London Tonight: Thursday 30th November

Evening all!

We're topping off with a pretty serious warning tonight - we all know drugs are bad, and we all know that those who want to take them will do - regardless.
But police are really worried about the newest fashion drug sweeping part of clubland - it's killed two people in the last two months, and caused at least 15 collapses.
It's really bad stuff and we've got all the information you need to avoid it - and maybe help others avoid it too.

Onto our talking point for the night - bus drivers.
Now, we know that they do keep London running and we don't want to bash them unfairly - but anyone who uses a bus knows that they do jerk around as the stop and start - and the driver does drive off before you get to your seat. Now, a group of pensioners in Surrey is taking them on. Glen has the details - and we'd like your thoughts please.

Pigeons: Feathered Friends or Rats With Wings?
Westminster Council is firmly in the second camp and the battleground is Trafalgar Square.
Feeding pigeons there is banned, except for a small patch on the Square's north side - and the council wants to close the loophole that allows it!

We'll also be telling you which London landmark has just been sold for 400-million pounds - which means a 390-million pound profit for its former owner.

We'll also keep you entertained by speaking to legendary singer Dionne Warwick, plus one-time world and Olympic ice skating champions Torvill and Dean are with us live in the studio.

So, tune in and catch up at six o'clock.

Al & Katie

London Tonight: Wednesday November 29th

Afternoon and greetings from the hothouse of news.

And quite a popular little newsroom we are today... you see, word's gone round that star of the West Wing Richard Schiff - aka Toby Ziegler - is live in our studio tonight ... and suddenly people from all sorts of different departments are finding reasons to pop over! Who knew there were so many die-hard fans of the US political drama here.
In case you're wondering, he's soon to join the ranks of American actors on the West End stage and he's in to tell us all about it.

And as if that's not enough celebrity for you, we're also talking to the delicious Irish actor James Nesbitt live at a movie awards in town tonight.

But before we can get to all that - we'll have a sumptuous menu of hard news to dish up, from spectacular aerial pictures of the inmates' disturbance at Harmondsworth immigration detention centre - and we're hoping to be speaking to someone who's been inside and seen what's going on.

You may remember two months ago, that terrible accident in Battersea where a crane collapsed, killing one man. Marcus has been speaking to his father.

And finally - the mysterious contents of the female handbag. They may be out-of-bounds to men - but as Ronke found today that doesn't include the police - or pickpockets! There's a valuable lesson to be learnt, so don't miss it.

Willsy & Katie will be your hosts for the evening, so please accept our invitation to be there.

Ed

Tonight's Competition

The winners in tonight's competition:

"Darren", Jamie Chamberlain, Eddie Brock, Anna Holloway, Suzan Noorooya, Caroline Barrett, Aarti Pal, Caroline Evans, Kelli Hartley, Jackie Wolf.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues 28th Nov

Good afternoon,

Yesterday the men responsible for the pointless, violent death of promising young lawyer and husband-to-be Tom Ap Rhys Pryce were found guilty. Today they were sentenced. Donnel Carty got a minimum of 21 years, Delano Brown 17. Marcus Powell was there for us and will update us with what went on in court....including the reading of a statement from Tom's grief-stricken fiancee. It spoke of the "indescribable pain and absolute devastation" his death had caused. Heartbreaking.

Now...remember ex Olympic boss Jack Lemley....he quit his post out of the blue last month THEN later said reason he'd done so was because the project was "running late and over budget". Well today we got the latest in this saga. Mayor Ken has revealed the US businessman had suffered a stroke and "was not the man he'd been before", that he "wasn't on top of the job". Mr Lemley, your move !

Other Olympic News and it was a right royal affair this morning in Greenwich Park. The Duchess of Cornwall unveiled the venue for the equestrian events AND presented her niece Zara Phillips with a trophy for Equestrian Olympic Athlete of the Year.

One for men of a certain age next. The lady who made dungarees sexy and wellies footwear to covet...Yes Barbara Good, otherwise known as actress Felicity Kendal is in the studio talking about her latest stage role. We may have to restrain Mr Stewart.

Fancy a great night out tomorrow ? We can fix it for you if you tune in. The Sugababes, McFly and Amy Winehouse are waiting to entertain the winners of our competition.....The gig is at the Forum in Kentish Town, we've 10 pairs of tickets to give away.

Also in our bag of goodies....Fergie from US band "The Black Eyed Peas" talks to us about her struggles with drugs, her love for London AND her new album, Chrissie has the weather and we reveal why there are a few sore heads in the newsroom today...

