20/04/2016 BBC News at Six

The comedian, actress and writer Victoria Wood

Her warmth and down-to-earth comedy won her several awards

and earned her huge public affection.

Fellow comedians, even the Prime Minister are paying

We'll look back at her life and career.

A possible saviour for Tata Steel workers as a company director tries

The Prime Minister defends his policy to make all English

state schools academies, despite increasing criticism

And, on the eve of the Queen's 90th birthday, I'm at Windsor Castle

where celebrations have already begun.

out a number of public engagements in the town.

A milestone moment marked with a new family photo,

showing three future kings, as Prince William counters criticism

I'm concentrating very much on my role as a father,

I am a new father and I take my duties and my responsibilities

And coming up in the sport on BBC News -

Manager Ronny Deila will leave Celtic at the end of the season,

while former boss Neil Lennon hints he'd be open to returning

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

The comedian Victoria Wood has died of cancer - she was 62.

She came to fame in the 1980s with her BBC series

in which she created some memorable comic characters

and for which she won the first of several awards.

She was also an actor and writer as well as a singer and songwriter.

Fellow comedians have been quick to pay tribute to her.

Even the Prime Minister has expressed his condolences

and described her as a national treasure loved by millions.

David Sillito looks back at her life and career,

I just want the old cafe, coffee. I'll handle this, Tim. Coffee.

Hello. I'm looking for my friend. Please welcome Victoria Wood! It was

42 years ago that a young Victoria Wood won a talent show, New Faces.

It was the beginning of an extraordinary career as a comedian,

singer, writer, actor. She could do it all. She was a brilliant,

brilliant woman. Her basic greatest talent was her writing, and, for me,

she is nearly up there, well, she is up there with Alan Bennett is a sort

of wonderful writer about England and the English and the working

classes and how funny we all are. I don't know where Mr Hannigan is...

She could write comedy that was funny and moving. When you want to

stop, it keeps you going. # I'll be back at Social Security...

Her songs first brought her to the public's attention. She had this

huge creative light inside her that flipped on, and she just shone. And

she continues to shine. We will always remember her. What changed

everything was a sketch in 1978 with the actress Julie Walters. I wrote

this sentence and it was constructed in such a way that it was funny,

whereas everything I had written before was nearly funny, and there

is nothing worse than that. This was properly funny. Ready to order, sir?

Madam? Jane? What is the soup of the day? I'll go and find out. There was

a special comic chemistry. The sketch show turned a rather shy

performer who had been turned down by Manchester Polytechnic into a

star. The stand-up, the sitcom Dinnerladies, a

star. The stand-up, the sitcom from the silly and absurd to be

moving. The Bafta goes to Victoria Wood. She was just 62 years old.

Victoria, 40 years of making us laugh.

# Beat me on the bottom with a woman's weekly

# Let's do it tonight. Victoria Wood, who has

died at the age of 62. It's the eve of the Queen's 90th

birthday and the celebrations have already begun, marking another

milestone in her record-breaking Sophie is at Windsor Castle

for us this evening. This is where the Queen will be

tomorrow on her 90th birthday. But crowds have already been

gathering to catch a glimpse of Britain's oldest and longest

serving monarch as she attended And the Queen's grandson

Prince William has paid tribute to her in an interview with the BBC,

saying she has been a "guiding example" of what a good

monarch should be. Prince William also defended his own

commitment to his Royal duties. More on that in a moment,

but first this report from our royal Birthday celebrations over two days

outside Windsor Castle, home of monarchs for

outside Windsor Castle, home of was treated to a far from everyday

experience, and Elvis inspired choir outside a city -- sorting office.

The representative of an ancient institution visiting one with a

500-year-old history, the Royal Mail. Royals have been appearing on

stamps since the time of Queen Victoria. This is a first for Prince

George. The photo captures a hereditary monarchy with, as things

stand, a secure future, three Kings in waiting. George had to stand on

blocks next to the woman he calls Gamgam. Insight the post office, not

to post a letter that you are a letter. I have it on Royal authority

that the postmen will be busy with Tamara's mailbag. Tomorrow, a BBC

documentary featuring some of her own home you please stop William and

Harry are shown watching their father when he was a toddler. George

looks like him! There is a purpose to the walk. We would probably

chased each other out of that got in a few times. Not take awhile.

