drivers heading across the pennines were stuck for up to seven hours overnight after heavy snowfalls on the m62 motorway — at one point there was 17 miles of congestion. the a66 between brough and bowes was closed until lunchtime, with traffic queuing up to use the road. barnard castle in county durham woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow, although much of it has melted over the course of day. time for a look at the weather — here's alina jenkins. lots of snow in the forecast over the past few days. this was powys, wales, lovely to look at but no good at all if you need to travel through it. snow in the forecast this weekend. it'll start that are mild for many. the area of pressure that brought us that weather is now clearing away into the north sea.

something quieter tonight before the next system arrives from the atlantic ocean as we head into tomorrow. tonight, for many, plenty of clear skies across the uk. that will lead to widespread frost and ice. snow showers feeding into northern scotland. wintry showers for the western isles. hill snow across the west of england and heavy in northern ireland. these temperatures —10, —ii where we have had the snow. dry for many tomorrow particularly the further east you are. more snow arriving in northern ireland and scotland. slowly turning milder through sunday. we start saturday with a good deal of sunshine. this area of rain and hill snow for south—west england pushing into wales and northern ireland, could see some snow showers across far north—east england and across scotland. it is drier the further east you are. minus one degree across the northern isles. i2 celsius for the isles of scilly. this band of rain and snow pushes

north, bringing further snow into parts of northern england and scotland. that is tied in with another frontal system still clearing away north and eastward through sunday. for a time, something drier, brighter, and there is another one in the atlantic pushing towards us. for sunday, things will be turning milder, the winds will strengthen. a good deal of sunshine for many but rain will pile into western areas. temperatures eventually starting to rise for many. thanks, alina. and that's bbc news at ten. the news continues here on bbc one, as now it's time to join our colleagues across the nations and regions for the good evening. the bbc have confirmed match of the day "will focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry" tommorow, after presenter gary lineker

was told to step back from his role. it follows an impartiality row over comments he made on twitter criticising the british government's new asylum policy. two of the bbc�*s best known football pundits have announced they won't be appearing on match of the day on saturday night. ian wright and alan shearer have pulled out of the programme, and earlier this evening a bbc spokesperson said... spurs manager antonio conte says his forward richarlison was "selfish" and "made a mistake" in an interview after tottenham were knocked out of the champions league this week. richarlison appeared to criticise conte — suggesting he hadn't had enough playing time and his season had not been good, today conte addressed the issue in his press—conference, saying richarlison wasn't being critical — he was just being honest. he had an injury then he went to

work up to when the road cup in yet another injury. he came back and then another injury. his god zero with those in the champions league i think to tell us that he is not good. manchester city manager pep guardiola says allegations england full—back kyle walker indecently exposed himself in a bar are a "private matter". cheshire police launched an investigation following the allegations which were made in the sun newspaper. the press association says it understands that walker is contesting the allegations. guardiola spoke about the matter briefly at his weekly pre—match press conference ahead of city's match at crystal palace. a private issue, resolve it internally and to talk about the

present situation, opening the door at home, you have to know that she will be there whenever you do. scoring the winner in the second half and taking on celtic and another quarterfinal tomorrow and on sunday, it is rangers against rovers. there is sean walsh with that second—half goal in the snow. world number onejon rahm has pulled out of the players championship with a stomach virus — ahead of today's second round, which has been abandoned due to bad weather. he had been playing with world number two scottie scheffler — who is three shots off the lead. with rory mcilroy set to miss the cut and rahm now out of the running, a fifth place finish or better would see scheffler reclaim the number one spot in the world rankings. american chad ramey had been leading the field by two shots — but found the water twice on the infamous 17th and picked up