See you at 6

A & T

London Tonight: Tuesday 28th November

Good afternoon,

Yesterday the men responsible for the pointless, violent death of promising young lawyer and husband-to-be Tom Ap Rhys Pryce were found guilty. Today they were sentenced. Donnel Carty got a minimum of 21 years, Delano Brown 17. Marcus Powell was there for us and will update us with what went on in court....including the reading of a statement from Tom's grief-stricken fiancee. It spoke of the "indescribable pain and absolute devastation" his death had caused. Heartbreaking.

Now...remember ex Olympic boss Jack Lemley....he quit his post out of the blue last month THEN later said reason he'd done so was because the project was "running late and over budget". Well today we got the latest in this saga. Mayor Ken has revealed the US businessman had suffered a stroke and "was not the man he'd been before", that he "wasn't on top of the job". Mr Lemley, your move !

Other Olympic News and it was a right royal affair this morning in Greenwich Park. The Duchess of Cornwall unveiled the venue for the equestrian events AND presented her niece Zara Phillips with a trophy for Equestrian Olympic Athlete of the Year.

One for men of a certain age next. The lady who made dungarees sexy and wellies footwear to covet...Yes Barbara Good, otherwise known as actress Felicity Kendal is in the studio talking about her latest stage role. We may have to restrain Mr Stewart.

Fancy a great night out tomorrow ? We can fix it for you if you tune in. The Sugababes, McFly and Amy Winehouse are waiting to entertain the winners of our competition.....The gig is at the Forum in Kentish Town, we've 10 pairs of tickets to give away.

Also in our bag of goodies....Fergie from US band "The Black Eyed Peas" talks to us about her struggles with drugs, her love for London AND her new album, Chrissie has the weather and we reveal why there are a few sore heads in the newsroom today...

See you at 6

A & T

And the winner is...

The more observant among you may have seen that at the end of the programme we used to bring up a little caption that said "Programme Of The Year". Last month we replaced it with the address of this website.

Why? Well - I always like to take that label off of our programme when the annual RTS award ceremony is close. It's all about tempting fate.

Well, the 2006 awards were last night. Thirteen of us got all dressed up (which was interesting as we had a table for twelve). And my, what a night we had. ITV London took home seven of the ten awards.

For us - the big two are the "News Story of the Year" and "Programme of the Year" awards. We knew we'd win "News Story Of the Year" - as we had all three nominations on the shortlist. We were delighted that our coverage of the Heathrow terror plot took that prize.

Then - the big one. Programme of the Year. The nominations were two for London Tonight and one for BBC London. They played the clips. They opened the envelope. And before I knew it we were up on stage picking up the award.

So when you see the title "Programme of the Year" at the end our broadcast tonight, you'll know why it's back.

Thanks for watching - we all work very hard every day to produce a programme that we hope you will want to watch.


Stuart
Editor, London Tonight

London Tonight: Monday 27th November

Good afternoon and welcome to another week of London Tonight.

Dramatic developments in the mysterious killing of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko: in the House of Commons this afternoon the Home Secretary John Reid said that radioactive polonium had been found in several more locations. It's believed they could include, possibly, an office block in the West End and at an address in Mayfair.
We'll have the latest live at 6.

Also this evening , within a star studded, action packed programme, we have the good, the bad and the ugly.
In reverse order, the ugly: Rotten landlords who don't give you back your deposit! Find out about the new law that means that will soon be a thing of the past.
The bad, and it really is bad: a promising young lawyer, Tom Ap Rhys Pryce, was walking home in January from the tube station in Kensal Green after a night out.
He was set-upon and stabbed to death. An act of ghastly violence prompted by sheer jealousy and greed.
Today, two teenager were found guilty of his murder and robbery.
Justice tempered by deep sadness for a loving family.

And the good: on the 6th Anniversary of the killing of Damilola Taylor, the great Rio Ferdinard goes public in urging youngsters to give up knives and the life-style that goes with them.

Star studded? Win tickets for Christina Aquillera's sell-out concert AND the chance to try-out her life-style: lots of pampering, a limo on call, a make-over and massage plus much more besides.
Rik Mayal auditioning would-be Tony and Cherie Blairs for his stage show of the New Statesman.
And Take That in London ahead of their big TV extravaganza on Saturday and celebrating beating U2, the Beatles and Oasis to the Number 1 slot in the album chart!

Chrissie has the weather with dramatic flooding in the home counties - you won't even want to make a cup of tea or pour another glass of champagne between 6 and 6.30!
See you then.

A & T

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 24th Nov

Hello: what an amazing day!