Dashing of garden. In the early days, when Gamgam was around. Is

world Guiness, Prince Philip. The programme also recalls when blank

shots were fired at the 1981 Trooping the Colour ceremony at the

Queen passed on horseback. She is a marvellous writer, made of stronger

stuff. Support for the Queen is widespread in Windsor and elsewhere,

but not universal. Those silly special-purpose signal elected head

of state argued that a long life doesn't give somebody a right to a

long range of such views were not in evidence in the House of Commons

today. She has served our nation with such dignity for 64 years on

the throne. I think it is what we will have the opportunity in the

house tomorrow to pay tribute to what she has done, and I know that

the whole country and the whole house will want to join me in saying

long may she reign over us. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you very

much. I am also looking forward to wishing her a happy birthday

tomorrow. Back in Windsor, the Queen at work, almost 90, the longest

reigning monarch in British history has been head of state for 64 years.

Peter Grant, BBC News, Windsor. Tomorrow night, the Royal Family

will all be here at Windsor Castle for a private dinner hosted

by Prince Charles to celebrate Among them of course will be Prince

William. He has been paying tribute

to his grandmother in And he also shrugged off criticism

that's been levelled at him of his own commitment

to Royal duties. He told our royal correspondent

Nicholas Witchell that, when the Queen was ready to hand

down more responsibilities, he would You've had a chance over

more than 30 years now to observe our current

monarch, the Queen. From the particular perspective that

you have as a future King, what has I think the Queen's duty

and her service, her tolerance, her commitment to others,

I think that's all been It's been a real sort of guiding

example of just what a good monarch can be, and it's been incredibly

insightful for me growing up, watching her leadership

in that role. You've referred already to her sense

of duty, to the conspicuous devotion to duty that she's

displayed over the decades. To what extent would you say that

you share that degree I think Royal duty is

extremely important. It's part of the fabric

of what the Royal Family and any future monarch has,

and it's something I take duty very seriously

and I take my responsibilities It's about finding your own

way at the right time. If you're not careful,

duty can sort of weigh you down I think you've got to develop

into the duty role. It's because there is an impression

in some quarters that you are in some way

a slightly reluctant Royal. You will have seen, or I'm sure

people will have told you about some of the stories,

some of the headlines in recent weeks and months -

work-shy William, I think some There has also been criticism

of the Duchess of a similar vein. Do you regard that criticism,

that impression as being a fair one? To be honest, I'm going to get

plenty of criticism over my lifetime and it's something that

I don't completely ignore, but it's not something I take

completely to heart. I'm concentrating very much

on my role as a father. I'm a new father and I take my

duties and responsibilities to my family very seriously

and I want to bring my children up as good people, with the idea

of service and duty But, if I can't give my time

to my children as well, Plus serving the community

with the air ambulance... I find the ambulance role

very important to me. I'd like to explore a little,

what kind of King will William V be? We've become used to the present

Queen being scrupulously, pretty scrupulously

detached from all issues. Your father, on the other hand,

as Prince of Wales, of course, is very much involved in all sorts

of issues and has indicated that he would wish to convene

when he becomes King - make heartfelt interventions,

I think, is the phrase in use. What is your sense of what it is

acceptable for a constitutional How involved can a constitutional

monarch be in current issues? It's a very good question

and something that occupies a lot of my thinking space -

how on earth you would develop into something modern

in today's world. I am in a unique position,

a very privileged position, to be able to see some of this now,

which is that I've got my grandmother, who takes a very,

if you like, more of a passive role in how she believes

her role should be. I've got my father who minds

an awful lot about many of the causes he's involved

in and really digs down into his charitable areas as much

as he can. But I think, in the Queen,

I have an extraordinary example of someone who's done an enormous

amount of good. She's probably the best

role model I could have. I sense that you are saying,

when the time comes, you will hope to be a rather more

