London Tonight Tonight: Thur 23rd Aug

Good afternoon.

 

Well that's a lie, for a start: it is raining.

 

So, allow us to take you away from all that in what is the final lap before a bank holiday weekend that threatens to be summer, all crammed into 72 hours.

 

Peter, Paul and Mary: a curious musical combo from way back when - actually the 50s and 60s I think - sang of "Leaving on a jet 'plane". They also sang about the now seriously politically incorrect "Puff, the Magic Dragon" so we'll have none of that.

Nor jet 'planes, come to that: but we have got pretty well every other form of transport trundling into our news agenda.

Well, rather than 'trundling', potentially grinding to a halt, for starters: the tube network. Maintainance staff, who keep the tube running safely and smoothly want to do neither for 72 hours to demonstrate their disquiet at receiving no guarantees from the now bankrupt and pretty well defunct Metronet that none will lose their jobs, their pensions nor have an iota of their working conditions impinged upon by this half billion pound collapse. Right. Piers is the man clutching the potentially redundant Oyster Card and explains why events in Whitechapel might just have helped their case. Falling masonry, he cried.

 

Next Liz, a woman I 've always thought of as a very womanly woman, has decided she wants to be a pilot - a ship's pilot, so relax if you feared I was reneging on one of my Peter, Paul and Mary pledges!.

She has a high old time in the simulator but wait until she gets a go with the real thing. Anchors away - well away, if I were you. She's just told me she told the instructor she can't even parallel park a car. And you'll love the explanation from the pilot of what was at stake when she muddled her port with her starboard"!

 

There's nothing worse than someone peeing in your back garden. Well, there is but let's settle for a lavatorial statute of limitations on this one. If your garden is at the end of a Bus route and the driver is in need, your flora bunda may get an unwelcome boost of uric acid which Titchmarsh himself tells me is no good for anything except dandelions. The drivers want portaloos or something like that and the gardeners are with them. Phil is flushed with his own success with this one.

 

We also talk to the bus driver who I am sure would no more pee in a garden than drive his car in a bus lane. He is a hero, a man of honour and our sort of guy. Hear why from the father who owes him a huge amount in what could have been a life and death challenge. Marcus will ring the bell when everyone's ready to start.

 

Finally, Ashley Walters became a pop star who became part of So Solid Crew who became Asher D who did some bad stuff who did time who saw the error of his ways who became a movie star. Sweet.

Sugarhouse sweet, in fact. Great guy (now!) and a great movie: he joins us live.

 

So, back to the packing and planning for the Bank Holiday but take a tea break with us at 6 and your spirits will soar. Unless you liked Puff The Magic Dragon who, to be fair, did live by the sea and did frolic.... enough!

 

There's work to do.

 

Alastair & Katie.

 

 

 

London Tonight Tonight Weds 22nd August

Good afternoon gang... and we've got a great show for you tonight. It's full of compelling and heartwarming stories aswell as things that will probably make you want to throw your remote at the telly!

 

Let's start with an exclusive look at the dangers of Crystal meth. The drug is fairly new on the London party scene... unfortunately becoming an addict of meths is far from a party. It ravages the body and the soul, and tonight we bring you the story of how it can also kill. Ben Grey's life quickly spiralled out of control when he started taking crystal meth. Now he's dead and his partner says it was the drug that killed him. We hear his story and hear from one former dealer about the timebomb waiting to go off.

 

Then there's the amazing story of the bus driver who saved a young boy's life. Conroy Ellis was minding his own business when a gang of youths starting yelling racist abuse at him. Within seconds a bus driver parked nearby realised he was in terrible danger. He stepped in and helped him escape... tonight we hear from Conroy's dad about the hero that saved his boy from becoming another Stephen Lawrence.

 

Talking of heroes. Ronnie Wood. Yes I did say Ronnie Wood is joining us to tell us all about art and music - and lighting up on the O2 stage. Alastair is beside himself with excitement!

 

That, and the inspiring story of little Harvey Perry who's 22 months old with no legs, but who's family is fighting to give him a chance at a normal life. If he doesn't win you over, nothing will... and Ben Scotchbrook asks why Summer in the City has been a total washout.

 

 

You'd better watch - it's a goodun!

 

Katie and Al will see you at six,
Faye (the Programme Editor)

 

 

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 20th Aug

Good afternoon.

Katie is back and she wasn't in Jamaica so she is OK and has come back at a time of her own choosing.

There was a concern that Chrissie's weather forecast could make her wish she had stayed where she was but she has cried "Nonsense" to that and can't wait to get to grips with what we have for you tonight. Can't blame her, given what we've got.

The killer of headmaster Philip Lawrence is due to be released shortly having served 12 years for the man's murder. The Home Office wanted him sent back to Italy from whence he hailed. But, they were warned, that would infringe his human rights. And Philip's, you might ask? And Mrs. Lawrence's? Ben investigates and we'll be asking for your views.

Camilla Batmanghelidjh has a crazy name and wears crazy head-gear. But she is also the founder of "Kids Company", a charity many think does more to keep kids on the straight and narrow than many others. Given what happened to Philip Lawrence and what has happened to getting on for 20 kids so far this year, her work is vital. Literally.

But she is running out of cash and energy. She'll tell us of her problems live on the show.

I don't think she'll copy the woman with a brain tumour who is launching a charity dating agency to raise a million before the ghastly growth takes her life.

But who knows.

Our education administrators who, of course, also have some influence on how our children turn out, show no signs of holding back on their remarkable displays of insensitivity and crassness: tonight Emma has the example of Potters Bar and a school closure leading to the moving of kids to another school.... without enough classrooms.

It would be "a cracker" were it not to do with the educational prospects of yet more of London's children.

And Black Gold on The Buses: Ken's Venezuelan oil bonanza has gushed all over some Oyster cards held by the less well off: Phil is our answer to Red Adair.

See you at 6!

Alastair & Katie

 

 

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 17th Aug

Good afternoon.

What a pond of anger and disquiet we dipped into last night! I had never even heard of "Chafford Hundred" though I know Lakeside very well. Chafford Hundred is a new housing development out there - where lots of lovely people are making their homes but not getting their kids into the schools they want. 22 kids to be precise. And it was clear from your calls and e-mails that what Liz discovered out there is far from unique.

Tonight, we've new twists that involve kids from the same family being forced to go to different schools in a way that drives a coach and horses through regulations. And a local MP who is outspoken, colourful and Labour - but who HM Government may wish had stayed on holiday! The Thurrock Thunderer, live at 6,.

Talking of holidays, I am afraid there's still no good news on the Heathrow front ; we take no sides on the environmental issues at stake but can report the protestors aren't moving - in more ways than one. Some are still firmly, if not a little muddily, at Heathrow. Others were firmly fixed at the Department of Transport and, in some cases, to the Department of Transport in what will prove a very painful way. Up, up and away with all on that story at 6.

My favourite tale tonight would not be out of place in an episode of Blackadder and a version of it featured in The Madness of King George. It is living proof that the old ways are sometimes still the best ways. It involves 30 slimy horrors, a mangled limb and a very happy man. You see if I'm not right!

But top of our news list is a simple yet stunningly powerful piece of work designed to save lives in London.

Hearts are not worn on sleeves nor is your nose rubbed in the bloody aftermath of a street shooting or knifing. A moving mix of classical music and stunning photography, blended with the image of a boy whose cousin was a victim, and the result is breath taking. We know you will be impressed and we all hope it does some good.

It is Friday so we will flirt, outrageously, with Julian Clary. Steve Hargrave took plums and a sausage to the interview which, personally, I think don't make for an agreeable lunch: sausages and tomatoes or plums and shortbread - but not plums and sausages. Anyway, we'll see what Julian makes of them.

Jasmin caught Matt Damon at the premier of Bourne Ultimatum and secured a terrific interview - even if it left her not a little speechless. (Mind you, Faye The Boss was as much use as a paper teapot afterwards, too, so it is hardly Jasmin's fault.)

Anyway, Helen casts a much more objective eye over the movie itself to help you decide whether it joins your Must Do This Weekend list or is a case of Bourne Avoidance.

She also looks at Bratz which I'd swear my kids auditioned for. Maybe they are in it? They never tell me anything these days apart from when they've run out of money.

Romily has answered the titanic challenge of crafting and recording her version of What Not To Miss - she looked a little nervous when The Boss asked her to do it and I think may even have gone for a lie-down , as I write, so as to be in mental and physical readiness for what many see as the Everest of TV packaging.

In every hope she survives the ordeal, we'll both see you at 6.

Alastair and Romily

 

 

London Tonight Tonight Thursday 16th August

Good afternoon, and seeing as Alastair just gave me his last jelly baby, the least I could do was offer to write our daily rundown of what not to miss on London Tonight at 6!