The international intrigue and sadistic murder that has dominated the national TV and press for days finally boils down to a house, a restaurant and a hospital in London.

Alexander Litvinenko was the former KGB spook who died last night - he'd made London his home and his headquarters for attacking the Russian regime of his old boss, former spy-master and now President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. In a death-bed note, Litvinenko said it was Putin, thousands of miles away in Moscow, who ordered his death, here in London. Piers has been putting the pieces together of a story that John Le Carre and Ian Fleming would have been proud of.

Moving breathlessly on, not a little anger in the newsroom about another of our top stories: think Piccadilly Circus, think neon ads; think Leicester Square, think movie posters the size of mountains and yet more neon lights; think Trafalgar Square and, with the recent brief exception when the Column was under repair, you think... great, no ads! Not any more! And, to make matters worse some think, the ads will be on the side of St Martin's in the Fields. OK, it will pay for repairs but a price too far? Glen is on the case.

A full news round up, via continuing problems for Anton Ferdinand and a bunch of Health and Safety types at Tower Hamlets who say putting up Christmas decorations is just too dangerous so they won't be allowed, and we come to last nights Visit London Awards: will Gordon Ramsey turn the air blue when he hears the results? You'll have to be there to find out!

As you will have to be if you want to win tickets to Christina Aguilera's sell-out gig at Wembley Arena. But, because it's Friday, we are throwing in the chance for you to live the CA life-style for a day with personal shoppers, trips to Harrods and a limo' at your beck and call. I'm breathless again...

Just time to tell you we have a movie review, Tamzin's spectacular What Not to Miss and Willsy previewing the Premiership battle of the giants: Chelsea vs some bunch in Red from up north... Well, the north west to be fair!

And Robin says the gales will be even stronger than Chrissie warned last night: that'll put the breath back in you...

See you at 6!

A & T

London Tonight: Thursday 23rd November

Afternoon all.

Well! That was a very heated debate we've just had in our afternoon meeting - and it's our top story that's causing division in the newsroom.

Here's the deal. You own a property and a mobile phone company offers you a big pile of cash to put one of their masts on your roof.
Now, you don't need planning permission - so it's up to you to say "yes" or "no" - right?

But what if YOU don't live in the property - your tenants do - and they don't want a mobile mast over their heads - I mean, whatever officials say, you can't deny a lot of people are still worried about potential health risks of the masts.

Well that's exactly the situation a group of people in Wimbledon find themselves in - and they're not happy with the landlord's proposed solution: "I'll say no to the mast - but YOU have to match the money I WOULD have got from the phone company."

Who do YOU have sympathy with? Chris Rogers has been speaking to all sides.
And our email and text question tonight will be: "What's the worst thing a landlord's ever done to you or asked you to do?" Get thinking..... And keep it clean!

News-wise there's sensational footage of Britain's biggest ever counterfeiting operation - the gang got phenomenal sentences in court today; We speak to a woman injured in the July 7th bombings who was sacked by her bosses for under-performing - she says they didn't take into consideration what she'd been through and is suing.

With warnings of gales on the way, we want your help - Chrissie will have all the details - as well as the numbers you need to send us your mobile phone footage if you see anything dramatic - she's happy to give some of the best a mention on air.

And saving the most tantalising 'til last..... If you screamed for Jason Orange, or pined for Mark Owen... let them RELIGHT YOUR FIRE - in person - next week.
We have a totally money can't buy prize to give away - but you need to tune in at 6 if you want a piece of the action. And with some of the female staff in this newsroom, we're keeping the prize under lock and key just to be on the safe side.....

You really won't want to miss us tonight, so we'll see you same time (6pm) same place (ITV1).

Til then.. Yours
A&T

London Tonight: Wednesday 22nd November

Afternoon!

If you're an uninsured driver ... Beware! More than 1000 cars have been confiscated in the last few weeks in a major blitz to try to beat this crime... And many of those have ended up in the crusher. You have been warned... Marcus has all the info.

As the financial gloom seems to be gathering over the Olympics, and as you seem to be getting crosser and crosser at the prospect of having to stump up for the Games, today the organisers of the Olympics have hit back, telling us how much good the event will do the city. Tune in to Simon Harris, and see if you are convinced.

We've an extraordinary story of a mother so desperate to solve her son's death, she's turned private detective herself, to try to find his killer; the inspiring tale of a primary school in Edmonton that's turned itself round in just 6 years from dreadful to top of the league; the millionth ticket sold for Billy Elliott, Esther Rantzen live in the studio ... Oh, and Her Majesty righting the wrongs of 200 years ago in a moving ceremony with a Native American indian. In Southwark. You'd better watch at 6!

