation I am simply gonna study increasingly. And also you do study so much by shedding, however it additionally places a hearth underneath you for the following recreation.”

Pre-kick-off, and even throughout the early levels of the sport, the cameras had been educated simply as a lot on Maher because the on-field motion. Although she began on the bench, there was the inevitable subplot of the gang, and sport, ready for her introduction.

Her positional versatility meant she might have featured probably within the back-row, within the midfield and out vast on the wing. Ultimately, Bristol and Maher opted for the latter possibility, as she began her brief spell on the Bears on the precise wing. However in her 20-minute cameo, she was much more busy in defence than with ball in hand, as Gloucester-Hartpury ended up snug victors.

“[My] instincts are the identical, however it’s extra just like the construction that you just actually have to know because the transferring components are simply so totally different,” Maher stated.

“In Sevens there are loads of 1v1s. I get previous this particular person, I am fairly dwelling free. In fifteens there’s one particular person working right here, you are working behind, you might have three folks in entrance of you, you are pondering, is that the most suitable choice or ought to we exit the again? So there’s a lot, so many extra transferring components that I’ve to nonetheless sort of perceive and study.”

Maher signed autographs and took pictures with the followers contained in the stadium for over an hour after full-time. It was a report attendance for a Bristol Bears’ girls’s dwelling match, and Maher hopes her fame and fan base will hope develop the sport.

“It is actually essential for me to attach with them — they are not simply the following era of rugby gamers however the subsequent era of followers. What’s cool was that there have been loads of girls on the market. In males’s sports activities, you might have loads of male followers — particularly in rugby — it is a boy’s membership. You could have loads of previous males going to their staff’s recreation. Can we now get extra girls shopping for our jerseys and coming to our video games?

“Girls have energy, girls have affect and so they’re a superb fanbase to have.”

Britt Allcroft, Who Brought Thomas the Tank Engine to TV, Dies at 81

Britt Allcroft, a British producer, director and author who tailored the antics of a cheerful, impetuous locomotive right into a TV collection, “Thomas & Mates,” which grew to become a sprawling franchise and a longtime favourite of kids and adults, died on Dec. 25 in Los Angeles. She was 81.

Her demise was confirmed by her daughter Holly Wright.

Ms. Allcroft was the driving pressure behind bringing Thomas the Tank Engine, an animated locomotive first conceived in a collection of kids’s books within the Forties by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry, to tv screens. The collection spawned a film, merchandise and even theme parks, ballooning right into a billion-dollar franchise.

Her unique adaptation was a live-action manufacturing with a small price range that premiered in 1984 on the British channel ITV as “Thomas the Tank Engine & Mates,” later shortened to “Thomas & Mates.” Audiences have been shortly drawn to the present’s life classes packaged with catchy music, lush landscapes and an entertaining ensemble forged of humanlike locomotives. It grew to become a runaway success that aired for greater than three a long time in the UK, the USA and elsewhere.

“Kids dwell as of late in a fast-paced world, however I don’t suppose kids actually change,” Ms. Allcroft mentioned in a 1995 BBC documentary. “They want of their lives gentleness, consolation. They want enjoyable, they usually want tales that, while being entertaining for them, additionally assist them interpret the world.”

Ms. Allcroft first encountered the collection whereas researching a documentary on railroads. Earlier makes an attempt to adapt the books to TV had faltered, however she pushed for the rights, envisioning a collection with a narrator who hewed intently to the unique books.

Her conviction led her to finance a lot of it herself, even mortgaging her home, she mentioned in a 1995 interview with Australia’s “60 Minutes.”

As for the narrator, Ms. Allcroft had been looking for the fitting voice when she heard it on tv: “I walked into the room and Ringo Starr was being interviewed on a chat present,” she mentioned.

The previous member of the Beatles grew to become the primary in a protracted line of stars to relate the franchise, amongst them Michael Angelis, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Pierce Brosnan.

“This was a girl pioneering the TV business within the early 80s, and it was principally male dominated,” mentioned Brannon Carty, the director of “An Unlikely Fandom,” a 2023 documentary on the collection’ enduring attraction. “She had all these items going in opposition to her which might make the common individual quit,” he mentioned. “Regardless of all that, she took the lead.”

The collection discovered its solution to American kids in 1989, when Ms. Allcroft took it to PBS within the type of a derivative collection, “Shining Time Station,” which included clips from the British model of the present.

“She was an excellent businesswoman,” mentioned Rick Siggelkow, a tv producer who collaborated with Ms. Allcroft. “She had a imaginative and prescient, and he or she had this intuitive understanding of kids. She would simply forge forward.”

Some executives have been at first skeptical that the present can be successful, Mr. Siggelkow mentioned, however Ms. Allcroft believed that kids can be drawn to a slower-paced story that had the intimacy of a bedtime story.

“There was a gentleness to Thomas that was actually very totally different from all the things else that was on the air,” he mentioned in an interview.