 

At six months pregnant, Denise Darrell-Lambert faces the prospect of walking 3 miles, to take her young daughter to school. Having failed to get a place at her chosen primary (a ten minute stroll away) - the four year old will face an hour and a half trek just to go to school and back. They live in Chafford Hundred in Thurrock, where more housing is due to be built imminently. So, what are the council doing to provide adequate school places? And what are families supposed to do if their children have to commute miles to class? Liz Wickham has been meeting the affected families, and we've put the Chief Exec of Thurrock Council on the spot.
Staying on the theme of education - and plenty of bright sparks have been celebrating brilliant A levels results across the capital today. It's prompted plenty of chat in the newsroom... it's amazing how fresh the memories of that morning are for some fairly hardened hacks! Well today - we've followed one outstanding pupil as he discovered just how well he'd done - and the results are far more hi-tech nowadays!

Next - the 7/7 report highlighting the fact that more than two years on, the emergency services are still struggling with inadequate communications underground. The airwave radios promised to police, fire and ambulance crews for use in the depths of the tube network have still not materialised - begging the question, if disaster struck tomorrow, would we be any better off than we were two years ago?

Well, we've been waiting with baited breath for some action, and today the protestors at the Heathrow climate camp, targeted another local airport. And whilst they chained themselves to the front gates at Biggin Hill, we're asking if this was a dry run for things to come at Heathrow?

Meanwhile, to the beautiful game - which has turned ugly. West Ham are now being sued by Sheffield United, Piers Hopkirk is at Upton Park with the latest.

All that, and a guide to how to avoid being ripped off by cowboy plumbers, electricians, and builders - don't miss it at 6.

Emma and Alastair

 

 

 

London Tonight Tonight Weds 15th August

Good afternoon.
I made a proposal to  Emma, and gave her something of  an ultimatum: given she has written the blog for the last two days, I will write it today. Or I will never write it again.
Faye, the Boss, was keen to call my bluff and save you from my occasionally surreal ramblings but Emma agreed to my proposal so no need to return to the ultimatum.
I could have taken to the skies to make my proposal if I was as imaginative and romantic as one viewer from East Sheen: James made Floss a seriously happy lass at several hundred feet up in the skies.. with a little help from his farmer dad. It will all make sense and make you shed a tear of joy and heave a sigh of blissful approval. Unless you're a crop-circle afflicted farmer.

Down to earth and Waterloo to be precise. The most bankable movie star in Hollywood was there a while ago to learn something very complicated to his advantage. We have issued him with an ultimatum to explain all to Jasmine, who was born to rub shoulders with the stars,  in Leicester Square.

In Wokingham they are very sad but deeply proud. Captain David Hicks hails from there. He died in action in Afghanistan, leading his troops and looking after them. His is a noble and moving story, told with passion and sensitivity by Simon Harris.

Marcus will try to unravel the brutal mystery surrounding another much loved person, knifed to death in her own car. She was on her way to work. She was a leading children's doctor. Police think her killer waited and waited and then struck. It is a tragic loss and a chilling tale.

But nothing competes with our lead story which is why it is our lead story.
The bare facts centre on litter, good citizenship and a cold killing. Can we no longer act the good citizen? Can we no longer intervene, safely, on the side of what is right? Has London become too dangerous for the law-abiding among us? It is that sort of story and you won't want to miss it.
Or any of it.

 

(Thanks Em': glad I got that off my chest.)

 

See you at 6

 

Alastair and Emma

London Tonight Tonight Tuesday 14th August

Good afternoon - and what a soggy one it must be for all those climate change protestors in tents at Heathrow! Nevertheless, as promised, Simon Harris was given a guided tour of the site today, and has been quizzing the campaigners on plans to cause chaos for holidaymakers.

But we start the show tonight with a terrible story. The tragic death of a two year old - stabbed to death by her own mother. Police were called to a flat in Barking in the early hours of this morning where they made the gruesome discovery. Ronke Phillips has been talking to neighbours who had already reported the woman's erratic behaviour, and voiced their concerns over her child's safety. It all raises the question - could this little girl's life have been saved?

Next - how can we avoid paying to drive into our city? Well it's simple according to Ken Livingstone, who plans to allow small cars a free ride when the congestion charge is reviewed in Feb 2008. If your car has a small carbon tyre print - no more charge, but for the gas guzzlers there will be a hefty bill to pay. Ben Scotchbrook has the complete run down on exactly who will be exempt.

 
When Bradley Evans travelled to Turkey on a diving holiday, he knew his father was due to have heart surgery next week, so stayed in regular contact. But last Monday, the phone calls stopped - he had vanished. His family have been telling Marcus Powell how it is completely out of character, and how they are worried sick about what has happened to him.

On to entertainment - and what more do you need than the fabulous Avenue Q! Celebrating their 500th show in the West End, the cast have been telling Jasmine Lowson all about the avenue's appeal, and how their Sesame street-style characters manage to keep adult audiences giggling. I certainly had sore sides after my visit - not for the easily outraged though!

No such strong language in London Tonight of course - so make sure you tune in for all the latest at 6.

Emma and Alastair

London Tonight Tonight Monday 13th August

Afternoon everyone,

 

Another busy start to the week here in London, and we've got all the top stories for you.

 

We start with a harrowing appeal from a grieving mother - begging local people to help catch her son's killer. Ben Hitchcock was one of a record 18 teenagers killed on London's streets this year alone - and his mum is certain someone knows who's responsible. She tells Ronke Phillips how she hopes they'll be brave enough to come forward.

 

Next - how would you feel if a teenager told you what to do in the street? Well, with two sixteen year olds now appointed as community support officers in Reading -Thames Valley residents better get used to it. We'll be finding out why the force thinks kids are capable of supporting the police.

 

They've vowed to cause disruption and admitted they do plan to break the law - we're live at the Camp for Climate Action at Heathrow, as Simon Harris investigates what chaos may ensue at the capital's busiest airport.

 

Now - how many of you carry a donor card? And how many of you have even given due consideration to whether you would donate your organs?

Well, one man on the show tonight is hoping that he might just be able to persuade you it's the right thing to do. Peter Williams is 28 years old, but has been told that without a new heart he will die in three weeks time. Marcus Powell met the father of three, fighting for his life.

 

And finally tonight - "I feel the need for speed". Well sort of! If you recognise that line, you'll definitely want to see Chrissie at a gathering of Top Gun fans tonight.....she hasn't told us whether she'll be in a flight suit just yet...but she is meeting "Viper" and promising not to lose her wing man!

 

Plenty to keep you watching - so hope you'll join us at 6.

 

Emma and Alastair

 

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 10th Aug

Good afternoon and welcome to London Tonight Tonight in which we try to tempt you to join us and stay with us for the whole programme tonight.

 

Well, if I wasn't presenting it,l I'd scoot home to make sure I could watch it!

We take you inside the Pirbright facility where we are now almost certain the Foot and Mouth outbreak began. We talk to the Chief Vet Debbie Reynolds about the latest scares. (By the way, do you think, in 30 years, there'll be a Chief Vet called Uma Thurman or Kate Winslett?)

Away from that, George Galloway reveals which parliamentary seat he intends to contest at the next general election: you probably already know he'd said it wasn't going to be Bethnal Green and Bow again but the person he hopes to hurt this time is even more important, at the moment, than Oonagh King was last time.

The night before graduation at the Sandhurst Military Academy, or passing out as they call it, and disaster struck.

The ghastly details are more Peyton Place than An Officer and A Gentleman.

A young woman cadet, seriously ill in hospital; a young male cadet, held by police investigating attempted murder; 4am booze-ups and people in their underwear. And all among the country's future Officer Corps. It is jaw-dropping.

On the entertainment front, I am in a state of deep decline because Tamzin and I didn't get to interview Natalie Imbruglia who, instead, pours out her heart to Steve. I no longer support his campaign to play Buddy in the West End. (Tamzin says it was only ever a one-man campaign so "He's stuffed!")

Helen will be here to cast an eye over the movies and Tamzin will, as ever, craft her indispensable almanac of the weekend joys in the capital: yes, it is What Not to Miss.

I fought the fight but, alas, there will also be a preview of the footy season that pours, like a pot of poison, across your paths this weekend. The good news is that Piers and producer Chris have come up with a very clever, informative and even sexy take on this commencement of sporting hostilities - even I enjoyed it!

So with the weather wrapped like fine fish and chips in tonight's newspapers, it should be a feast fit for all of you.

Chomping begins at 6.

See you there.

Alastair and Tamzin.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Thurs Aug 9th

 

Hello.

Busy programme tonight - and here's just some of it.

Among the stories - a twelve year old trapped on Southend beach as the tide came in - it took rescuers twenty terrifying minutes to save her - we talk to her AND her rescuers tonight.

Lots more dogs are being dumped in London - in fact the figures are up a third in a year. Apparently too many people are getting dogs as fashion accessories and then realising they don't actually want them. We investigate and see some of the abandoned canines.

Plus we meet those living in the middle of the Olympic construction site.

We have the latest live from Surrey on Foot and Mouth.

 

 

Oh - and we go down to Devil Gate Drive.  Yes - the queen of leather rock - Suzi Quatro - is with us in the studio.

 

Join Alastair and Tamzin for the latest at six.

 

 

Stuart

Editor

 

 

 

 

 

London Tonight Tonight

Afternoon!

I will be holding the fort alone in the studio this evening as Ben is right this moment hot footing it to Surrey, to bring you the inside story on foot and mouth.
He will be disinfecting his boots and talking directly to farmers about how they are bearing up under the strain of living inside the surveillance zone. 