a quadruple bogey to slip down the leaderboard. south african christiaan bezuidenhout and canada's adam svenssen lead by two on four under. american olympic skier mikaela shiffrin has made history — equalling the record number of world cup wins. she picked up gold in the women's giant slalom in sweden. the 86th win of her career — and it sees her tie with ingemar stenmark who won his titles in the 1970s and 80s. shiffrin became the women's world record holder when she overtook lindsay vonn�*s total of 82 in february. she could claim the outright overall record when she goes in the slalom — her best event — on saturday

england rugby league captain sam tomkins will retire from rugby league at the end of the 2023 seasonthe 33 year old appeared in two world cups for england, captaining his country to the semi—finals in the most recent tournament last autumn. now playing full back for catalans dragons, he said a persistent issue with his left knee had contributed to his decision — but he'll stay with the club in an off—field role. meanwhile on the field of play, huddersfield giants have got their second win of the new season. they thrashed 36—6 — running in six tries — chris mcqueen with two of them. elsewhere there were wins for warrington, leeds and st helens. britain's cameron norrie cruised to a second round victory at indian wells. the british number one defeated taiwan's wu tung—lin in straights sets 6—2 6—4.

another weekend of six nations action beckons, kicking off tomorrow afternoon with what could prove to be a battle for the wooden spoon. wales are in italy having lost their first three matches, most recently with defeat to england in cardiff. the italians are also yet to win a game, but boast a solitary losing bonus point. the players are working hard to try to give clear message about improvements that were trying to make and against england and a couple of times in a couple said peace players and so, we've done some good reviews this week on natalie and whether strengths are in potential opportunities for us from a defensive point of view at things from the attacking perspective as well. the big game of the weekend is at murrayfield tomorrow where unbeaten ireland will continue on their grand slam run. second placed scotland still have title aspirations of their own, but ireland, who are ranked the world's number one side

are chasing a first clean sweep of victories since 2018. we are responsible to show the next generation of kids coming through to show them what they're striving for what they want to be involved in another to be proud of their team and i suppose, we threw the net out a bit wider to the parents and supporters of these kids, etc and the whole of the nation, it is something we want people to be proud of and that's addresses on in the way we want to play the game. and that's all the sport for now.

guide dogs. for thousands of blind and visually impaired people, they're the difference between independence and isolation. she's my best friend, my constant companion, my means of independence. i couldn't imagine my life without rio. since 1931, around 36,000 guide dogs have been matched with visually impaired people. but during the pandemic, the breeding programme shut down overnight. the charity lost a third of its puppy—raising volunteers, and the guide dog service was paused... people like us are needed, so much, to help people like you. ..leaving more than 1,000 people waiting to be matched. it is really, really difficult not having the dog. practically every step you're thinking, "this is impossible.

i don't know how i'm doing with this." but with around 1,100 puppies now in early training, is recovery around the corner? we are hopeful for the future, but we do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer, as these dogs make their way through the system. we visit puppies at the national breeding centre and ask what needs to be done to fix britain's guide dog shortage. archie! good boy. let's go! meet new arrival archie... good boy! are you my little star? ..and his puppy raiser, lisa. hers is one of more than 2,000 households giving their time for free to help raise guide dog puppies for around a year. it's opened up a whole new world. i've met lots of new friends, i'm part of... i feel part of a community

that i wasn't before. not only that, obviously you're doing something very good, at the end of the day. it sounds exciting, but it's a big commitment. puppies like archie live at home and often need attention around the clock. as much as it's your instant reaction, "puppy, puppy, puppy," you know, "let's go for it. a cute little puppy," you've got to remember that it's a lot of work. it's... being a puppy raiser is hard work, especially at the beginning. volunteers take their puppies with them to everyday places, from restaurants to supermarkets and on buses and trains, to help get them ready for their future working lives. at the end of the day, ijust remember i'm doing this to enable somebody who's not as fortunate as me, that can't see, to actually get some independence. archie, touch! volunteers like lisa are supported by the charity guide dogs, which works across the uk. lovely. just keep doing exactly what you're doing, rewarding on the left

