:00:14. > :00:15.Good evening and welcome to the programmd.
:00:16. > :00:20.One of the frontrunners to become the next Chair of the BBC Trust `
:00:21. > :00:23.which governs the corporation ` has criticised the soap EastEnders
:00:24. > :00:26.for being too white and not reflecting the population of the
:00:27. > :00:32.The comedian Lenny Henry defended the drama whilst discussing
:00:33. > :00:42.Alice Bhandhukravi reports from Walthamstow.
:00:43. > :00:45.That most recognisable of theme tunes.
:00:46. > :00:48.As soon as you hear it you know you are watching EastEnders.
:00:49. > :00:51.But how recognisable is the East London that is portraydd
:00:52. > :00:56.Do the real Eastenders living in Walthamstow see any similarities
:00:57. > :00:59.with living in the fictional Walford?
:01:00. > :01:05.Culturally diverse, a melting pot, not reflected in EastEnders.
:01:06. > :01:10.It is making out we are all characters.
:01:11. > :01:16.Look around you, you have every culture.
:01:17. > :01:21.There are as many Russians, Turkish, Asian and black,
:01:22. > :01:25.so there is no real hegemonx or dominant group, and that is not
:01:26. > :01:31.This pie and mash shop has been here almost a century.
:01:32. > :01:35.If anyone knows how the demographic has changed, it is these people
:01:36. > :01:39.As time has gone on it used to be very English
:01:40. > :01:43.and mostly Eastenders, but we have all walks of life in here now.
:01:44. > :01:46.And this man thinks EastEnders does pretty well.
:01:47. > :01:49.Talking to MPs today, he defended the programme's record
:01:50. > :01:53.in its reflection of black and minority ethnic groups,
:01:54. > :02:01.BAME on EastEnders is the most racially diverse of any soap.
:02:02. > :02:05.Over 38% of the white popul`tion watch it at some point in the year
:02:06. > :02:10.but 50% of BAME watch EastEnders, so the BBC is not connecting with
:02:11. > :02:19.the BAME audience at some points but in others it does well, in soaps.
:02:20. > :02:23.The BBC says EastEnders has one of the most diverse casts on British
:02:24. > :02:27.television and that it would be daft to suggest the programme nedds to be
:02:28. > :02:33.For some people in East 17 though, it is still falling short
:02:34. > :02:38.I think EastEnders represents old East London and it is stuck
:02:39. > :03:01.Almost 100 firefighters are tackling a fire at Erith tonight. London Fire
:03:02. > :03:04.Brigade is urging people to avoid the area and local residents have
:03:05. > :03:14.been told to keep their windows closed.
:03:15. > :03:17.A lorry driver has been charged in connection with the death
:03:18. > :03:21.52`year`old Barry Meyer from Walthamstow is accused
:03:22. > :03:23.of causing the death by careless driving of Alan Neve.
:03:24. > :03:26.He's also accused of not having the correct HGV licence or insurance.
:03:27. > :03:31.Mr Neve was one of 14 cyclists killed in the capital last xear
:03:32. > :03:33.Despite concerns over cycling safety City Hall continues to encotrage
:03:34. > :03:36.even more cyclists on to London s streets with the promise
:03:37. > :03:38.of ?1 billion spent over ten years to make roads safer.
:03:39. > :03:40.That includes setting up a network of "quietways".
:03:41. > :03:48.Our transport correspondent Tom Edwards explains.
:03:49. > :03:54.Cycling in London for some can feel extremely dangerous. That mdans many
:03:55. > :03:57.are put off. Now there are plans to encourage them to use the shde
:03:58. > :04:03.streets. They will be called quietways. There is a much nicer
:04:04. > :04:08.backstreet route they can t`ke. They just have to turn off. But `s you
:04:09. > :04:12.can see, nobody is turning off because they don't know it dxists.
:04:13. > :04:16.We will tell them it exists, we will find post it so it is easy to
:04:17. > :04:20.follow. Where it gives up and you need to go to a tricky junctional
:04:21. > :04:25.something like that, we will it easier and put segregation, special
:04:26. > :04:30.crossings. We took a trip from Waterloo to south`east London. This
:04:31. > :04:36.will be one of the first quhetways. We are doing more segregated
:04:37. > :04:40.junctions and segregated tr`cks But we are also doing a big network of
:04:41. > :04:44.backstreet routes, which will give you a quiet, peaceful area `nd there
:04:45. > :04:49.are huge numbers of them in London. Councils like Camden have already
:04:50. > :04:53.introduced schemes to make cycling safer on the side roads. Yot will
:04:54. > :04:57.probably see more of these. You should have cycle routes evdrywhere
:04:58. > :05:01.but make sure the cars don't pull out because they don't really look.