 

And you know what's really upsetting the farmers -  the possibility that this outbreak has come from one of the animal health labs that is supposed to be protecting animals not INFECTING them.  Tonight both laboratories under suspicion -  the government one and a commercial one - are effectively saying it's not us.  Glen Goodman will be attempting to get to the bottom of who's to blame.

 

It seems as though we have had to report far too many stories of shootings in the Capital this year.  The death of Nathan Foster is another where you just think: God, what a terrible waste.  Nathan was 18, he had everything going for him and he was trying to STOP a fight when he was shot.  Ronke has been talking exclusively to his devastated sister and girlfriend.

 

We will also bring you the latest on the row over the eco demo at Heathrow - disruptive and dangerous or legitimate protest?

And property guru Kirstie Allsopp has been looking into the future to predict where house prices are going. So if you have a property, want to get one or are thinking of selling up - don't miss it.

 

See you at 6,

Romilly

 

 

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 3rd Aug

Good afternoon: it is hot, bright and Friday; and, as with night following day and traffic wardens following innocent motorists, Saturday and Sunday beckon. We will get you off to a cracking start.

Unless you live in Surrey this weekend, where we've breaking news of a possible disease outbreak. Could be some time before we know if it's for real. It could be that, just at the moment you spread marmalade on your breakfast toast, the all-clear will be sounded.

Or not. We'll tell you what the experts are saying tonight at 6.

Idi Amin was a fat, brutal dictator who, whilst falling short of mass genocide, was a killer and torturer of hideous proportions: both the size of the man and the scale of his crimes, if you follow me.

All I want to say at this stage is, given all we know about genetics and nasty things that run in the blood of even nastier families, you will be pleased to hear the current whereabouts of a young thug who was involved in some brutal goings on in Camden last year. It is the stuff of movies, I tell you. Piers is our Stephen Spielberg.

Earlier this week someone found the Boss's baby son's hat and the car keys we had separately left on different trains. We both got back our precious property. Hurrah.

In my case some kind soul handed them in and I got them back from Waterloo Lost Property just 24 hours later. Thank you God, thank you "finding person" and thank you Waterloo lost property.

They were sitting on top of a medium size tray in the Lost Property Office with about thirty keys in it....

At St Pancras, soon to be home to Eurostar, imagine the size of tray (or probably packing case) they require to hold the hundred examples of a particular item already handed in this year. It is rapidly becoming the most frequently lost/found thing at that beautiful terminus: bigger than a set of keys but smaller than an artificial leg, also often lost apparently!

All will be revealed to a chorus of "Ah" at 6.

A man from Wimbledon packed his jam-sandwiches, flask of tea and a bit of toffee and set sail for Australia. Weeks and thousands of miles later he foundered. He had not one but two maps and the cause of his disappointment has form. So what was it and how come he is the man with the reddest face in both northern and southern hemispheres? Give ear to Robin Ross in her fetching matelot outfit, tonight.

Which just leaves Buddy the stage show, a terrific film about the hoax surrounding Howard Hughes (The Aviator) diaries and Tamzin's stellar What Not To Miss, all wrapped up in a review of the evening papers and tied together with Mona's weather forecast: how big will those UV numbers be tonight?

Join me and Tamzin, wrestling with her What Not to Miss script as I write, at 6.

Sun bathe first but be there later!!

Alastair

London Tonight Tonight Thursday 2nd August

Afternoon,

The second report into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is finally out - and as leaks yesterday suggested it highlights serious errors of communication at the very top of The Met.
The report exonerates Met chief Sir Ian Blair from charges of deliberately misleading the public.

In a press conference today Sir Ian stressed again that he did not lie. However questions remain over HOW the message that an innocent man had been shot took so long to get to the man at the top. Especially when rumours were reaching OFF-DUTY officers at a cricket match on the afternoon of the shooting. We'll examine the report and speak to one of the men in charge on the day.

 

Away from our top story - a tragic tale of a young boy maimed for life after an horrific dog attack in Hoxton. 7 year old Wassim Seghir was mauled so badly by the Staffordshire Bull terrior that doctors say he's lucky to be alive.  The little boy is having another operation today as surgeons battle to rebuild his face. So should there be more stringent controls on dogs ?

 

A couple in Wembley have made a pretty grim discovery in their back garden....a human skull. Police think the murder was likely to have occured just a year ago. We're on board with the real "cold case" experts as they attempt to solve the mystery.

 

Also....Covent Garden market away from the flowers and back to its roots - as a purveyor of fine foods. Sangeeta will be there tonight as it launches as a new evening food market. We'll be forcing her to eat chocolate cake, poor girl.

 

All that and Steve Hargrave chatting to some of pop's top producers-turned-performers...

AND Robin with his usual surreal brand of weather forecast.

It's happening at 6 - see you there.

 

Tamzin and Ben

London Tonight Tonight Weds 1st August

Good evening.

Breaking news is coming in as I type this of a building collapse in Southwark -  we're being told at least one person has died. Details are sketchy at the moment but do tune in at  6 when we'll endeavour to bring you the full story.

 

Also on tonight's programme - the second report into the Stockwell shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is out tomorrow...but there have been leaks. Those leaks would seem to suggest no heads will roll at The Met. The investigation was into why initial briefings to the press and public suggested that Jean Charles WAS linked to the terror attacks on the capital. Why there was so much apparent miscommunication....Why SUCH important messages were getting mixed. There are some criticisms leveled at senior officers though - we'll have the full story.

 

We're a nation of pet lovers aren't we? So why then were incidents of animal cruelty UP 17 % in London last year? Ronke's been out and about with the RSPCA, seeing the conditions some of our four legged friends have to put up with, and meeting the men and women who fight to protect them. She also makes friends with some kittens so be prepared to get a bit soppy...

 

We're keeping an eye on the story we've been following since last week about the injunction Heathrow airport is attempting to bring against climate change protestors....

And - maybe it's because she's a Londoner but Kate Nash is having a pretty hot time of it. Tipped as the next big thing, with a single that's rapidly becoming the soundtrack to our rather soggy summer... This is a girl going places - and this afternoon Steve Hargrave joined her on her way.

All that plus Chrissie (in the sunshine for once).

Switch on at 6 and we'll tell you more

 

Tamzin and Alastair

London Tonight Tonight, Tues 31st July - and this one's a little surreal...

Good afternoon.
From a pigeon's perspective, this London Tonight lot have a rather mixed programme for you tonight.

 

I have to declare an interest: I am a Trafalgar Square pigeon. I, and my many siblings (can't be sure about my parents, for obvious reasons) have felt under considerable threat for sometime. I do not take well to being called a "rat with feathers" and, given I do not have the vote, can do very little democratically to express my views about this man my great-grandfather called Red Ken. My grandfather knew him as an MP but we have only known him as Mayor. And he hates us. It is difficult to live with. He wants us dead. And to learn that some pie in the sky idea has wafted over from Los Angeles, like a mad migrating magpie, and involves putting us on "The Pill", makes me believe the man is not only bad but definitely mad.
Someone called Robin (is that supposed to be a joke?) Ross will explain all at 6.

Some of my human friends are active members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - in London they even set up a branch call "RSPB Including Pigeons, Mr. Mayor". Anyway they, and pretty well anyone else who has joined a society to protect the lovely countryside and save the planet, are all threatened with a ban from Heathrow Airport because they want to protest against another runway. Incidentally, we don't want the runway either. 30 tons of aluminium hitting an innocent pigeon at 300 mph is not amusing. The Mayor has a rant about this at 6 and Simon Harris who, like me, enjoys flying, has the story.

 

A gull, who is a friend from the coast, tells me raw fish is terrific. Chilled but not frozen. That odd-ball EU Health and Safety mob insist it must be frozen when served to you humans as something called sushi. You'll break your teeth, I tell you! Anyway, apparently London Sushi chefs are in a flap about it as Phil will tell.

 

Tamzin, who loves all wildlife including pigeons, has unearthed some great old pictures of even older pops stars, all of whom Alastair recognises and many of whom he has even seen.

 

You'll be hearing from the Household Cavalry in Iraq and in their London barracks, plus the first interview with a remarkably brave and inspiring lady who was a victim of the London bombs but has taken to flying. She's just completed a fund-raising tour.
Now that's my kind of lady!

 

Alastair and Tamzin ask me to ask you to join them at 6.
(I'll be in the Square, unless that Livingstone bloke gets me first.)
Oh, I'm all of a flutter.

London Tonight Tonight 26th July

Good afternoon,

 

It's a bit of a dark and dreary day out there and unfortunately the first story we bring you tonight is also dark, and depressing. Last night a 16 year old boy was chased, by a gang reportendly shouting threats, through a Stockwell estate. He was caught, shot and pronounced dead at the scene. A horrifying crime but one that's becoming all too familiar on our streets.

We'll have the latest on THAT shooting on the day that the killer of another young Londoner was sentenced to life. Last year Hannad Hasan stabbed 15 year old Kiyan Prince through the heart. Today he was told he must serve at least 13 years in prison. Kiyan's dad is coming into the studio to tell us his feelings on this sentence and to update us on his ongoing campaign.

