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Reporting by Cameron Tucker, on his last day with KMTV
Transcript
00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
00:26I'm Cameron Tucker. Here are your top stories on Thursday the 18th of December.
00:31Complaints lodged. Kent County Council opposition hit back over punch threat.
00:36Councilors need to behave professionally and uphold the highest standards of behaviour, so it needs to be looked into.
00:4240 years of giving hope. Oliver Fisher Charity celebrates 40th anniversary with carols and remembrance service in Rochester.
00:50Children absolutely love it. It's a really good opportunity for them to, one, understand the importance of the charity and to tie it into Christmas and just all the lovely things that we like to do.
01:01From darts with love, Dartford FC head down to Darrant Valley Hospital to give out Christmas gifts to children.
01:08I've done it for a while now since I've joined the academy for the football club, so I mean, any chance to get to come back and give it back at any small way that we can.
01:16But first, our top story this evening.
01:28The Liberal opposition leader of Kent County Council has lodged an official complaint against a senior councillor over a message in a private group where he threatened to punch a colleague.
01:38Councillor Peter Osborne says he was acting out of frustration rather than malice and Reform UK have dismissed the move as political games.
01:46But as our local democracy reporter Olly Leder has learnt, opposition leaders from across the political spectrum have thrown their weight behind the complaint.
01:54They may not agree on everything, but these Kent County Council group leaders are clear about this.
02:02It comes as opposition leader Anthony Hook submitted an official complaint against Highway's cabinet member Peter Osborne,
02:14who threatened to punch a colleague in the jaw in a group chat after a foul-mouthed Reform UK Zoom meeting was leaked to The Guardian.
02:25There was a very recent incident of a senior member of the Reform Administration had apparently posted a threatening message to other Reform councillors.
02:32We've asked the monitoring officer to investigate that.
02:35Councillors need to behave professionally and uphold their highest standards of behaviour, so it needs to be looked into.
02:41It's been really shocking. We've had an absolute explosion in the number of complaints, Council of Code of Conduct complaints.
02:47And we think that we need to draw a line under that. People need to understand how to behave in the chamber and on social media to take their responsibilities properly.
02:59At the time, Osborne said his comments were made out of frustration at the circumstances rather than out of malice.
03:08But the Reform leader says the complaint is politically motivated.
03:12Lots of unacceptable things happen every day. I take offence at lots of things. But do I try and, you know, use that as an attack on people? No, I don't.
03:22So I think we all need to grow up a little bit and move on.
03:24The monitoring officer may now choose to investigate the matter further and send it to the Standards Committee.
03:31A potential setback for an administration still adamant they were betrayed by their own.
03:38Olly Leader at Sessions House.
03:40And shortly before we came on air, we were sent this statement from a Reform UK Kent spokesperson stating that this is little more than faux outrage from a group of non-entities who should be focusing on representing their residents rather than playing embarrassing political games.
03:58Two cousins have been imprisoned for a combined 22 years after their drink-driving killed a man in Chatham.
04:05Tyron Francois was driving a van with David Francois in the passenger seat when he hit Jason Bale on Luton Road.
04:13Despite emergency services attempting to save his life, Mr. Bale died from his injuries.
04:19The two who had been drinking in dashcam footage that you can see on screen was played in court showing both men who took turns at the wheel driving recklessly.
04:27Following the arrest, Tyron tested positive for cocaine and it was discovered that he had never taken a driving test.
04:34He was sentenced to eight years while David was sentenced to 13 years and an additional 18 months in prison.
04:40The Oliver Fisher Trust, which helps premature babies, has just celebrated 40 years of service with a special ceremony in Rochester Cathedral.
04:50Joining them were schools across Medway and Swale and local businesses for an evening of festive singing.
04:55The charity also paid tribute to a team member who passed away earlier this year.
05:00Our community reporter Henry Luck has more.
05:02Three schools across Medway and Swale have come together for one special cause.
05:11They're raising money for the Oliver Fisher Trust, which supports parents whose babies have been born prematurely.
05:22Some of the songs for this evening were written by a former Rochester resident named Thomas Hewitt Jones and the lyrics have been written by Reverend Gordon Gilles of Rochester Cathedral for this special occasion.
05:41So this is our second year of taking part in the Oliver Fisher Trust carol service.
05:49We've been practising all the songs that we've been given.
05:53We have our own song as well that we've put actions to and the children absolutely love it.
05:58It's a really good opportunity for them to, one, understand the importance of the charity and to tie it into Christmas and just all the lovely things that we like to do.
06:08As well as celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Oliver Fisher Trust is also paying tribute to one of its own.
06:18This evening we have dedicated our celebration of light and life to our former PR officer Trina, who we sadly lost earlier this year.