Katie and Alastair.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues 21st Nov

Afternoon to you,

Time to take a look at what we're serving up in this evening's programme. Brace yourselves: there's a lot to fit in.

First up. Who cheered and cheered when London won the 2012 Olympics? Well, with the Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell, being grilled by some MPs today, it's emerged... guess what... the preparations are already over budget - to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds. And take another guess at who's stumping up at least SOME of that cash. Londoners. So, who's cheering now? Simon Harris has the full story.

Willsy, meanwhile, will have the latest on the Hammers going under the, er... hammer. A consortium from Iceland has bought the club for 85 million complete with its debts of over 22 million. What does it mean for the team and those who follow it...? Willsy will tell us.

And sticking with footy for the moment, we'll have a pitchside report from Robbie Earle ahead of Arsenal's Champions' League game at the Emirates Stadium.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have been along to Great Ormond Street Hospital today to check out a brand new wing. As for the young patients - it made their day. Liz Wickham will have the details.

Now, do you ever wonder what actors do when they're not acting..? Well, some of them, at least, play the part of 'person answering phone'. A call-centre which makes, and takes, calls for various businesses is celebrating its 21st birthday - and the only people with a hope of getting a part there are out-of-work actors. Jon Gilbert has that.

Lemar though does NOT have to worry about work drying up. With a bagful of awards to his name, and his records in rather a lot of people's collections, he'll be in the studio talking about it all.

Plus: Chrissie will be giving us the weather forecast - on ice. We kid you not.

See you at SIX.

Ben & Katie.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 20th Nov

Hello and welcome to another week of London Tonight.

We start with chaos on London transport but end with high hopes for a new departure. Metronet are in deep ordour again for falling badly behind with engineering work at the weekend and causing endless strife on the tube this morning. A strike by some bus crews added to the pandemonium - I am amazed any of us got here! Piers has the details, assuming he is able to get to his location.

The upbeat element is the launch of a consultation on a cross-London tram network, and the interesting twist is that the route in North-South. Answers on a postcard to TfL please! Simon Harris is our "clippy" tonight.

Still with the transport theme, Westminster Council are removing many of their parking meters because some people out there have started the process already! Take a chain-saw to them and the bad guys can yield as much as £20k a street: I always thought parking was too expensive! Anyway, they are going to try texting instead which does seem a good idea.

We also have the good idea of some of the big hotel chains talking to some of the homelessness charities about how they might help with one of London's most enduring and unacceptable problems. It isn't just a hand-out: it's brain-storming for some lasting solutions as Damien will explain. We're up for that, too!

Beyonce has been talking to Steve Hargrave and we have a thousand pounds worth of shopping to give away, with a personal shopper to help you blow the lot at Debenhams.

Chrissie's weather and the rest of the days news are also in the mix.

Compelling reasons, we hope, for you to be with us at 6!

A & K

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 17th Nov

It is Friday, but you know that.

So, Alastair and Tamzin hereby issue you with their customary invitation to an hour of great news and entertainment on ITV1.

What you might not know is that our fantastic Peoples' Millions feature comes to a glorious end tonight: another winner you voted for and the best runner-up. We've really enjoyed doing this with the Big Lottery Fund people and it has warmed even the hardest hearts to see the faces of the winners when Glen tiptoes in with a cheque that is bigger than he is under his arm. We're going to give you a lovely reminder of the unbridled joy the winners showed when they got the goodies from him. Not a dry eye in the house!

We are also taking a look at the Euro Millions Lottery: 28 of the top 40 busiest ticket sales sites are in London, and most of them are in Canary Wharf or the City! Haven't they got enough already???? Marcus seems to think so. (Truth to tell, we have a little newsroom flutter on it too - but, given top ITV News West Ham fan Ken is in charge, relegation rather than riches seems the most likely outcome...)

We'd like to relegate, from the human race, the people who have been smuggling rare and endangered creatures and letting some of them die. It is a hideous story but one Ronke will tell with compassion if not a little anger.

James will tell us what he thinks of Casino Royale and Willsy has all the sport including a great competition for youngsters who fancy their chances in training with the tennis prodigy Andy Murray.

A round up of the rest of the news and Robin with his surreal weather would seem to bring it to a perfect outcome.

Just need that winning line and we WON'T see you next week: so, see you at 6 ...... AND on Monday, probably!