 

Also ..... were you singing along to Babs Streisand last night, or Joss Stone...or chuckling away at the premiere of the new Simpson's movie. If so did you manage to get home OK ? Thos three huge events all took place at the O2 last night, making it a very busy night for the venue. And it seems many people struggled to get away, some waiting for up to three hours for a cab home. We'll investigate further and let you know what we discover.

 

Plus, the thesbian theologian and his church / theatre project....

The one-off works of art based on your DNA.....

And the subject we've all been obsessed with for weeks now - yep that's right the weather. Chrissie will be here to tell us if there's light at the end of the tunnel.

We'll see you at 6

 

London Tonight Tonight Wednesday 25th July

Good Afternoon Everyone.

Hope you're well. Hope you're not working too hard. And if you've got the day off - keep it to yourself.

 

This evening, we're going to be looking westwards. The floods are coming. We've all watched the misery of thousands of people, forced out of their homes for the best part of a week now. Well, much of Oxford (less than 60 miles from London) is under water today and it looks like our corner of England is next. So, a solid chunk of our programme is taken up with events along the Thames.

Simon Harris reports on the picture in Reading where residents could be hours away from disaster... Phil Bayles will cover preparations in Marlow and Henley (and the plan to divert floods around Windsor)... and Chrissie is at work ON the river, out on patrol with the RSPCA. Later, busy girl, she'll talk us through all the flood watches and warnings we need to know about.

 

Away from the floods, Piers Hopkirk has the story of a man, his medals and the thieves who stole them. Yep, two conmen lied their way into a pensioner's house and took 6 medals in all. Two were for his service in the RAF. The others rewarded his father's duties in the First World War. The search for the really precious possessions is on - and the cops are keen to get them back to their rightful owner.

 

We'll also have a restored organ at the Hammersmith Apollo... and the premiere of 'The Simpsons Movie' - NOT now showing in Hammersmith, but at the O2 (which looks uncannily like the Simpsons' home town, Springfield).

 

Okay, plenty more work to do before we can serve it all up, so away we go...

See you at six.

Ben & Katie

 

 

London Tonight Tonight Tuesday 24th July

Hello to you.

 

The sun's shining. Honest. If you're working somewhere that doesn't have windows (or you lost the weekly raffle for the desk by the window) - go outside and see for yourself. Mother said there'd be days like this. And she was right.

However, we - and some of the rest of the country - are not out of the watery woods just yet. As the water that fell out of the sky over the weekend slowly surges down the Thames, there are communities in our parts who's worst fears have, or may soon, come true. That's obviously ONE of the stories we'll be looking at this evening. Chrissie will also have the all-important forecast too.

One thought that will have occurred to lots of people watching the dreadful pictures of flooded homes over the last few weeks - WHY were the houses built so close to the river? They were bound to flood, weren't they? Much the same point is made about future house-building in a Government report - that came out 4 years ago. And yet there are still plans to build on a flood-plain at Barking Reaches. Damien Steward will look at the common sense of it all.

 

And what of the common sense of paying a man MILLIONS of pounds for... well, what DID Bob Kiley do for London transport? The Mayor reckons he's some sort of God. An expensive God, certainly - but now that he seems to be firmly on his way back west, we ask was he worth the money? Mind you, the total bill might not be quite so huge thanks to London's booming property prices ... Confused? Glenn Goodman will try to clear things up for us.

 

Our lead tonight, though, has the 'you have GOT to be kidding' factor. Extraordinary and sickening. Former boxer James Oyebola was in a London club last night when someone started smoking next to him. We know that's against the law. He knows that's against the law. But after he had POLITELY pointed that out... he was shot. He's now fighting for his life in hospital. Liz Wickham will have the latest on the condition of a man described by former colleagues as a 'gentle giant'.

 

On a lighter note, we'll also have Carmen (Jones not rollers)... bike thieves (getting their glorious comeuppance).

It's all on ITV1 at SIX.

 

See you then,

Ben & Katie.

 

This is a technical test

Sorry folks. We've been having a few gremlins! We'll hopefully be back in touch later today.

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London Tonight Tonight Friday 20th July

God to Noah : Build me an ark.
Noah to God: Fine.
Just one question.
What's an "ark" ?
It felt a bit that way this morning in London and , suddenly, as if the dove of peace had landed on my upturned hand and the rainbow of promise had bathed our street in bright pastels, it stopped.
But we have pictures of all that happened in between : from our brilliant cameramen and women, and from you, at your very best, with mobile phones and videos. Get your wellies and sou'westers on and be there at 6. Glen risks the deeps on our collective behalves so you won't miss a frame.
Americans don't do irony but they do in Wandsworth: in the midst of the deluge, a bolt of lightning struck a block of flats causing a rather frightening fire. As gallons of water fell from the sky, yet more gallons of water jetted up - from the brave men and women of the LFB.
The latest on that at 6 as the Met say avoid Wandsworth at all costs. Unless you're a duck.

Our producer Faye is young, beautiful and very gifted: but she is young. OMD were part of the soundtrack to my early twenties - Tamzin, I thought rather cruelly, just pointed out that her dad liked them, too. And then poured salt into my wounds by the sackful by flipantly announcing her dad retires today. Age shall not weary them? Yeah, yeah...
Anyway, Faye was less clear about OMD but bravely commissioned a piece on their comeback. In the hands of Steve Hargrave, all should be well. (What would Faye do, I worry, if they DID find Elvis on the moon? It troubles me).

James King reviews the movies tonight. Apparantly Faye and The Boss have a little competition to see who can write the funniest caption explaining who he is and/or what he does: see if you can spot it tonight and, indeed, in future weeks. It is Friday. We like having a little fun. Yes, I know: it really is a very "little" fun....

Finally, for the political classes, me included, we will confirm what happened in Ealing last night. General Election October 25th 2007. You heard it here first.
Plus papers, weather (if they dare !!) and What Not to Miss for your weekend planning. Faye wasn't sure we had room but Tamzin insisted.
As I conclude, traffic wardens are dealing with cars that were abandoned by their owners when caught in the rain. You won't believe what they are doing but, if you tune in at six, be more than ready to take up arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them. (apologies to Shakespeare)
Tamzin and I, all the whole damp team who can't wait for dry socks and cocoa, hope you will be there at 6.

Alastair

London Tonight Tonight Appeal

Hi everyone,
Time for you to be the journalists!
Are you flooding right now... Is the rain pouring down where you are?
We want to see your video and any pictures you have of the storms, and the wild weather.

Email us at: londontonight@itvlondon.com
Text us: 07738 100 200

Thanks - and get sending!

More from the team later...

Faye (The Desperate Programme Editor!)

London Tonight Tonight Thursday 19th July

Afternoon!

We know how worried Londoners are by gangs of teenagers hanging around on street corners, and with summer holidays looming, I guess there's a concern that problem is only going to get worse. So any courses or schemes to keep young people happy, occuppied and off the streets should be welcome, right? Well .. kind of . Classes are being offered in .. Grafitti. And lots and lots of you think it is the most ridiculous idea they've ever heard. We'll be letting you have a right old ding dong with the government adviser who's dreamed up the scheme.

A sad story of a woman who died of a particularly severe epileptic fit. Her family aren't blaming the hospital that had been treating her .. but they are asking us all to be more aware of the real dangers of this disease that can strike at any time.

An extraordinary tale of canine medical magic.. yes, we're going to introduce you to the world's first bionic dog. No, really, we are! And he swims!

We've got a wonderful happy ending following an ad in the newspaper for adoptive families in the Afro Caribbean community ... we've got the princess of punk herself in the studio, Siousxie Sioux minus her Banshees ...
and we've got Chrissy telling us what we already knew .. that this summer is SOGGY!!! This date last year .. guess what the temperature was... 36 degrees centigrade. Ah well.. I suppose that was a bit TOO hot!

See you at 6, Katie and Al.

London Tonight Tonight Wednesday the 18th July

Good Afternoon one and all.

We hope you're all well and enjoying what's left of your Wednesday.

Busy programme this evening and, of course, the BIG news is the story about one of the companies that's been given an awful lot of money to maintain the tube. Metronet has effectively gone belly up - called in the administrators this morning. They say they're owed half a billion quid for work they've done above and beyond their contract. Not many other people seem to agree - which has left them rather short. So, what of our tube journeys? What of the workers? What of the bills that need paying? Simon Harris is our man with the answers.

Actually, there seems to be rather a lot of people playing the blame game this evening. A businessman who slipped over at Marylebone said rotting petals from a florist were to blame... the owner of the florist said there's no proof... a judge said it probably WAS the petals and says there's rather a lot of compensation due (we're talking over a MILLION). Quite a barney. Lots at stake. Glen Goodman's on top of it all.

Now, every parent will tell you that little boy or girl is one in a million. Mr and Mrs Fitzgerald can rightly claim that their son Lucas is rather rarer. Like, er, doctors didn't know of another living child with his deadly condition. How was he cured? Who cured him? Liz Wickham has been to meet the Family Fitzgerald.

We'll also be looking back at 30 years of rocking against racism... there'll be the latest on the two London schoolgirls accused of drug-smuggling in Ghana... and our Chrissie will tell you just how much rain we're going to have tomorrow.