“Shining Time Station” grew to become successful with American kids, successful PBS some 1.2 million viewers — rivaling that of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” in accordance with The New York Occasions in 1991. The collection was additionally aired internationally, seeding a worldwide industrial demand for merchandise, from toys and practice units to posters and puzzles.

“Thomas & Mates” is now one of many world’s largest toy and tv franchises for preschoolers, with analysts estimating annual international retail gross sales of greater than $1 billion in 2016. Mattel purchased Hit Leisure, the British proprietor of Thomas, in 2012 as a part of a $680 million deal.

After some criticism that the present’s characters lacked range, current variations of the Thomas world, each onscreen and in merchandise, have added locomotives from Brazil, China, India and Mexico.

The franchise made it to the large display screen with the 2000 movie “Thomas and the Magic Railroad.” A separate, animated model of the collection, “Thomas and Mates: All Engines Go,” aired on the Cartoon Community in 2021. A second movie is within the works, in accordance with Mattel.

Britt Allcroft was born on Dec. 14, 1943, in West Sussex, England, earlier than shifting to London.

When she was 16, she developed an curiosity in native theater and the work that went on behind the scenes. Ms. Allcroft joined the B.B.C. when she was 19, presenting on reveals that included “Blue Peter,” of which she later moved to the manufacturing group.

Within the early Nineteen Seventies, she moved to Southern Tv and later shaped her personal firm, Britt Allcroft Productions, by way of which she created tv and stage reveals whereas working at native tv stations.

On the finish of the last decade, she was employed to make a brief documentary on British steam trains and recalled the books from her youth.

She was married to Angus Wright, a tv producer who labored intently together with her in creating “Thomas & Mates” for the display screen. They divorced in 1997.

Along with her daughter, her survivors embody a son and grandchildren.

The present’s longevity, enduring by way of generations, has made it a nostalgic favourite for adults as nicely. Lately, on-line communities have cropped as much as rejoice the present and even create their very own mannequin variations of beloved episodes.

When Ms. Allcroft attended a screening of the 2023 documentary, “folks have been cheering and screaming” for her, mentioned Mr. Carty, the director. “It was just like the Tremendous Bowl in there when she walked out.”

Finally, Ms. Allcroft mentioned within the documentary, she needed her world to be an escape.

“I needed to make it in order that any little little one watching may really feel that that’s the place they might go,” she mentioned. “That they weren’t alone, they usually have been comforted and that they have been impressed.”

Emmett Lindner contributed reporting.

John Craven shares home life confession after ‘never achieving dream’ | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

In a uncommon perception into his dwelling life, Countryfile favorite John Craven has opened up about one peculiar behavior that he has adopted down the years.

In a current interview with Countryfile journal, the presenter shared how he has at all times had a want to reside beside the seaside, however has “by no means managed to realize residing there”.

He stated: “All my life I’ve dreamt of a house by the seashore however by some means have by no means managed to realize it.

“As an alternative, I reside within the centre of England – but it is solely a 90-minute drive to the closest seashore, the place I can chill out, breathe within the ozone, poke among the many rock swimming pools and recharge the batteries.”

Regardless of the occasional tour to the seaside, the 84-year-old revealed that he has an alternate at-home treatment to plug the hole for when he would not make the journey.

He stated: “Confession time: generally I sit in my backyard, play recordings of the ocean and fake I am there, doing simply that.”

In addition to his evident love for the attractive vistas that the seaside offers, he was keen to say the significance of taking care of the ocean, describing it as “an important factor on this nation’s lifeblood”, as he urged individuals to rally collectively to “save the ocean, irrespective of the place we reside.”

John might served an exceptionally lengthy profession in broadcasting, nevertheless it looks as if the host has little plans to name it a day on his profession anytime quickly.

John instructed BBC’s The One Present presenters final yr: “I don’t actually like being referred to as a legend as a result of, yeah, I’m getting on a bit, however I nonetheless really feel fairly helpful.”

John boasts a extremely profitable profession on the planet of broadcasting, having turn into an ever-present function on our screens within the Nineteen Seventies and 80s when he hosted Newsround on the BBC, however extra just lately he has explored his love of nature as he has hosted Countryfile since 1989, making him one of many channel’s present longest-serving presenters.

His broadcasting prowess hasn’t gone unnoticed, nonetheless, as he was awarded an OBE for his providers to rural and kids’s broadcasting in 2000, and 11 years later his contributions to Newsround had been acknowledged once more after he gained a Kids’s BAFTA.

Call the Midwife’s Cyril and Rosalind romance will face hard times

They as soon as once more crossed paths on the council workplace, the place Cyril steered that Rosalind be a part of his volunteering efforts at a homeless shelter.

However judging from the lingering seems and the style through which Cyril comforts her in a later scene when she’s overcome with emotion, it isn’t nearly serving to these much less lucky, as confirmed by the solid.

Talking to RadioTimes.com and different press, Zephryn Taitte described the romance between the pair as “simmering”.

“They fancy one another,” he added.

However the actor additionally teased “onerous instances forward”.