06:26We'll be very happy to welcome her family here this evening as special guests.
06:31Trina was a wonderful person who was the embodiment of the legacy that Oliver Fisher brings.
06:37She loved her job on the unit and then she took that forward into working for the charity.
06:42She is very much loved and will be missed.
06:45Some school pupils received help from the charity when they were younger, alongside the family of a local business.
06:55I was the size of a doll when I was born.
07:01Are you proud of where you are now?
07:04Yes.
07:04You know, we said when he was born and we had all the support that we needed in the unit, we had it as parents and then he had it as a baby that we'd always support Oliver Fisher in which way we can.
07:16He's now a struggling 11-year-old and we have continued on our promise and we will always do so as long as we can.
07:22This carol service, as well as spreading Christmas joy, has the bigger message of supporting premature babies this winter.
07:34Henry Luck for KNTV in Rochester.
07:39Henry Luck there and Hannah Grout from the charity joins us on the line now.
07:44Hannah, thank you so much for joining us and obviously a wonderful service there yesterday.
07:5040 years for the charity.
07:53You know, what does that mean for you and the rest of the team?
07:55It's no small feat for a small charity to be around for 40 years.
08:01The only reason we can do what we do is because of wonderful support from our community.
08:06It's an honour to be able to serve the families that need the unit at Medford Maritime Hospital and it's something we really look forward to continuing to do.
08:14And how has the organisation evolved over those four decades?
08:18So, the charity was founded back in 1985 by Dr Tony Ducker, who was the lead neonatologist at the time when the unit was situated at All Saints Hospital.
08:30Obviously, technology has come so far in that 40 years and having us as a supporting charity means that we can go above and beyond the NHS funding that is available to everybody.
08:43We're very lucky to have public health care, but our aim as a charity is to be able to provide private health care standards within a public setting, indiscriminate of who is there, and make it available for everybody.
08:56And give us an idea of sort of the facts and the stats related to the number of people, you know, those premature babies, and indeed those families that the charity have been able to help over that time.
09:09So, on average, obviously, births and location, locale and population have increased.
09:17But in the last year alone, we've helped over 1,200 babies.
09:21If you think about the families attached to those, the numbers run into the thousands very quickly, how many people we've used, have used our services in just one year.
09:31So, if you add that up over 40 years, it's exponential.
09:35It's an amazing achievement to be able to say that we've helped those people.
09:38It's an incredible feat.
09:40And obviously, the service that Henry went to was a chance to thank all those that have been involved and recognise those efforts.
09:50Tell us a little bit more about the event, you know, how much was raised and what that, you know, the fundraising from that, what that can go towards.
09:58So, first and foremost, to talk about what the money raised will go towards.
10:04This year, in our 40th year, we have set ourselves our biggest target ever yet, and we are trying to raise a quarter of a million pounds towards the refurbishment of the intensive care ward within the unit itself.
10:17So, we decided to do a carol concert because it brings so many people across the community together.
10:24So, we're talking about children that took part as young as year three from different schools all the way up to year six.
10:33So, we've got children involved.
10:34We then get their families involved.
10:36Grandparents want to come along.
10:38We also had social prescription service to singing mummers on site as well.
10:42So, we really get the whole community together because everybody loves Christmas, and it brings us all together, and it gives us a tangible moment to celebrate those miracles that have happened.
10:53And last night, thanks to local businesses supporting us, Lenny's of Eastgate as our main sponsors, and North Down Dali Financial Services, who provided our programmes for everybody, we were able to make in excess of £1,200 in this one event, one evening, which is an amazing amount of money.
11:11So, we want to thank everybody who supported us, came along, supported the event.
11:16It's just been such a wonderful community-spirited event.
11:20It was lovely.
11:21And we've only got a few seconds left, Hannah.
11:24Just very quickly, there's really touching words from that little girl towards the end there, saying how she was about the size of a doll when she was born, and to where she is now.
11:32Just very quickly, what does that mean to you when you hear those sorts of words?
11:37As a mum of somebody who used the unit, those words mean everything to me.
11:41I know what it's like to hold those tiny babies in your arms and offer the love towards them and receive the support from people around.
11:50Thank you. Thank you so much.
11:51Going to have to go to a break.
11:53More on Kent tonight in a few moments' time.
12:10We'll see you then.