See you at SIX. On ITV1.

Katie & Ben

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues 17th July

Good afternoon from all at London Tonight where Ben Scotchbrook is introducing his delightful son, Noah, to the collective: I smiled but pressed on with work. I was celebrating my daughter's graduation at midnight so toddlers are a distant, but agreeable, memory.

More of a disagreeable memory is all that money Metronet got, indirectly from you. They got it on your behalf and spent it, only to come back and ask for more. Tim O'Toole was pretty clear, on last night's show, where the blame lay for the debacle and, this afternoon, Ken Livingstone was even clearer: unless you are a Metronet share-holder you may well find yourself in gleeful agreement with him. Harris, who else, is the man with the Oyster card and Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass, poring over the details.

Still on dosh, MPs asked George Galloway MP, (Respect, Bethnal Green & Bow) for the details of where his Mariam charity got all their money from. It wasn't his answers that upset them half as much as his attitude towards them. Two falls, two submissions or a pin-fall and George looks set to spend 18 working days in his Constituency rather than in the House. It's the Parliamentary equivalent of being told to stand in the corner. The whys and wherefores from Ronke.

Noah Scotchbrook is now screaming.
I think my daughter is quietly sleeping it off.
We press on.

A total non-sequitor but a mini Taj Mahal floated down the Thames this afternoon and Joanna Lumley spoke elegantly about it: hear her explanation at 6.

Finally, two horror stories that need little explanation but begger comprehension.
In those halcyon days of April, a man was sun-bathing on Clapham Common. What woke him was sheer agony: Emma has the story.
And we bless them, we use them, we often befriend them: the corner shop angels with a pint of milk at midnight or a paper and (for me) a packet of ciggies at first light. We bring you the terrifying images of what has prompted them to set up a "life or death" reward fund to help catch the people making their lives a nightmare as they try to make our lives easier to live.

It is from a brilliant London Programme and you won't want to miss a frame.

Noah has been taken away and some seem to be getting back to work.
Ha! Good to be ahead of the game.

See you at six.

Alastair and Katie.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 16th July

Good afternoon and welcome to Day One of another week of London Tonight.

Where to start?
Venomous ferocity in Farringdon?
The blitzkrieg on boards, boasting about bountiful estate agents?
Metronet's plea for more millions?
Or Boris?

All is, or all are, there tonight so you don't have to chose: just be there at 6 and feast on it all.

Very few politicians are so iconic that their surnames seem superfluous.
London already has one - Ken.
And we could get another - Boris.

Boris isn't talking, beyond confirming that he wants to ride into battle in Tory colours in search of your votes. "I am not a Tory", I hear many of you scream. Doesn't matter. The Tory party are asking all Londoners who they think should be the Tory candidate for Mayor. So you get not one but potentially two chances to electorally endorse or democratically defenestrate Boris: first, as candidate and next, possibly, as Mayor.
All will be explained when we are joined by the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, live at 6.

It's all got terribly difficult for Metronet: LT keep changing their minds and asking for extra bits and different standards. They find they need half a billion pounds to get back on the straight and narrow.
No they don't, say LT.
And the man who has to decide between these warring factions has decided who is right: full and frank details at 6 and live reaction from the man who runs the Underground, Tim O'Toole.

There's to be a purge on estate agent's boards - shame it is not the estate agents themselves some might argue but we couldn't possibly comment.

Farringdon has a problem with rattle snakes. Yes, that's what I thought too; so we will attempt to explain, without frightening you.

A lack of the right documents for you and your car used to entail a trip to the Cop Shop - now your pride and joy can end up in the crusher if you are caught short of a license, insurance or road tax: and it is happening with record frequency.

I've run out of ink and energy!

There must be something for you in that lot! And the weather and the papers...and your e-mails on Boris.

Katie and I think you have no excuses left.

See you at 6.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Friday 13th July

Woohay everyone. It's F-F-F-FRIDAY. (Sorry too much coffee.)

Ahead, we hope, a gloriously relaxing weekend. For those who like a drop... a cheeky bottle of white perhaps to waken the palate - or, if you prefer, a case of lager. And for the non-drinkers - Ribena.

Fingers crossed we'll have the weather to barbecue by, or at least, go out without galoshes... Chrissie, of course, will have a the full story - aided by Darth Vader and Princess Leia. Now, THAT's woken some of you up, hasn't it?

What about this? 'Boris Johnson WILL run for Mayor'. That certainly woke US up when we read it this morning - but, from his office today, no word of confirmation. We wait, eagerly, to hear, because - let's face it - love Livingstone, or loathe him, you have to agree when he says 'Boris as Tory candidate' would make for interesting electioneering. Piers Hopkirk will sum up the state of play this evening.

As for the rest of the programme, we start with a man who set out to kill people because he thought they were 'sinners' - you may remember the story we covered last year of a petrol-bombing on a shop in Kennington. Two men died. Tonight we have the CCTV pictures of Robert Torto as he prepares and then carries out his deadly attack - and Phil Bayles will have the full story.

Next up: a tax on old bags - not really. It's a tax on NEW ones. If the London boroughs get their way, every time you buy shopping and you want to carry it out in a plastic bag: "that'll be 10p, please". They say it'll cut down the number of plastic bags going to landfill sites and they'll spend their windfall on being even greener. Glen Goodman is our bag-man.

Damien Steward, meanwhile, will be bashing those estate agents who clutter our streets with their ugly boards... especially when they've nothing to sell, or let, at all.

We'll be also be finding out whether 'Harry Potter Five' is worth the price of a ticket... and, AND... we'll be talking to a 'Teacher' and 'The Master' about their life together on the London Stage: Adrian Bower and John Simm are in to talk about 'Elling' which is on at the Trafalgar Studios.

So... put the Pinot (or 'bena) on ice, gather round the TV, and we'll all start the weekend together - on ITV1, at SIX o'clock.

See you then,

Ben

London Tonight Tonight Thursday 12th July

Good afternoon.
On the tie issue, I choose not to wear one on Fridays because it is a drop-down, unwind, get-ready-for-the-weekend sort of day. That's all. Paxman and Snow can elevate it to an issue of intellect if they want, but for me it is about chilling out. Just wanted to get that off my chest - or neck.
Second, I am told cycling is the second most popular sport in this glorious land of ours, second only to swimming. I'd have sworn fishing was up there but, hey, I'll accept producer Faye's statistics, hook, line and sinker.

More of those sports in a moment but we start with a case of dumb naivity, cynical greed or total innocence.
The drama is unfolding in Ghana, west Africa, as I write. The dramatis personae include two 16 year girls, who we think hail from north London; a team from UK Customs and Excise on an undercover operation in west Africa; and some heavies from the Ghanian authorities who say the penalty for drug smuggling is a minimum 10 year term. At the heart of it all is 6.5 kilos of cocaine: and it's our top story tonight.

Cycling at great speed is, apparantly, compelling. Right. They even do it really slowly and then..... shoot off, at great speed. Apparantly THAT is even more compelling. Indeed, compelling on an Olympic scale. Where they will be doing it in 2012 will be revealed to Simon Harris, our man in the peloton...

Swimming is different: elegant, almost an art-form, it can be enjoyed by giggling babies, thrown in at the deep-end by parents who have read the latest text books, right through to gods and goddesses who glide through the water at amazing speeds, propelled by a range of amazing strokes. Then there are the strange folk who Chrissie found. They have swum across London, via all manner of swim-places and they end up on Hampstead Heath, tonight. Worth tuning in just to fathom, really.

Easier to fathom is why 36 Sat-Navs are stolen every week in London - rapid turn-around and good retail value for the scum who lift them. A good-guys-and-gals guide to how you can avoid becoming this week's number 37.
Also, Dave Stewart on how he picked an Annie Lennox sing-alike for his show at Tower of London from hundreds of wannabes. And an invitation to you to nominate the really good people in your community who deserve a public, and very spendable, pat on the back: details at 6.
Katie and I really hope you can make it... unless you are fishing. In which case, we are so sorry.

Alastair

London Tonight Tonight Wednesday 11th July

Good Afternoon from the 'London Tonight' gang,

We hope you're all enjoying the fact that having slaved past midday on this Wednesday, we are now - officially - over half way through the week. That means talk in the canteen and by the noticeboard can legitimately turn to plans for the weekend.

We do still have the day's news to take care of... and we start with a bit of a barney, frankly. And it's a barney which really could effect all of us. Published today - proposals for a massive makeover of the way healthcare is organised and provided here in London. It'll mean benefits for patients says the Health Minister behind it. It'll be a complete disaster says a London health charity. Emma Walden has the details - and after she's presented all the arguments - we'll be looking to hear your points of view... please.

It's likely you'll have an opinion on the three youngsters who've been caught on camera as they run this way and that across a live railway line near Staines. The pictures take your breath away. The kids were lucky a train didn't take their lives away. The BTP gave us the pictures to show and we'll be hearing from a man who's son was hit and killed by a train.

Ronke Phillips probably has the most difficult story to cover this evening - it's the launch of a new campaign by the Met to clampdown on the dreadful custom of female circumcision. Girls as young as four are subjected to the brutal act which many defend in the name of tradition or religion. It's a powerful report.