A & T

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: 16th Nov 2006

Good afternoon,

We start Thursday's programme with a murder that could have been, in fact SHOULD have been prevented.. Denis Finnegan was killed as he cycled through a London park. Stabbed to death by John Barrett, a mentally ill man who should never have been at liberty to kill. Tonight we've details of what an inquiry has called "serious failures" on the part of Springfield secure hospital in Tooting.

We've also a gruesome tale of a Surrey pig farmer who's today been sentenced to life for murdering his wife, even though her body has never been found. The jury heard testimony from his ex-wife that he'd threatened to kill HER and feed her to his animals. Marcus Powell has more at 6.

Our very own Olympic Athlete (otherwise known as political correspondent Simon Harris) has taken a plane to sunny Barcelona, to catch up with Seb Coe and Tessa Jowell on a fact finding mission. It's been a bad few weeks for the team....as costs seem to spiral out of control. Can they learn anything from our Spanish friends ?

And a showbiz double Whammy...first Sting tells us of his work for the Princes Trust. Then (much to Alastair's over-excitement) Nelly Furtado joins us in the studio for a chat about her win at last night's World Music Awards and Michael Jackson's bizarre appearance there.

All that AND we give away thousands of pounds to a very deserving cause with the latest of our People's Millions cheques.

We'll see you at 6

Tamzin and Alastair

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Weds 15th Nov

Good afternoon.

Bad news, I'm afraid. Many of you are going to say "I told you so" tonight. Because we've done the sums, and it seems that the London Olympics are going to cost TWICE what was thought. Yes, twice. The bill now looks set to be a massive 5 billion pounds, and of course the games are still 6 years away. The Olympic Delivery Authority have admitted that costs will be "substantially more " than expected. And I think we can all agree that double IS "substantially more". We'll be asking for your thoughts on this ... I suspect you'll have lots to say.

Good news though for another worthy winner of the People's Millions tonight.. Didn't you love those excited kids who'd won last night? And 2 more hopefuls for you to vote for too.

Chris has been talking to Sting about all sorts of stuff ... including the environment and playing the lute..

Tamzin's at the World Music Awards at Earl's Court. And no, it's not a celebration of Peruvian nose flute music. We're talking HUGE stars .. Beyonce and the like. It's the first time they've been held here, but the really big news is that Michael Jackson is going to perform. Yes, Wacko himself, on stage for the first time in this country in 9 years, and for the first time anywhere since he was cleared of the child molestation charges. History indeed...

And of course, the papers, Chrissie with the weather... Hope to see you at 6.

Katie and Al.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues Nov 14th

Good afternoon !

We are safely back on terra firma after our Lusty lurch into the land of the tar: hope you enjoyed it even if it was a bit cold!

Now, in the spirit of warmth and pre-Christmas kindness, tonight's programme is most generous in its offering to you: we will take you, live, to the premiere of the new James Bond movie: Tamzin will be there and she's got Daniel Craig in her sights...

We will have a competition for those Oasis fans among you: tickets to a screening of the new documentary film about the boys and the chance to quiz Noel on one of the greatest bands of the 90s.
As if that wasn't enough, we reveal who has won the first tranche of the People's Millions and offer you another couple of candidates to choose between: Up to £50k on offer! Glen is in command but it's your call.

So, where is our less loving side? Where does our brutal journalism cozy up to our loving side?

Ken and Caracas - we still think there are questions to answer and Simon is still asking them. Why the Venezuala trip and then why was it cancelled? And a London Embassy in the Venezualan capital? Our report and your thoughts at 6.

Chrissie with the weather and the rest of the news, including the latest on Eurostar: Zut Alors! Anywhere else to be than ITV1 at 6.

See you there.

A & K

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 13th Nov

Hello from the London Tonight team.

It was a very different journey to work for Alastair today. Forget South West Trains, leaves on the line in Woking, iced up points around Norbiton and a broken down train at Earlsfield (before SWT complain, I should point out there were none of those problems this morning. That I know of). For Alastair, this morning it was a Chinook ride onto HMS Illustrious on the Thames.

Why? Well, we've a very special programme tonight, live from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier.

We'll show you Alastair's flight - we'll see a day in the life of the flagship - and we'll talk live to the Captain.

All that - plus the People's Millions is back - tonight you can vote for the project you want to get a fifty thousand pound "Big Lottery Fund" grant.

And we're on the Cutty Sark to find out how the renovations are going on that unique vessel.

All that - live from Illustrious - at six.

Stuart
Editor, LT.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 10th Nov

Good Afternoon,

It's chilly outside, so stay in with us. There's plenty to keep you informed and entertained on tonight's programme.