there so he always knows where to come. that's absolutely fantastic. good boy. today, puppy development adviser beth has come to see how lisa and archie are getting on. so the reason that we use hand touch is so when archie is placed with a visually impaired person, obviously they can't see when he's running back, when he's coming, so they can pop out this hand as a target. these routine visits are as much about supporting lisa as they are for training archie, but these are the building blocks he'll need if he's to earn a working harness. good boy! perfect. good boy! learning through play is encouraged... ..but there are some things archie will need to quit before he finishes his training. you're going to have to learn what this is for. but he's just got such a wonderful nature. he's a heart of gold, and hejust loves people. really loves people. happy times, but every puppy raising volunteer knows that

if all goes to plan, the day will come when they have to give them back to guide dogs. later, we'll follow lisa and herfirst pup, fergall, as she hands him in for the next phase of his training. what are the emotions that are going through your head today? if i'm honest, i'd say proud. i think that's my biggest one. so proud of what i've done. really proud of him. voice breaks lisa hopes that both of her dogs will go on to give someone their independence. just proud. forward, rio. forward! go on, then. i couldn't imagine my life without rio. she's so important. she's my best friend, my constant companion, my means of independence, of getting about wherever i want to go, whenever i want to go, and living the life i want to lead. go forward. good girl. ella caulfield is a first—time guide dog user. she was matched with rio in 2018.

good girl. well done. she's very open aboutjust how much she benefits from having a guide dog in her life. she gives me that independence that i do kind of need, and i crave, that i need to live the life i want...| want to lead. she's good for a cuddle at the end of an evening if i've had a bad day, and she's an excellent guide. she's very rarely led me astray. it's not a one—way street, though. ella looks after rio's needs and wants. today, she's grooming and cleaning her coat. it's one of the responsibilities ella has as a guide dog user to make sure that rio is loved, happy and well cared for. if they didn't have each other, ella says she'd never have been able to study maths at oxford university. ella started to lose her sight at four years old. when she was 15, she received some devastating news. i think because it happened gradually, it wasn't, like,

an immediate shock of "you're not going to see again". i was told i had a retinal detachment, and i definitely broke down then. i was with my dad. i can remember him hugging me and the nurses kind of bringing me a cup of water, just kind of comforting me. and then i got booked in for surgery the next day. doctors operated to see if they could save any sight they could, but those attempts failed. nothing came of it. so i've been left withjust minimal light perception in my right eye. but it's...it's not useful. i can only see light if i, like, look directly into the sun or into a light bulb. for ella, a new reality. she learnt new life skills and how to read braille. she applied for a guide dog in may 2017, and then around a year later an exciting call came. it was actually my mum picked up the call, so... i hadn't got home from school yet. my mum picked up the call. it was someone from guide dogs saying, "we've got a match for ella." i think ijust got very

giggly and very kind of... yeah, very excited. like, "yes, this is happening." ella and rio spent around five weeks training with guide dog mobility specialists. can you tell me what it felt like the first time you were guided by rio? i felt lighter. i felt like i was definitely kind of more smiley, more confident. icould... i could move freely and independently without relying on somebody else being there. like many guide dog users, ella would never want to be without a four—legged friend again. just feeling so much more confident and independent and happy that, like, i had this friend with me who was going to be there permanently with me. rio provides such a kind of welfare support to me. ella and rio are one of 3,695 partnerships currently working in the uk. that's down from around 5,000 before the pandemic. more than one in five people who had a guide dog before then now do not. i honestly think they are doing their absolute best. like me, kelly nasir is waiting

to be matched with a new guide dog. we are among more than 1,100 people on the ready—to—train list. kelly's last dog, river, retired eight months ago. her mobility has been seriously impacted. walking with a cane is like walking with one hand tied behind your back. it makes everything harder. not having the dog, that's what makes you feel disabled. because when you have the dog, you just... you get on with things. kelly keeps a busy social and work diary. she's a barrister, but also a mum. not having a dog doesn't only affect her, but her very young daughter. i'm the one who can't take her out when i want to, i have to say, "well, let's wait for daddy," or, "let's wait till we go see nanna and grandad." and i can do everything else she needs and i'm her mummy, and i love her and i'm the one that's there when she has her nightmares, and i play with her and it doesn't impact