And we'll be asking whether the elderly should get privileged parking... whether a talented and popular 'music meister' has what it takes to wow the art critics... and what on earth Chrissie is doing on the beach... in Greenwich.

Much to see - all at the usual time, usual place.

See you at SIX on ITV1.

Ben & Katie

London Tonight Tonight Tuesday 10th July

Hello: I'm Dan the Director and I wanted to tell you what Al and Katie and Faye and all the others have planned for you. I just have to get it to your screens so here goes!
If the next series of Top Gear did an episode of great getaway cars, I very much doubt a brand new Bentley Continental would come top of the billing, but that's just what happened when two robbers turned up at an unsuspecting high-end jewellers. We have the full amazing story including exclusive CCTV footage.

And the gang behind the Olympics might need a getaway car if a group of MPs are predicting correctly!
The Public Accounts Committee says there's a lot going wrong with the 2012 plans - and there's no-one taking the bull by the horns. Tessa Jowell talks to us LIVE and we will ask if she is the person to grab the horns!

Chrissie's with former Squeeze, Jools Holland. No, not literally - but she is interviewing him about the start of the Summer Swing festival at Kew Gardens. And as if that wasn't enough showbiz for you - Steve Hargrave talks to the artist formally known as Blondie. Debbie Harry is swapping her rock n roll days for something slightly more sedate. In fact she's turning Ben Elton to help do the songs for a new musical hitting the West End.

There's lots more than that - but as Director of the show, and guest writer on London Tonight Tonight - I simply haven't got time to tell you... You'll just have to watch Al and Katie to find out.

See you at 6.
Dan.

London Tonight Tonight Monday 9th July

Afternoon.
A child will look you in the eye and say "I didn't mean to !"
Most times, you soften and give them the benefit of the doubt.
And you must have heard "that's not what I meant" a million times.
But a jury was eye-balled by three men who said, despite packing rucksacks with a bizarre and potentially deadly mixture of explosive materials, and setting foot on tube trains and buses with trigger devices at the ready that "they didn't mean to" and that mass murder was "not what they meant".
The Jury told them to take a hike, found them guilty and they await sentencing.
The full, horryfying story of the 21/7 bombers at 6.

I love "Make me Smile" by Cockney Rebel - Steve Harley, lead singer of Cockney Rebel, doesn't. Well, not anymore it seems. He is coming in tonight to explain himself. Not really. He is coming in to explain what he's doing on the West End Stage but we might mention "Make me Smile". He also says he was visited as a sick child by the Rolling Stones. I am deeply envious and would have feined serious illness to win such a benediction. He saw my idols and he dislikes one of my favourite songs? Katie will have to turn referee, me thinks.
Did the Stones wash their hands before and after seeing the poorly young Harley? I have my doubts. Nowadays it is a more serious matter with MRSA and cDiff. We reveal the Hospital which has received a final warning over cleanliness. If the NHS safety people don't get Satisfaction, the Hospital will be told that was The Last Time.

There's a by-election in Southall on the 19th - we look at the runners and riders in what looks like a fascinating race, and a real test for all the parties amid talk of early elections.
Weather, papers and your e-mails on hospital cleanliness and I hope you give us a clean bill of health for what has the symptoms of being a rather interesting programme.
Best wishes from the man in the white coat, Alastair, and the calm but authoritative woman, clutching her referee's whistle, Katie.
See you at 6.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Thurs 5th July

Greetings from the London Tonight team, occupying the same space in the same city in the same land, as usual.

But tonight, our theme is another country.

Ronke reports on the money transfer business which existed to dispatch large quantities of cash for large numbers of people to ... other countries. It is a common practice for many immigrant workers and even second and third generation ethnic minority families who still have loved ones in another country. But the money has gone missing. Possible millions of it, reducing thousands of people here, and abroad, to a state of distraught panic. The company say "sorry" .
Ronke's investigation will find out if it's that simple.

Many of you set off on a tube journey this morning as office workers or shop-keepers or students. But, when a nightmare struck hundreds of feet underground, you turned into video journalists. A derailment sent several people to hospital but, fortunately, none have died. But what country do the people who left debris on the line, live in? And it was on Metronet's manor that it happened, a company we increasingly think occupies a space on this earth that few of us can fathom!

Race tracks are for race cars and Great Ormond Street Hospital is for poorly children. Two very different worlds. Hear how the geniuses of GOSH saw something in what the F1 pit-crews do for Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikenon that could help them help the kids. Brilliant stuff with Tamsin Roberts at the wheel - or in the white coat.

Hairspray premiers in Leicester Square with John Travolta dressed, not as another country but as another gender. Steve is there.

And Rupert Everett, who stared in Another Country, one of my all time favourites, has written an autobiography: hilariously naughty and emotionally frank. Rupert is with us tonight and I think you ought to be, too.

Unless you're off to another country in which case .. au revoir!

If not, see you at 6.

Alastair and Tamzin.

London Tonight Tonight Tuesday 3rd July

Good evening. And we hope you'll join us for a very special edition of London Tonight, tonight.
You probably saw on our programme yesterday that a teenaged boy was found guilty of the murder of 15 year old Kiyan Prince last May.
Hannad Hasan took Kiyan's life with a penknife, and left a family destroyed...
For the last year, London Tonight has been given unprecedented access to Kiyan's relatives. To his mother and father, and even his younger sister, as they tackle life without him.
Despite his pain, Kiyan's dad Mark is determined to do something more positive. He's decided that the only way to make sense of his loss, is to make sense of what's happening on our streets. So he's taken his fight to the frontline. He's working with young people to raise their awareness of what happens when you carry a knife, and when you use it.
And during a film to be shown on London Tonight at six o'clock, we witness his courage in action.
We follow him as he talks to the young boys drawn into a life of crime, we join him as he struggles to cope with the pressure of THREE murder trials, and we help him create a campaign that we hope will make Kiyan's life matter.
It's a remarkable story, and one that we should all take courage, and inspiration from.

Make an appointment to see "Put the Knives N Guns Down" here on ITV1 at 6.

London Tonight Tonight Monday 2nd July

Good afternoon and welcome to the London Tonight blog. I hate that term but I am assured that is what this is. I see it more as my note to you inviting you to join Katie and me at 6. Oh well...

Charles Manson claimed the Beatles song "Helter Skelter" was partly to blame for his downward spiral into mindless murder. He was an out of sorts hippy, leading a gang of like-minded n'er do wells in the California of the 60s. Sick and sad stuff.
So what is it that drives a group of men and women from various countries in the Middle East to plan mass murder in London and/or Glasgow and/or goodness knows where? Add to that the disturbing fact that two of them were Doctors, working in the NHS and some of what you believe in starts to crumble. That they were prepared to come from Scotland to London and then go back again to carry out an attack gives a terrible insight into their determination. They haven't all been caught yet. Try to get on a mainline train or fly in or out of one of our airports and you'll get a taste of what is being done to protect you. We seek to give you full coverage of the measures and ask the additional question: where was Sir Ian Blair? Not before the events but after them - conspicuously absent. See what you think and then tell us.

From a plan to committ mass murder to a single act of savage violence that resulted in a single death. Kiyan Prince was murdered and his killer was convicted today. We try to make sense of that, too, but it is even more difficult.

Very difficult to understand, albeit for very different reasons, is why Buffy the Vampire Slayer was asked to open the Harrods sale: many wanted to avoid this story but it is so odd we felt we had to take you there, silver bullets and garlic cloves to hand.

We've a Live Earth competition with great prizes, so tree huggers and pop fans among you hang in there.

And "Working Day 1" of the Smoking in Enclosed Spaces ban and, outside our building, the smokers are thinning out.
We have a powerful story from one elderly lady after 50 years of lighting up. If anything is going to sway me and you (if you are a smoker), it is her experience.

See you ar 6.
Alastair

London Tonight Tonight Thursday 28th June

Good evening.
We have got an absolutely packed show for you tonight - here's the menu...
Tuberculosis - disease of the past? Not really. London Tonight has got its hands on a report that will shock you. It says the rates of the disease in our great city are the worst in Europe... and in some boroughs worse than China!
Phil Bayles talks to one young woman who's suffering - and doesn't even know where she caught it. It's gripping so don't miss it.

Also tonight - breaking news. The man who stabbed Cheryl Moss - the nurse who went out for a fag break at work - has been found guilty of her murder. We're at the Old Bailey live to hear her brother's reaction to the verdict.

We've got the sad tale of the Olympic evictee. Navy veteran and pensioner Ron Rowen has lived in the same house for 40 years. Unfortunately for him, it's on the Olympic site. Today, he was thrown out by the bailiffs to make room for the cyclists.
And the lady responsible for turning London into an Olympic city will be joining us live at 6. Tessa Jowell on why she's out of cabinet, but still in charge of the biggest project facing the capital in decades.

Then there's the little matter of the Spice Girls. You know we helped make them don't you?
Well tonight Posh, Baby, Sporty, Scary and Ginger are back together and they're back in Alastair's arms - yes, quite literally. And even he's admitted it's smutty!

So Join Al and Katie at six to see it all.