We start with a terrifying tale of robbers who snatched people off the street and forced them to hand over their pin numbers - before raiding their bank accounts. Full details at six.

Elsewhere, a tale we think is a bit of a talking point. An animal centre in Kensal Green claims it's under threat .... because of new parking restrictions. The problem, a residents parking zone will mean ambulances, on standby for sick creatures, will no longer be able to park outside for free. The solution, so say its supporters, is to make the Mayhew Animal Centre a special case and exempt it from the new rules. We'll be bringing you the details and asking for your opinions.

It's all aboard The Illustrious for our reporter Phil Bayles. The aircraft carrier's in the Thames ahead of Poppy Day on Sunday and Phil's live in Greenwich for us with a sailor's eye view of the Royal Navy Flagship.

It's Friday so a bumper hamper of entertainment's on offer. We've an interview with dance act Faithless, a trip to the movies with our critic James King AND of course our usual whizz round a whole raft of ideas for things to keep you busy in the capital this weekend.

Chrissie's getting into the nautical spirit too...she's broadcasting her weather report live from the Cutty Sark.

Oh, and a great competition for you.

All waiting for you at 6 o Clock.

T&W

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Weds 8th Nov

Good Afternoon and Welcome to our mid-week message!

Gone but not forgotten, our dear Mayor winged his merry way to Venezuela to finalise the oil-for-public-services-advice deal last week...... but then decided he'd go via Cuba to have a chat about the Olympics..... and pop in to see how Fidel Castro was doing.
Now Ken is a serial election winner in Brent and for London Mayor but, hard to believe, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez suddenly decided Ken might not help HIS election prospects so the visit was cancelled. Odd? It gets odder. Arriving back at Gatwick this morning, not a word passed the normally over-worked lips of our Mayor. Instead he just hummed. And hummed. Simon Harris is trying to get to the bottom of this Latin American-cum-Cuban mystery.

Fighting gun crime is an absolute priority for the Met because it is an absolute priority for most Londoners. Rock stars, fashion icons, youth leaders - all have spoken out against gun-crime in an effort to dissuade young Londoners from carrying and using guns.
So why are Puma producing a new trainer with an image of a machine gun on them, with the slogan 'I Steal For A Living'? And why are they launching the new fashion-shoe in London? We are concerned and think you might be, too. So Phil is on the case and we want to know what you think.

Different sort of fashion: you'll need a dinner suit or long-frock if you win tonight's spectacular competition: tickets for the premiere of latest Bond blockbuster Casino Royale. Strut your stuff on the red-carpet but you must be dressed to the nines. Details at 6.

Is your hospital on the hit-list of possible closures in the latest round of health service reforms? The Department of Health didn't want you to know nor did they want us to know. But we do and so you will... if you tune in.

Southend 1 Man U 0! Say no more! Well, actually, we will be saying quite a bit more: Glen is in giant killer mode from the home of the country's longest pier and shortening odds for Cup glory.

And, a dream come true: Chrissie, not only on the weather, not only on a white Christmas but really, truly, honestly.... on ice-skates!
StratoCumulous and a dollop of double salkos, just for you.

Toe-loop your way in our direction at 6.

Don't forget the Black tie and evening gown!!!!

A & K

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues 7th Nov

Hi there.

Its a dreadful question but what do you think is the biggest killer of young people in London. Cancer? Drugs? Alcohol? Or what about violence....knives or guns?

Well its none of the above. Watch at 6 to find out...you'll be shocked and surprised as London Tonight highlights the campaign to tackle it.

Now Mayor Ken Livingstone might be a long way from the capital but he's never far away from the headlines. This time Ken is in hot water...or perhaps that should be oil over a visit to Venezuela where he was supposed to be discussing a supply of the black stuff for London. All sorts of excuses have been given but the long and the short of it is Mayor Ken didn't meet with President Chavez and now he's got to justify the cost of the trip. We've more on this tonight.

On the lighter side of life we've got an amazing James Bond competition with a trip to Nice and loads of goodies for the winner, we'll be taking a look at a massive night in the history of Southend United as they entertain Premiership leaders Manchester United in the Carling Cup and then there's the latest band to re-unite, Genesis are getting back together, Phil Collins and all, for a World tour.

Oh yes and Chrissie Reidy's been up in a flying boat as well!

See you at six!

W&K

PETER PAN COMPETITION WINNERS

Well done to Jan Walters, Rosemary Rose, Maureen Aylen, Emma Holmes, Sharon Payne, Kate Wyatt, Ross Powell, Jack King, Neil Francis and Simon Morosoli. You'll be hearing about the family tickets to Peter Pan very soon.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: 9th Nov 2006

Hi there.. could cracks be appearing in London's plans for the 2012 Olympics?