:05:02. > :05:05.Do you think it will encour`ge people to cycle more if we have more
:05:06. > :05:10.of these in London? Definitdly. If they are safe, which they sdem to
:05:11. > :05:15.be. These fences are coming down, there will be planting and better
:05:16. > :05:17.lighting. There will be CCTV. The authorities are playing catch`up in
:05:18. > :05:24.providing safe infrastructure and the huge increase in cyclists. The
:05:25. > :05:31.plan is to open new routes, like here, behind Millwall's New Den We
:05:32. > :05:35.will open it up and build a new section along here to link tp to
:05:36. > :05:39.another path, and that will create a 24`hour full time completelx traffic
:05:40. > :05:44.free cycle route through sotth`east London. Campaigners have cattiously
:05:45. > :05:49.welcomed plans for quietways, but they want the routes to feel safe
:05:50. > :05:54.and welcoming. There are also `` they are also frustrated at the lack
:05:55. > :05:58.of real progress. All roads in London are contested spaces. They
:05:59. > :06:02.have to serve the needs of `ll groups including cyclists. Hn
:06:03. > :06:06.practice is usually quicker. I understand people's impatience with
:06:07. > :06:10.the grinding process of consultation and negotiation but it is practice
:06:11. > :06:15.`` but in practice it is quhcker than ramming things through, which
:06:16. > :06:20.causes backlashes and delay. Some plans for future superhighw`ys are
:06:21. > :06:26.to be scrapped and the routds redrawn. London's streets could be
:06:27. > :06:27.on the verge of big changes. Sara Thornton joins us with the
:06:28. > :06:37.weather. I was at Wimbledon earlier `nd
:06:38. > :06:41.showers were starting to move in, clearing towards the south. They are
:06:42. > :06:45.moving away all the time. For tomorrow, we are dry and thdre is a
:06:46. > :06:50.fresher feel in the wake of the showers. A couple lingering first
:06:51. > :06:55.thing. Temperatures, not as muddy as recent nights. Any lingering showers
:06:56. > :06:58.clearing away quickly, so a dry day on the cards. Not wall`to`w`ll
:06:59. > :07:03.sunshine, but we will have good bright, sunny interludes at times
:07:04. > :07:08.and a top temperature of 22 Celsius, down on the last couple of days 26
:07:09. > :07:12.yesterday, 25 today. The frdsher feel starting to make itself felt.
:07:13. > :07:15.As we head towards the weekdnd things are going to turn more
:07:16. > :07:20.unsettled. On Thursday night into Friday, we have this area of low
:07:21. > :07:25.pressure moving rain towards us Thursday will be dry, but for
:07:26. > :07:29.Friday, we are talking about rain or showers potentially affecting
:07:30. > :07:32.Wimbledon. Sarah Keith`Lucas has the National forecast. I will ldave you
:07:33. > :07:33.with the summary. Turning more unsettled as we head
:07:34. > :07:35.with the summary. Turning more unsettled as we head towards the
:07:36. > :07:43.weekend. Good evening. After what has been a
:07:44. > :07:48.glorious few weeks of summer sunshine for many of us, things are
:07:49. > :07:52.about to change over the next 2 hours. We are seeing the change
:07:53. > :07:56.marked by the weather front on the satellite image. To the south of
:07:57. > :08:01.that, 25 degrees, in Bournemouth for instance, but in the north and east,
:08:02. > :08:06.cooler, fresher air. That sets the scene for tomorrow. A cooler day. We
:08:07. > :08:11.will have hazy sunshine on offer, although cloudier skies than we have
:08:12. > :08:15.been used it over the past week Tonight we have thicker cloud
:08:16. > :08:19.bringing more two spots of drizzly rain for some southern areas. Many
:08:20. > :08:22.parts dry, but we have the rain heading in towards the far
:08:23. > :08:26.north-west for the early hours of Wednesday. A cool night ahead. Many
:08:27. > :08:30.areas in single figures towards the East of Scotland and north-east
:08:31. > :08:31.England. Wednesday starts on a cool note for some others. More cloud
:08:32. > :08:32.than