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15:39earlier all about the scheme let's begin there give us a bit of an overview of the initiative
15:46good afternoon so project vigilant is an initiative that's designed to tackle predatory sexual
15:52behaviors and other unwanted activities in the nighttime economy particularly targeted toward
15:59women and girls and the officers are proactive they're out there to meet and greet the public
16:06to ensure that people can have a good time but also look for those individuals who are targeting
16:11and displaying unwanted behaviors that we just don't want to see in our nighttime economy
16:16and why is this project being brought in now at this time of the year
16:22so kent have actually been running project vigilant for a couple of years it's been building up in both
16:27the areas that we're deploying it and the number of officers and we continue working with partners
16:32and other agencies to enhance the tactic so you'll see officers deployed in plain clothes and the
16:38uniform into the town centers and the routes approaching and leaving the areas we're also
16:44working with bars clubs partners as well to provide active bystander training best bar none and we're
16:51also introducing this christmas our new dogs that are able to detect drugs that are used for spiking as
16:56well and what are the key things women are saying to you about feeling unsafe um on kent's town centers
17:05um on the high streets what some of the the feedback and the notes that you're getting from women
17:12so the good news is we're getting lots of positive feedback about the presence of police officers
17:17and the schemes that we've got in place but in general when you speak to people out in the nighttime
17:22economy and i say particularly females and women and girls they will tell you locally and nationally
17:28that some of them don't necessarily feel that they're fully safe they're fully protected they want
17:34to be able to move from the car park to the club without being harassed and face the prospect of unwanted
17:40unnecessary attention and that's exactly what this operation is about it's about targeting those
17:46individuals who pester who loiter who come up and follow individuals when it's not warranted not
17:52asked for and and totally unacceptable and we aim to identify those people and stop them before they
17:58take part in that activity and what's the long-term plan to reduce violence against women and girls in
18:04kent i want to bring in the report that came out earlier this year from the national police chiefs
18:09council um the so the cases have risen by 37 percent um in the last uh five years of violence against
18:16women and girls and one in every um 12 women will be a victim of um vawg um per year um so what is the
18:24strategy going forward there's obviously a big push to project vigilance at um at this time of the year
18:29but how can that be over the year and over a long-term plan to really bring those numbers down to
18:37non-existent well first of all any violence any unwarranted behavior is totally unacceptable
18:43and we'd encourage people to report it so some of that contribution of figure is where people are
18:47having that confidence to come forwards and also where we're spotting those offenses much much earlier
18:54or some of the precursor behaviors but vigilant forms part of the whole suite and approach to
19:00supporting and tackling violence against women and girls so some of this is about education in schools
19:06in workplaces with the offending groups that are displaying those unwarranted behaviors some of
19:12it is in the prevention space which is what project vigilant is about making these safe spaces safer
19:17making sure that these people don't have the opportunity to operate and then some of it is about
19:23the offense investigation ensuring we have quality investigations ensuring that we're supporting
19:29victims and ensuring that offenders are brought to justice and that's about zero tolerance
19:33pursuing them making sure we lock up those people who are dangerous and present a threat
19:40two people involved in violent car thefts in dartford have been sentenced to a combined total of
19:45almost 18 years in prison thomas ripley and lewis turner alongside teenager billy scamp targeted
19:52to say ibiza and audi tt wearing masks and armed with metal batons the three were arrested following the
19:59police tracking ripley using a gps tag he had as a condition of a recent release from prison at
20:05maidstone crown court ripley received a sentence of seven years and nine months turner was handed a
20:1110-year extended sentence and scamp was given a two-year suspended sentence with 300 hours unpaid work
20:17and 20 rehabilitation activity requirements a former news of the world journalist and dover publican was
20:25sentenced yesterday after intentionally damaging property near his former pub paul mcmullen who
20:31ran the castle in hostel uh used a paint roller to cover the lenses of a cctv camera as well as
20:37sensors on car park barriers causing more than six thousand pounds worth of damage jurors found him
20:44guilty of damaging property at canterbury crown court on wednesday landing him a near 13 000 pound fine
20:50the 55 year old who reached infamy in 2011 following the phone hacking scandal said he did it because
20:56of privacy concerns and here is paul mcmullen now had a chance to put a line in the sand to protect
21:05the privacy of people within their own homes uh they chose not to they didn't understand it
21:11uh they found me guilty of trying to protect the privacy of my tenants now don't forget you can
21:24keep up to date with all your latest stories across kent by logging on to our website kmtv.co.uk
21:30there you'll find all our reports including this one
21:35shoppers in the pentagon in chatham have been seeing issues with the parking machines
21:39with some even being issued incorrect fines this all comes from a connection issue with the cameras
21:44and payment machines where some registration details weren't being collected properly meaning