London Tonight Tonight Wednesday 27th June

I am so sorry to be late with this little missif but Tony Blair finally called it a day, today, and Gordon went to the Palace and, we suspect, stayed on for a sarnie and sherbert which has made everything else run late! Oh what a life. The King is dead, long live.... the right to linger, loiter and keep London Tonight Tonight waiting. I despair.

Bet Tony was on the phone on the way to the Palace to say goodbye and bet Gordon was, too, telling all his mates to tune in and see his magic moment on the telly. That's fine... but if the driver had done it while at the wheel then he'd have been for the high-jump. You know that. Or do you? Lots of you are driving as if you didn't. Phil has the evidence and will remind you of the risks you are running.

Running the Olympics from a sporting point of view is going to be a doddle compared to running it as a property business. How much will the Olympic Park be worth in 2013? One careful, albeit Olympic size, owner? £800 M? £2B? It matters because upon it hinges, like a creeky barn-door, the amount the National Lottery Good Causes will get back. Or not.
Bit of a gamble, then, for the National Lottery to have lent the money in the first place. Harris is the man in the shades at the roulette wheel.

Travelling on a bus shouldn't be a gamble, nor should glancing at a stranger be risky. For Martin Dinnegan, on his way to a Youth Club, both proved fatal. The why's and wherefore's are mind-numbing but Glen will be taking you through them and we'll be asking you what you make of it.
Breather!

Cue the music: Crowded House are reforming - ( I didn't know they had broken up) - just in time to hit the concert circuit as they ban smoking in enclosed places. Will this be good news or bad, for them? Everywhere you go, it seems you can no longer do what you want...
(Only if you are a selfsh polluter: Ed)
Stub it out, guv! It was only a play on the words to a song..
(Oh, alright then: Ed)
See you at 6 ... if he's really forgiven us.

Alastair and Katie

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Tues 26th June

It is just after four o'clock and Henman won so don't drift to the BBC: stay with us for ITV's London Tonight and the other bit of the ITV News Hour...

Our programme tonight is a festival of news, entertainment and officious officials.
On the news front, there's less than 24 hours of PM Blair left - and, which ever way you swing politically, it is a moment of some importance on the national and, perhaps, international stage of politics. So what does our Tony do? To prove even he still has things to learn he goes back to school. And who does he take with him on the day before he says "Goodbye" for the last time? The man who made famous the saying "I'll be back", wasn't and became Governor of California instead.
I just love the irony of it all. So did the kids at the school they both showed up at - as you'll see with Simon.

It is wrong not to pay your Council Tax. But if you are 77 years old and refuse to pay £31.16 of it because that is how much you think goes on the Olympics and you don't support the Olympics and don't think you'll be alive in 2012 to see them anyway, then.... well, I'm sorry but it is still wrong.
Whether or not Council Officials should pursue you to the courts for the tax and the costs may be a matter of some debate, however. We'll have that debate tonight, with Phil providing the impartial facts.

Now, imagine everything written by Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham, add in Mrs Robinson in the Graduate and conclude with Long Days Journey Into Night (Ist WW, trenches, last-fags-before-going-over-the-top time...) Now imagine the plays with no ciggies because of the ban on smoking in enclosed spaces. It could happen and it won't be the heirs of Ken Tynan or any other brilliant theatre critic who decides: another officious official from Health and Safety will determine if the puff of the carcinogenics is essential to the plot! Full details at 6.

Rod Stewart has been signing guitars at City Hall and you can win a bumper package of goodies including tickets for his Twickenham show and a personal introduction to the master! Tall blondes beware: he may be married to Penny but, on past form... what a rocker!

Bad Girls was an appalling TV series which pulled in staggeringly big audiences because it was so appalling. (His view, not mine! Editor) Anyway, they are putting it on the West End stage. Call me dumb but, with that big gap at the front, once the curtains up won't they all be able to escape? Only a thought.

Chrissie is in Hampton Court with some of the most beautiful flower displays ever, in one of the most beautiful settings, ever.

And I, along with Romilly, warmly invite you to become informed, annoyed and entertained by all or, at least, most of it.

Alastair.

London Tonight Tonight Monday 25th June

Good afternoon and welcome to the start of another week of Lonon Tonight-ery.

Our capital plumbed new depths at the weekend with four murders in two days: to put it in context, there were 8 murders in the whole of the UK at the weekend and we got half of them.
Full reports, particularly on the brutal events in Beckenham which prompted one witness to tell Marcus it was like listening to a pack of "baying animals"; and from Kingston where the events unfolded at the Volts nightclub.
We'll also be talking to the top-cop in charge of the Met's Special Crime unit.

After that, you'll need some lightening up... if not lighting up which, to a greater or lesser extent, will be nearly illegal in London come July 1st. ( I am fuming which is something I'll be doing less of, come July 1st!).
Bingo players count your blessings and bingo hall managers will find their place in smokers' heaven: a balcony will permit those hooked on housey-housey to continue their twin dodgy habits in peace; but there's a twist to the tale of two fat ladies and ducks in a row... Phil "Eyes down looking" Bayles has the story.

Imagine living in Camberley and hearing the drone of an annoying helicopter overhead: not unusual in that military neck-of-the-woods. But "knock knock" on the door, perhaps less common. Open the door and, knock me down with a feather, you are confronted with the face of one of the least likely diamond-divas you might have expected to drop by. And, as for her request, well I am too embarrassed to tell: it all happened to Mrs Amazed of Camberley who tells all to Damian Steward.

You can have too much of Harry Potter, we all agreed at our planning meeting: Daniel Radcliffe - cute, bare-chested in Equus in the West End but those spectacles and the post-punk mop of hair! Enuff. However, it seems he's been snogging so he may just have become slightly more interesting. I am not convinced but Steve Hargrave has been to investigate.

And Va va voom - the latest on the reason for weeping in the streets of Highbury and of giggly disinterest at Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane.
Katie's working on the Crimewave story but joins me in urging you to be with us at 6.

Alastair.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 22nd June

Hi there.

I know I've done it - I'm sure many of you have too - got to the train station with minutes to spare, seen the queue for the ticket machines and faced with the choice of waiting in line or missing the train - opted to jump on board. Well from now, beware! Do that on South West Trains and you will be treated as though you are nothing better than a fare dodger. Even if you go straight up to the guard on the train and ask to buy a ticket, even if the queues for the ticket machines are half a mile long, even if the machines decide not to take notes or cards just as you get up to them - it won't matter. Piers Hopkirk is going to be investigating how that's going down with passengers and if it gets you a little agitated too, or perhaps you think its perfectly fair, we want to hear from you.

Also on the programme an incredibly moving interview with a soldier's widow. Jane Little will be sharing with us the letter she hoped she would never read, the letter her boyfriend left her when he went to Afghanistan, with instructions that it should only be opened if he was killed in action. It's a heart breaking story - she's only nineteen - but what a brave and inspiring woman.

And then the family man who is in a coma after trying to stop a thief driving off in his car. The police are still looking for the car - a Honda Civic - we'll have the latest on that investigation and his condition.

Now we have reported before on the worrying shortage of bees this year, today we have the story of the bees who have built themselves a super nest, a bee mansion and who don't want to move home.

There's also what to look out for at the cinema, what not to miss this weekend AND what London looked like the night the lights went out.

See you at six,

Romilly and Al

London Tonight Tonight Thursday 21st June

Good Afternoon.

Hope you're all well and - if you were up with the larks rolling around naked in one of London's parks to mark the Summer Solstice - we hope you're not too tired. There are one or two people sitting at their desks round here, looking a little bleary-eyed AND with bits of grass in their hair... No, we haven't asked.

Speaking of mark the longest day of the year, we hope you'll be taking part in the 'Lights Out London' campaign. It's all happening between 9 and 10 tonight. And if you need more details on how you can sit back and feel a bit 'greener'... you'd better watch the programme.

Now, Grease - as we all know by now - is the word. You may have watched the ITV programme and voted for the chap and chapette now lined up to be the new Danny and Sandy. (Don't tell anyone - but someone sitting not too far from here right now was watching 'Joseph' on the other side. Tickets have been bought for one Thursday night in November, ready to check out whether 'Lee' was a vote well cast... or not.) Anyway, Danny B and Susan have begun rehearsals for their first night in just 6 weeks time. Tamzin will be chatting with them to find out just how nervous they are.

The programme starts though on a much more sombre note - the stabbing of Sian Simpson. An 18 year girl has been charged with her murder - and there is still a very real sense of shock around the corner of Croydon where Sian's life was brought so abruptly to an end. Glen Goodman is the only TV reporter who's been speaking to her father and sister - and we'll hear their desperate story this evening.

We'll also be looking at two London institutions that get Londoners' blood boiling. Let's start with the Dome (or the O2, as some very earnest people in suits would want us to call it). Love it, loathe it - the place is back in business - and this time, it's showbusiness. It's now the biggest music venue of its kind in Europe and it opens this weekend. Robyn Ross has been for a sneaky-peak.

Phil Bayles though is riding the Metronet express right into another cash controversy. The people who paid an awful lot of money to do up the tube and make it faster, cleaner, nicer, better (we'll let you judge) now say they've not been paid enough for the work they've done. In fact, they reckon they're owed more than £1 BILLION. We just tell you the facts. You judge for yourselves.