Two weeks ago Olympic Delivery Authority chairman Jack Lemley resigned after less than a year in the job. Today one of the country's most famous Architects says he's thinking about boycotting the Games.

Find out why Lord Rogers is angry at six.

And where do you stand in the red and white debate? Wearers of the traditional poppy are being accused of glorifying war and are being urged to consider going for the white version as more Christian sign of peace and remembrance.

Then there's the changing of the guard. Forget sombre think secret service. For a change the soldiers did their thing to the tune of 007 movie's today....find out if they were shaken or stirred by the experience.

Another major switch on is taking place at Oxford Street...once again the best place to watch the turning on of the Christmas lights is live on London
Tonight - and we've also got another fantastic competition - tickets to see the fabulous Peter Pan on Ice.

Look forward to telling you all about those stories at six.

W&T

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 6th Nov

Afternoon everyone.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend with lots of very loud fireworks. Shame they went on until 5 in the morning...

And it looks like there'll be fireworks at City Hall for some time to come. Remember last week's surprise when the Mayor of London rocked up in Cuba? "We weren't expecting that", we said. "Well", says Ken, "that's because we wanted the media to concentrate on my trip to Venezuela"...
Fair enough. So we did. Only now he's not going. We're TOLD the trip's been cancelled at the 11th hour because elections in Venezuela mean President Chavez won't have enough time to chat with our Mayor. Seems a bit strange to us... AND to Simon Harris who was waiting in Caracas with open microphone. He'll have the full story nonetheless.

Next, a horrific story about bullying - not just name-calling or pushing and shoving in the playground. Last November, Natashia Jackman was stabbed in the eye with a pair of scissors at school in Surrey - and she talks about her experience for the first time today, even claiming the school tried to make her feel responsible.

Marcus Powell reports on the tragic tale of Charlotte Adams - hit and killed by a car as she walked home from a Christmas party. At the wheel, one Emmanuel Amoah, wasn't qualified to drive and he ran from the scene. But there was no running from justice today as he was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.

In a very different vein, anyone who saw 'X-Factor' on Saturday will have seen a very cross Simon Cowell indeed - the 'King of the Caustic Comment' not a little put out that one of his acts got the old 'heave-ho'. He's rather optimistic about the prospects of a new signing of his though - a choir of kids called 'Angelis'. Jasmine Lowson's been to meet them.

Now - question: What do you want from a home? Well, it seems ladies want one thing - and men want something completely different. Cue lots of jokes. Architects designing flats though take it all very seriously indeed, actually tailoring blocks of flats to boys'... or girls' needs. Damien Steward has the low-down on that.

And what's more - Phil Bayles will have news to put a smile on green-campaigners living in the Heathrow flightpath... one of London's biggest stores puts a smile on the faces of those who lost thousands when a Christmas savings company collapsed... and let's hope Chrissie can put a smile on all our faces with her look at the weather.

We'd better get cracking. See you at SIX.

Ben and Katie.

DATELINE CARACAS by Simon Harris

Well, it makes a change from City Hall. We have been here 24 hours now awaiting the arrival of Ken Livingstone, so what are my first impressions of this extraordinary city? It is very chaotic and certainly dangerous. Consider this: the local off licence next to the hotel does not have grills and bars as protection but a very powerful man with a bullet proof vest, a sawn off shotgun and a belt full of cartridges!

Most of us when we travel rely on a checklist of essential items to ensure nothing vital is left at home. Passport, currency, suntan lotion etc. For this trip I added one extra item. A poppy. After all we are just days away from November 11th. It turned out to be a big mistake. Caracas is a violent place (see above) and never more so than during an election campaign. Venezuela goes to the polls on December 3rd and the campaign is in full swing. It is almost certainly one reason why Ken Livingstone is here. The current president, Hugo Chavez is a left-winger with some explosisve anti-American opinions. Our mayor is his new best amigo. There are almost two dozen candidates but the front runners are Chavez (champion of the poor) and Manuel Rosales (favourite of the middle classes). Rosales' supporters wear blue, the Chavistas dress in red. They haven't heard of the British Legion here, let alone Poppy Day. So if someone walks through arrivals at Caracas airport with a red flower in their lapel it can only mean one thing. He must be a Chavista. That almost certainly accounts for the chilly reception I got from the front desk at the hotel. But it could have been worse. A colleague from another news organisation was lucky to escape a severe beating from a Chavez supporter. His crime? He was wearing a Nike baseball cap. Blue.