modern monarch and bring something I think the Royal Family has

to modernise and develop as it goes along and it has to stay relevant,

and that's the challenge for me. How do I make the Royal Family

relevant in the next 20 years' time? It could be 40 years' time,

60 years' time, I don't know I certainly don't lie awake at night

waiting or hoping for it, because it sadly means

that my family have moved on, But you must be confident

that you can do that, that you can make and keep

the monarchy relevant It's something that I think is very

important and the Queen is a fantastic role model to lead

that, as she has done A rare and revealing interview. I

Witchell is with me now. A rare and revealing interview. I

don't know if you noticed how many times he used the word is modern and

modernism. We have to see him in that context. He is not a royal who

wants to be on a pedestal as so many have been before him. He wants to

have some kind of normal life, that is why his job as an air ambulance

pilot is so important to him, that is why it is so important to be a

hands-on parent. He will remain in touch with reality, insofar as we

can define that. You see the influence of his late mother there.

In one respect, he is a traditionalist, we discovered that

when I asked him what model of monarchy will you follow as William

the fifth? He plumped for the model of his noninterventionist

grandmother. A lot of people will be really quite relieved that the

future William the fifth regards the model of Elizabeth II as the one he

would wish to follow. Thank you. That is

would wish to follow. Thank you. this glorious evening. Thanks,

Sophie. And still to come, the surf's up

as we talk to first time voters in Northern Ireland ahead

of the Stormont election next month. In Sportsday on BBC News -

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn reveals Ronnie O'Sullivan texted him

after turning down a 147, saying it was good publicity

for a sport Hearn thinks There could be fresh hope

for Tata Steel workers in the UK today as a senior director

at the company announced he is trying to launch

a management buyout It's believed the deal

would mean steel making continues at Port Talbot,

despite its huge losses. Our Wales Correspondent

Hywel Griffiths is there, it's worth emphasising

this potential buyout Yes. A lot of unanswered questions.

It is a deal that should appeal to the workers here and at Tata's other

plants in England. But how much public and private money would have

to go in to this place to keep it afloat for the coming years until

conditions afloat for the coming years until

fiercely competitive global steel market.

Could Britain's biggest steel-maker be taken over by its grassroots?

Details of the buyout plan, part funded by staff, are still being

Not everybody's got money hanging around to invest in

I think we need some is Europe is that the issues

we've been talking about are going to be dealt with before we put money

into it in the same way that other companies

and Tata can't afford to

invest with the way the Chinese are dumping steel and the energy

costs, employees can't afford to invest in

The man behind the buyout is Stuart Wilkie,

the boss at Port Talbot, who failed to convince Tata's board

It's understood he would keep the plant's blast furnaces

making steel from scratch but would need the government to bear some of

I know the management and the workers have had a plan

and part of that plan is to keep the blast

That's going to be very difficult, let's be honest

That's really what should be at the heart of any

For me, the jury is out at the moment because we need to see

the detail of the financial package that is behind this buyout plan.

So, we're waiting to see the detail but,

in principle, it's a very positive move.

Anyone who takes over the

business will need to be certain of keeping its customers.

Steel made here is turned into everything from

car parts to tin cans, so holding onto the order book will be key.

Any new company will be in direct competition with Tata.

These works have a sister plant in Holland that

make a lot of the same steel, separation could lead to a rather

We know there's overcapacity in the world,

So, some of the European steelmakers would be likely to take out

capacity, so it is an issue for Tata.

If Port Talbot is producing quality products of the same quality

that it produces in other plants in Europe, then its competition.

So far, only one other company has said

it wants to buy the business, whoever takes over will have the

Unemployment has risen for the first time in almost a year.

Between December and February it rose by 21,000 to 1.7 million.

However, the unemployment rate remained unchanged

during that period at 5.1%, which is still down

Another scandal has hit the car industry.