“I bear in mind chatting with somebody on set, they usually stated they have been in an interracial relationship and the way onerous it was within the ’70s,” he stated. “They might by no means be open and flirty with one another.”

He went on to that the pair “do have a bit spat with some individuals on the streets”.

“That is the early levels of it, and I am positive it is going get more durable for them,” stated Taitte. “And likewise, Cyril continues to be married [to Lucille, who is currently living in Jamaica], so you must cope with that.

“So I am wanting ahead to seeing what [creator] Heidi [Thomas] and the remainder of the group deliver to the desk.”

Learn extra:

Natalie Quarry stated that it is “good to see Rosalind rising up a bit”.

“She’s very naive within the first season [she joins],” she added. “And I feel that she learns quite a bit over the entire season concerning the exterior world.”

Quarry additionally stated it was “enjoyable to discover sides of our characters which might be exterior of our midwifery work”.

“It is so good to see bits other than that, and dealing with Zeph is beautiful,” she continued.

However Quarry did warning that it is “nonetheless very early days” between Cyril and Rosalind.

“We do not actually know what’s in retailer for them… however they are going to have plenty of bother [to contend with].”

And so they’re not the one ones who will face challenges in season 14…

Natalie Quarry as Rosalind and Zephryn Taitte as Cyril. Neal Avenue Productions/Olly Courtney

Joyce is subjected to racism whereas finishing up her midwifery duties, a desperately unhappy however unsurprising improvement.

Talking to RadioTimes.com and different press about how her character copes within the face of that trauma, Renee Bailey stated: “I really feel prefer it’s plenty of her balancing all of the instances that she offers with, but in addition the intersections of being a Black girl from the Caribbean on this nation, the place she’s not all the time going to be needed, however nonetheless having to be an expert and having to color on a smile and nonetheless go to work on daily basis.

“All of us do this in numerous methods within the office anyway, however that could be a large factor for her this season as properly… the masks that you must put on as a well being skilled once you’re experiencing or witnessing individuals experiencing issues that you simply may need skilled your self … and having to only push all of it down and nonetheless present up.”

Bailey went on to say that as a result of Joyce has “sacrificed a lot to be right here”, corresponding to escaping an abusive marriage, “she’s not ready to lose it”, even when confronted by racist attitudes.

“The power in that, her being like, ‘I fought for this and I need to be right here,’ that form of retains her collectively,” she added.

Renee Bailey as Joyce Highland. BBC/Neal Avenue Productions/Olly Courtney

Within the present’s newest season, “it’s 1970, the start of a brand new decade in Poplar”.

“The beginning of the sequence sees the same old routines of clinics and district work plunged into disarray when activists on the Isle of Canines stage a bid for independence and blockade the one entry to the island. Dr Turner and the midwives should attempt to proceed enterprise as ordinary,” reads the official synopsis.

“Nancy tells the group a couple of new job provide she’s acquired, and her engagement to Roger. The couple plan on getting married in six months time in Poplar.

“Trixie is again from New York and again in uniform. Sister Julienne discusses her current assembly with the Board of Well being and the way they disapprove of the best way Nonnatus Home operates. She plans to battle again with Trixie on the helm.

“Elsewhere, on the council workplace, Cyril tells Rosalind he’s volunteering at a homeless shelter and suggests she may also put her title down.

“The midwives attend a gathering of the Elevate the Roof marketing campaign for fairer nurses’ pay, which reveals a 22 per cent pay rise has been agreed. Everyone seems to be amazed.

“In the meantime, an obvious immaculate conception causes consternation for our midwives.”

Name the Midwife season 14 continues on Sunday twelfth January at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Try extra of our Drama protection or go to our TV Information and Streaming Information to search out out what’s on. For extra from the largest stars in TV, take heed to The Radio Occasions Podcast.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: Musk’s grooming gangs attack on Jess Phillips a ‘disgraceful smear’ says Streeting

Areas of stress between Farage and Musk emergerevealed at 11:31 Greenwich Imply Time 5 January

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Nigel Farage’s defence of Elon Musk is a part of a burgeoning
relationship between the pair. They had been lately pictured collectively in Donald
Trump’s Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago. And there are rumours of a big donation
that the billionaire Musk “could properly” – Farage stated – give to Reform UK.

However Musk’s advantages to Reform UK transcend simply cash. As
Farage advised Laura Kuenssberg this morning, “he makes us look cool” for some
younger folks.

“I feel he is a hero,” Farage stated.

However for all of the pleasant phrases, there are areas of stress
within the relationship between Reform UK and Elon Musk.

One instance is over Tommy
Robinson, whose actual title is Stephen Yaxley Lennon. Musk has known as for the
far-right agitator to be launched from jail. Farage is decided to distance himself from Robinson and desires him nowhere close to his political social gathering.

Farage tried to shrug any variations off, saying simply
as a result of Musk helps Reform, “doesn’t suggest I’ve to agree with every part he
says”.

Nevertheless it’s one space the place the blossoming friendship between
Musk and Reform UK may run into difficulties.