I am afraid to say the poppy will not be making another appearance in Caracas.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri Nov 3rd

Hello!

Friday November 3rd - and just forty eight hours from Bonfire Night. Lots of us have been chatting about Sunday night - some are going to school events, a few are off to the Battersea bash and others are planning something in their own back gardens.

It's fireworks, bonfires, warm wine, hot chocolate and marshmallows time again.
Unless you live in Tower Hamlets.

The Council have funded a firework event for sometime but this year the organisers don't want a Guy... nor do they even want a fire. That's because it would bring back memories of the 17th century Catholic plot, led by Guy Fawkes, to blow up the Houses of Parliament as King James 1st ( 6th of Scotland, and a Stuart points out Alastair ) performed the State Opening of Parliament, and the cruel and unusual punishments meted out to poor old Guido and his incendiary buddies.
So, instead, there will be the reading of a Bengali folk tale.

The temperature of the "politically correct Vs politically incorrect" debate in our office was enough to mull a gallon or eight of wine and roast a million marshmallows.
Marcus will report and Tamzin and Alastair will ask you for your views

Old Man River should pull his weight a bit more when it comes to global warming, some say. And London's network of Canals. Well he and they will, Estelle tells us. Think less Eddie Stobbart and more Ancient Mariner and you'll be on the right track.

Its enough to make you cry.... Tracks of My Tears and.... Tears of a Clown: it must be a case of smoke getting in your eyes..... sorry, I'm off on one: Tamzin has been talking to vocal legend Smokey Robinson. Ah - what a combination.

Mark Eccelston takes us to the movies and, yes, we will have his take on Borat.....

Chrissie has her weather and, finally, we will give you a special edition of What Not to Miss!!! All the firework displays and parties we could find.... apart from Tower Hamlets.

See you at 6.

A & T

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: 2nd Nov 2006

Afternoon: sorry we are a little later than usual but we have been rushing around trying to make sense of some complicated stuff....
....not least the shooting of an alleged armed robber - (we have to say 'alleged' for legal reasons which is just a small example of how careful we have to be with stories like this).
Anyway, it seems the team, or some members of the team, who shot Jean Charles de Menezes dead at Stockwell Tube station were in action a few days back at a building society in New Romney, Kent. A man was shot dead and there's to be an investigation - that is par for the course. But there's an almighty row about whether it was a Stockwell Team member who fired the fatal shot: and, if it was, was it a bit early for him or her to be back on the job....? Ben will make sense of it for you.

You may have heard the very moving readings on radio of letters a dad wrote to his daughter, despite the fact that she had been killed in a level crossing accident. Jasmin has been to meet him and I defy you not to be touched by his love and passion.

The Olympics will bring no quick fix to London's tourism industry so says the European Association of Travel Agents. Kill joys or the bringing of wise and sober warnings? Estelle speaks a number of languages and will let you know.

Ken is going to Venezuela: we knew but were told to keep it a secret for security reasons which we did until he blurted it out on the radio (That's two mentions of the radio: Ed.) (That's because I listen to radio in the morning rather than watch TV: Alastair). Marcus wants to know why and so do we and we think you might too. Apparently it is about oil for transport advice. With me now is a Black Cab driver... Or not, perhaps!

Jeremy Clarkson gets very Jeremy Clarkson about fast cars, petrol cans and other utterly riveting things from the MPH show. Divided opinion on this one so you decide but I'll warn you, even the antis think it's funny.....

And Chrissie will, on this freezing November evening, tell us why September and October were the hottest on record and what lies ahead in her magic world of meteorological mystery!

See you at 6 ; gosh, that's getting a bit close......

A & K

London Tonight: Wednesday November 1st

We start with a couple of shockers: Michael Stone the convicted Ulster Loyalist killer tells us, in his first TV interview, why he had Ken Livingstone in his sights: literally.
And American Jack Lemley, the former Head of Delivery for the 2012 Olympics, quit amicably two weeks ago. Now he's told American journalists it was all because of meddling politicians and spiralling costs. Not a word of that was said when he left amid back-slapping and glad-handing. Who was spinning whom and what is the real truth? Simon Harris is on the case.

Also this evening Jon Gilbert looks at a dramatic rescue and recovery exercise on the Thames that just left the survivors and victims' families of the Marchioness disaster asking why so many of the safety promises, made in the wake of the tragedy, remain unfulfilled.

And the premiere of a movie which is a kind of SpinalTap for the 21st century: Steve Hargrave treads the red carpet as Tamzin stays in the warm alongside Alastair.

See you at 6!

A and T