on our relationship, but i think it impacts on how i feel about thejob i'm doing as... ..as a mum. watch the tree. so why do guide dog users like me and kelly find ourselves between dogs? puppy: puppy! the answer lies here at the charity's national breeding centre in warwickshire. bill's been explaining to me that the waiting lists are currently a bit longer than guide dogs would like them to be for life—changing guide dogs. purely for research purposes, you understand, i might have to stroke puppies like bill and many, many other puppies. is this the bestjob in the world or what? this is where a guide dog puppy'sjourney begins_ before the pandemic, as many as 1,500 dogs were bred here in a year. in 2020, the breeding programme shut down overnight when social distancing was introduced. it was the first time

in the charity's 92—year history that the guide dog service was suspended. archive: guide dogs show their paces along one - of the centre's obstacle courses. although training techniques have changed over the years, the aim to match visually impaired people with guide dogs has not. archive: and thousands of blind | people who have benefited from it will agree with her. nowadays, the charity trains more assistance dogs than anyone else around the globe. puppy! little ones like paige spend the first weeks of their life here. for them, they're just having fun... she's currently nibbling the camera at the moment. ..but staff are watching closely to see how suited they are to guide work. she's got the brains, for sure. she air kisses puppy. paige! hi, pup! are you a good puppy? yes, you are! look how cute you are!

look at those big eyes and floppy ears. you're such a good puppy! sniff it. 0k! becky and anna are paying close attention to see how paige reacts to human interaction. right... they laugh they're looking to see how she deals with problem solving. yes, she's... she's... she knows. that's a good sign because a guide dog's ability to find their way around a problem is, well, just part of the job. good girl. that's also interesting that she's... she's been to that one, smelled that one. she's like, "mm, it's not there." and she's actually worked out to go to the other one. so, in itself, that's interesting. during the pandemic, all training and breeding here stopped. guide dogs say they needed to protect their staff and volunteers. so that is our puppy reception. it is really unfortunate. our breeding programme is fantastic, it's world—class and it's always been able to produce the number of puppies that we've required to meet our service users' needs.

and unfortunately, that pause in our breeding programme has really affected us. and there's been other combinations as well. bearing in mind that obviously our puppies, when they were out with our amazing puppy—raising volunteers, weren't able to experience the environments that they would experience with a guide dog owner as yourself. so unfortunately, it's been a combination of things that have meant that we haven't produced the number of guide dog partnerships that we really want to.

but we do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer as these dogs make their way through the system. as you said, these little puppies here that we saw today, it will take about two years for them to make partnership. around 1,100 puppies are currently in early training. guide dogs says what it needs now is volunteer fosterers who can look after dogs in advanced training, dropping them off and picking them up from the charity's offices on weekdays. our volunteers are our lifeblood. guide dogs could not do what we do without our volunteers, across the board, across all of our services. and unfortunately, after the pandemic, we did lose a lot of volunteers as people wanted to have a break, being the situation, we also kind of reduced the numbers that were reapplying. so we are at the moment looking very heavily to recruit lots of volunteers, and we've been very lucky that a lot of people have been so generous with their time. come on then, sam. let's go. head. good boy! reporter: after more than eight years of working with sean, - guide dog sammy is set to retire, and sean may have to wait two years for his next dog. that was six months ago. when sammy leaves me, it will leave