This time it's the Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi

which has admitted falsifying test data to show better fuel

consumption for more than half a million vehicles in Japan,

At a press conference in Tokyo company bosses bowed in apology,

admitting employees had intentionally faked

tyre pressure figures to give better mileage rates.

The Prime Minister has defended plans to force every state school

in England to become an academy, saying it's time

But he's facing increasing opposition from his own backbenches

with some questioning the wisdom of forcing all schools to make

Let's talk to our political correspondent

The PM defiant in the House of Commons today but are there signs

the government may amend this policy a little around the edges?

There certainly won't be a full-scale reversal of this policy.

The cabinet believes very strongly that academies raise standards but

there is growing concern. David Cameron's own Conservative

councillor in Oxfordshire said that she was fed up with diktats from on

high. It was also described as a heavy-handed and top-down policy.

They feel that if a school is doing well, it should be left alone. The

argument is, if headteachers know what is best for their school, they

should be allowed to say no to this. They have said that there could be

some extra money for oral schools but the government has said that

there is six years for this policy to be commented and plenty of time

for discussion. -- rural schools. They're called the Good

Friday generation. On May 5th, people in

Northern Ireland go to the polls with a whole generation

born since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement

voting for the first time. In the latest in our a series

on the elections, we look at what this election means

to those who've grown up Chris Buckler reports ahead

of a special youth debate tonight. 18 years after the Good Friday

agreement was signed, Northern Many believe, like these

first-time voters, politics here

is starting to come of age. And, after the turbulent

decades of violence, there is no doubt this is a much calmer

and more stable place. I actually went over

to Edinburgh and was talking to all the people from

Scotland and England and you tell them you're from Northern Ireland

and they'll be, like, "Really?" They seem to think the Troubles

are still ongoing. I just want to take them over

here and just bring them to Northern Ireland so they can

see how great it is. That's why I want to stay

in the country but it's just, obviously,

the job prospects are scary. For this generation,

jobs are really important. All the politicians standing

in next month's assembly elections know improving the economy

is key to keeping the brightest Across the constituencies

here, unionists, nationalists, and all the other

parties are under pressure to improve Northern Ireland's

stretched health service. I think talk is cheap,

a lot of the times. Politicians say a lot

about what they're going to do but they really need

to put it into action. There are some nursing

students here at Belfast's Queen University

who wonder if their vote will really The power-sharing government

requires all the big parties to work together but

disagreements can prevent change. People just vote for what parties

suit their religion but, I think, a lot of the parties just aim

to please their followers. It's probably not

the most effective way it's something that Northern Ireland

needs and something that we can't Must of the heat created

by old conflicts is dying away, the challenge now for both

politicians and this younger generation is to create

a brighter future. To speak despite this disagreement,

Stormont has difficulties dealing with this generation. For young

people, politicians seem to be always talking about the past and

not the future for. For the first time, young people will get a chance

to question those politicians, it will be live here in Northern

Ireland and on the BBC News Channel. It is the warmest day of the year so

far, across Northern Ireland. Temperatures were better across

other parts of the UK. In Wales, for instance. Blue skies and sunshine

with temperatures of 19 degrees. There is some cloud at the top and

tail of the UK. This looks more threatening than it is. There is

some showers blowing up into the north-west of the UK. It is going to

be quite chilly tonight, not as cold as last night. But there may be a

pinch of frost in northern areas. The area of sunshine is going to be

shrinking tomorrow. More cloud coming across southern parts of the

UK. It is still going to be a bright day for many southern areas, there

might be a spot of rain in day for many southern areas, there

south-west. There won't be the blue day for many southern areas, there

skies we had today but it is still going to be quite warm. The highest

temperatures may be in the north of England. The cloud breaking up in

Scotland with some sunny spells. Colder for all of ours is -- for all

of us as we head into the weekend. Some sunshine but a fuchsia hours

heading into Scotland with the wind coming down from the north bringing

with it the colder air. Temperatures will be several degrees lower. --

few showers. Over the weekend, continuing northerly winds, some

sunshine but showers with a continuing wintry flavour. That's

all from