So then - a packed, packed programme. You wouldn't want to miss it... like Alastair...

You see, we've also been speaking to his 'hero of the hour', Lewis Hamilton. At just 22 years old, the terribly nice chap from Hertfordshire just happens to be leading the Formula One Drivers' Championship. Mr Stewart will be spitting feathers... but then, he's going to be a very busy man a little later on ITV1.

We'll tell you all about that too - at SIX.

Ben & Katie

London Tonight Tonight Wednesday 20th June

Afternoon..

Another awful knife death leads our programme tonight. This time it's a 17 year old girl, stabbed in the street in Croydon yesterday. The 2 suspects currently being questioned by police - also teenage girls. It sounds shocking - and if all is as it seems, then it certainly is shocking. We'll have all the latest information and interviews with witnesses and friends of the victim.

You'll remember of course the day that Jill Dando was shot dead on her own Fulham doorstep 8 years ago. The man convicted of her murder, Barry George today won the right to appeal for a second time. He's always claimed it wasn't him, and now his lawyers suggest there is new evidence to back his case. Marcus Powell has been investigating.

We've the tale of the 2 year old boy who waited 4 hours in A and E in Reading with a broken leg. As you can imagine, his parents were NOT impressed.

Phil Bayles been taking a look at the rather macabre new exhibition from the Wellcome Trust and Tamzin's interviewing that old charmer Bruce Willis at the premiere of Die Hard 4 ... will he be wearing a vest?

Meanwhile Ben and I will be scoffing in the studio, thanks to the Taste of London festival.. excellent!
See you at 6.

Katie

London Tonight Tonight Tuesday 19th June

Hello and a very happy Tuesday to you.

Bit of a drama going on here at the moment... er, we've just lost our top story. When we say 'lost' we don't mean it's fallen down the back of the sofa. It just wasn't what we thought, that's all.... which means we won't run it... which means we've got a bit more programme to fill. Nervous? Naaah. Excited? "That's more like it"... says the editor.

So, while the team decides what other news we'll get to cover as a result, we'll run you quickly through the stories we're already working on...

Well, the Mayor of London's been issued with an ultimatum over the members of the London Fire Authority. He's refused to sanction the appointment of nine white men to the authority because he says they don't represent the capital. London's fire boss, Ken Knight, has told him to either reconsider his position or, er, expect to hear from some lawyers. It's plenty more complicated than that... but the deadline passes at 5pm, and Simon Harris will cover all the developments.

Mr Livingstone's been a busy man today, as he also unveiled plans for a new rail-line to go round the city. And to run it, we'll be calling on the Chinese and a construction company - obviously. And do the unions not like that! Over to Glen Goodman.

Meanwhile , Liz Wickham's got a good lead on a story (stay with me here). Southwark Council put up signs in a park saying dogs have to be kept on leads 'at all times'. But, actually, they don't. And the council can't enforce it. So the signs were probably a bit of a waste of time, weren't they? And a waste of £36,000 worth of tax-payers' money... I mean, really.

We'll have to leave it up to the ticket-buying audiences at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to decide whether the millions (and millions) of pounds spent committing 'Lord of the Rings' to the stage was money well spent. However, what we can do - and Tamzin will do - is bring you all the excitement as the clock ticks down to 'curtain up' on the world's most expensive musical.

So - all that - and plenty more at SIX.

See you then...

Ben & Nina

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Mon 18th June

Hello!

We're leading with the pretty shocking story that an NHS trust in our patch, Sutton and Merton to be precise, has admitted that it's failed to meet all 3 new government targets on cleanliness and hygiene. The aim was to cut the appalling rates of MRSA and C diff.... the result in this case: rubbish.

There's some good news - we think - from County Hall this afternoon. It seems Ken is cutting bus fares back to 90p for a single if you use your Oyster card. So why the caveat? Well, they were keeping their cards very close to their chest about this one, and we're not sure why they wouldn't shout to the roof tops. It also seems they can afford the cuts because the Tube budget is in surplus to the tune of 150 million pounds this year. Perhaps that money should be ploughed back into the tube system?

We're getting all the details on the footballers arrested for allegedly fiddling their driving license points... we're with the retired naval officer who's the first person to be evicted by the Olympic machine - he's got til tomorrow to move out.

Damien's been off investigating the joys of living in a houseboat.. while Kirstie will be with us to talk about the increasingly cavernous gulf between rich and poor in this city, not to mention the death of community spirit in the suburbs. So plenty of property news for us to get our teeth into.

For a bit of fun we're getting all excited about the man who came 4th in American Idol. No, really. He actually has done significantly better than all his other rivals on the show put together ... he's massive in the States. Tonight he's playing London .. and Jasmine went to meet him.

And that, is pretty much it.

See you at 6!

Katie and Al. x

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Fri 15th June

Good afternoon.

It has been one of those weeks where some of us weren't entirely sure we'd make it, rather like the wonderful men and women from the London I.T. team who are with Ronke, in South Africa, trying to build some outbuildings for a township school. Tonight we have made it to Friday and you can see if they have made it too, albeit thousands of miles away.

Closer to home, a report from the Home Affairs Select Committee (stay awake at the back, there!) all of whom are white (don't get angry, stick with me) has tried to make sense of why so many young blacks get caught up in so much crime. I sat down with comic genius and social commentator Richard Blackwood, who is black and still young-ish, to ask for his thoughts. Worth tuning in for whatever your age or race... and there are some good driving tips, too.

Simon Webbe is black but was Blue - well part of Blue and is now solo: he has toured, provided a song for a movie and is watching his latest album make good progress. He is dropping in, live, so I don't know if he'll have any driving tips but he is a really nice guy and very talented.

As is James King: it is just his dress-sense that worries me, sometimes! He is here, as always on a Friday, to cast an informed yet discerning eye over this weeks big releases... including the movie Simon Webbe provided a song for.( Are you keeping up or still feeling angry about those MPs?)

Tamzin, in my view, is simply someone not to miss and, therefore, casts herself, irrevocably, in the role of purveyor of our What Not to Miss feature, a highlight of what you might consider doing this weekend. She doesn't share my view but does the work brilliantly, nevertheless.

As does Robin, magnificently if not a little surreally occasionally, with the weather.

It is Friday and it is all there, plus some.

See you at 6 with the delicious Ms Sylvester on my arm.

Alastair

London Tonight Tonight Thursday 14th June

Afternoon: me again asking you, again, to join us for a tour de force across the landscape that is London's news, entertainment and current affairs.

We're six years on and, after more hours of police-time than you could imagine, the Boys in Blue have arrested Michael Barrymore and two other men on suspicion of the murder of Stuart Lubbock.
All three are currently helping police with their enquiries but we have been making our own, too. Don't know what the cops will discover, but you'll be amazed by what Marcus has already found out. That and more at 6.

Ford of America have put Jaguar and Land Rover up for sale; Wall Street's "venture capitalists" or "vulture capitalists", as some Unions call them, are circling nearly every British business from BA to Sainsbury. But your local school: surely not? Well, Edison, famous for light bulbs and power generation, is also the name of an out-sourcing giant in the States and they're running a school in London and rather well, according to many. We'll tell you the facts and ask what you make of it.
Ronke, with no help from Edison, is in South Africa watching the gang from a London IT company put the finishing touches to a school extension - it was raining yesterday, so fingers crossed! Your hearts will melt....

My heart melted when Victoria Hart came in to see us: she was the London waitress who was flown to Cannes to sing for George Clooney and Brad Pitt at the film festival. Well, she's got a recording contract and is going out for dinner to celebrate: and this time,someone else will be waiting on her! She shared her excitement with Liz.

Equally excited, the bands and the audiences for this weekend's WIRELESS gig in Hyde Park: runners and riders with Tamzin, including the bands you voted for!

And finally, I only make light of this because there wasn't an accident.
Underground trains can go both ways but, at any given time of the day, and on any given platform in the system, they are only supposed to go one way: the right way.
The driver, who clambered in and promptly drove off in the wrong direction but fortunately found the brake with only moments to spare, will feature in our comprehensive coverage of the remarkable range of things that make London London, Tonight.

Katie and I, and the whole gang, look forward to seeing you at 6.

Alastair

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT: Weds 13th June

Good afternoon and apologies for the delay and the brevity - there has been a flap in the ITV newsroom about Madeleine McCann which has occupied lots of us.

Anyway, a real flap, too, down at City Hall as the cost and problems of former Transport Commissioner Bob Kiley occupied Assembly Members and the Mayor today. They were all behaving like exploding Bendy Buses and Simon, who secured that remarkable recent interview with Mr Kiley about his drinking and how much he was still costing you, has the cut and thrust of an amazing day.

In a flash, the jury aquitted the Judge accused of displaying more than his briefs on the train. It is a very strange story and Glen will reveal.. no he won't, he will "tell" all.

Aircraft carriers on the Thames and London Tonight reporters in South Africa: is there no limit to our ambitions?

Not even landing an exclusive TV interview with Kevin Spacey, back with another exciting season at the Old Vic?

No: it is all there and we will be, too, at 6.

Hope you can find the time to join us.

Alastair