a huge hole in my heart. a few hours later, sammy left me to retire with family. much of my confidence and mobility left me too that day. sammy is more important to me, and you always will be, sammy. i know you'll always be my boy. a month later and it's clear i was still in trauma. you are actually quite moved today, aren't you? you know, we... sharing my story is by far the hardest thing i've ever done in my career. the impact, though, has been huge. i would like to say to bbc breakfast viewers, thank you so much to everyone who's already applied to volunteer at guide dogs. since coverage, we've seen a peak in applications. so injanuary alone, we received almost 3,000 volunteer applications. 2,500 of those were to raise puppies, compared with 2,000 for the whole of 2019, the last pre—pandemic year. for lisa's first pup, fergall, it's the end of one journey, but the start of another. all this, i'm packing the three trays up from home. his biscuits that i always give him, half a biscuit at bedtimes. they've been together forjust over a year. this, i've had it made and had his name put

on it, and his id number. she's packing up things that she hopes will remind him of their time together. and his christmas present. i can't tell you what it is — he'll hear! sean laughs the day has come for fergall to start his advanced training. that means lisa must say a painful goodbye. hello! hi! i want him upset as little as possible. they're his toys, he's got his biscuits that he has half a one at night. i mean, if she's generous, she might like to give him one at first, because he deserves it. any time he's not with shelly, working and learning, learning what he's got to do, he'll be in there having a good rest. and then we've got some fab free—running sandpits out the back as well, so we'll show you them, where he can have his downtime and have some good sniffs. yeah.

nice doggy hotel and playground, fergall. this may be a sad time for lisa, but for fergall, a new adventure awaits. here you go, you get big boy lead now. bye—bye, sweetheart. many guide dog users stay in touch with their puppy raisers, but many do not. tearfully: thanks for that. you're welcome. i'll ring you tomorrow. lisa knows this could be the last time she sees fergall. crying: i am fine. woman: you've set me off, anyway. the one question that i get asked all the time or people say to me, all my friends, family, people i meet in the street, "i'd love to do what you're doing, but i couldn't do it, "because i couldn't give the dog back." he's ultra cute. he's a good boy. if i can do it, anybody can do it. as a guide dog user of more than 23 years, i know the theory of what volunteers like lisa go through, but being there for the moment of handover was as beautiful as it was poignant. it's hard, but you've got to remember why you're doing it. you know, people

have to help people. there's not enough of it in this world. we're needed, people like us are needed so much to help people like you. the tears are worth it. hello. lots of focus on snow in recent days. tonight, it is about ice, widespread icy conditions with the dynamite is mightiest —11 celsius we have seen the snow and elsewhere in town and city centres we can see them right —3 minus four celsius in a cold frosty icy start

of the weekend and a good deal of sunshine for many platypus england, wales or northern ireland until snow, snow showers in southern scotland and a great day with the best of sunshine for the easter with later winds the resulting friday and temperatures still run three to seven celsius for many and across the far southwest of england. through saturday night, ray will push its way eastwards for many and across the far southwest of england. through saturday night, ray will push its way eastward through northern england and into scotland. clear skies behind it and someday will start for the week ahead, sunday looks to be an increasingly wet day with some strong winds turning colder again by tuesday.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the bbc star football presenter gary lineker has been suspended over comments he made criticising the british governments asylum policy. as editor in chief of the bbc, i think one of our founding principles is impartiality in that's what we're delivering. is impartiality in that's what we're deliverinu. �* , .y is impartiality in that's what we're deliverinu. .y is impartiality in that's what we're deliverin. .y ., delivering. asylum policy was also centre stage _ delivering. asylum policy was also centre stage at _ delivering. asylum policy was also centre stage at a _ delivering. asylum policy was also centre stage at a meeting - delivering. asylum policy was also centre stage at a meeting in - delivering. asylum policy was also centre stage at a meeting in paris| centre stage at a meeting in paris with uk promises france hundreds of millions of dollars to deal with channel crossings. missing the warning signs. officials in germany say police spoke to the suspect and thursday's hamburg shooting a month before the attack. and hollywood's big night is on sunday. the oscars. we will look at who could be taken

home the coveted gold statues.