21:49drivers would have to have put their details in manually without them actually knowing they had to
21:54we came in here about a month ago in fact i can tell you the exact date it was the 25th of october and
22:01on that particular day the machines didn't know what time you came in so they were down apparently they
22:08were offline so everyone was queuing and not knowing what to do but we paid our ticket anyway
22:13and i said to my wife i bet we get a ticket through and sure enough we got this ticket through really
22:19there isn't any excuses the machine should work end of story he added that he doesn't want the issue to
22:25keep happening as it's happened for long enough and that for those who are vulnerable or maybe elderly
22:29they might struggle to pay the fine now this issue of the registration details not being automatically
22:35registered won't necessarily lead to a fine but around seven percent of drivers have been affected
22:40by this issue and this has gone down to three percent this month and the operator hoser hopes this will
22:46be reduced to a further one percent by the end of november and the pentagon management team have added
22:52that they're committed to upgrading their service so that this happens less and less pentagon shopping
22:57center manager charlene malone said occasionally with anpr technology these types of errors can occur
23:02unfortunately through our partnership with hoser we can cancel any fines our customers receive because
23:07of these occasional issues to date the problem has been limited to a small number of users and every
23:12visitor who has notified us of difficulties using the machines has had their fine promptly cancelled
23:17we take this matter seriously and are committed to ensuring visitors can use the car park with
23:22complete confidence once the final upgrades are complete richard added that he hopes the pentagon will
23:27sort the issue before it begins to hurt the reputation of the high street or drives people away from
23:32making the trip to the town in the first place finn mcdermid for cane tv in chatham
23:39staying with finn here's here he is to have a look at all the sports news
23:53first off to football and tunbridge angels are preparing to face former premier league opposition
23:57when they host dagenham and redbridge at the weekend the angels are hoping to build off of their strong
24:04away victory against talkie when they face the daggers whose current squad includes former newcastle
24:09liverpool west ham and england striker andy carroll the ex-premier league bagsman has been with dagenham
24:14since signing in july and has scored six in 12 appearances across all competitions angels manager
24:20alan dunn said to have andy carroll and tunbridge angels in the same conversation is remarkable on
24:25their tactics for the match he added we've just got to be aware of him and keep him out the box the
24:29sides will face off this saturday staying with football now and it's an early christmas present
24:33for dover athletic fans ahead of their match against eastbourne borough the club's chairman jim
24:39palmitter said there'll be free entry for anyone wanting to watch the whites at the weekend he added
24:43that hopefully there will be a good party atmosphere and everyone enjoys themselves we're putting on quite a lot of
24:49of things for people well let's hear what else that jim palmitter the dover chairman had to say let's
24:55have a quick that now
25:11it's a gesture from the club to the town where times are particularly tough at the moment you know
25:16people are struggling every time you turn the tv on there's a tax gone up or a price gone up or you
25:21know people it's not particularly affluent area we recognize it's the week before christmas and
25:25it's just a way of the of the club saying to the town hey come and have a bit of a party at dover and
25:31enjoy the game
25:36and lastly over to the ice rink where the invicta dynamos will be celebrating 40 years of ice hockey
25:46here in kent the moes have come away with wins in their last six in the league including a 10-0 win
25:52against bottom of the table cardiff fire they've got a double header coming up against slough jets
25:56they'll be sporting their old iconic medway bears jersey a callback to their old name the head coach
26:01and former player carlin and said he just can't wait for it and it looks like that is all the time
26:08we have for our sports bulletin we'll have more sports news throughout the week thank you so much
26:14for watching and i'll catch you on invicta sport on monday
26:29the break we're going to have a quick look at the weather but we'll also have a look back at our top
26:34story uh from this evening uh more uh going on at kent county council uh and of course later on in the
26:41show we'll have chris dc with all the latest film news all that and more to come on kent tonight see
26:46in a few moments time
27:11we'll see you
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32:24reform leader says the complaint is politically motivated. Lots of unacceptable things happen
32:30every day. I take offence at lots of things, but do I try and, you know, use that as an attack on
32:36people? No, I don't. So I think we all need to grow up a little bit and move on. The monitoring
32:41officer may now choose to investigate the matter further and send it to the Standards Committee,
32:47a potential setback for an administration still adamant they were betrayed by their own.
32:54Ollie Leda at Sessions House. And shortly before we came on air, we were sent this statement from
33:01a Reform UK Kent spokesperson, stating that this is little more than faux outrage from a group of
33:07non-entities who should be focusing on representing their residents rather than playing embarrassing
33:12political games. A woman armed with a gardening tool told her stabbing victim in Sittingbourne it
33:18was a shame she did not have a proper knife. Tina Thompson made the comment after grappling with
33:23Nicole O'Reilly in a car park at Swale Council's offices in Sittingbourne. Mesa and Crown Court
33:29heard the two women who knew each other became involved in a violent altercation on the 27th of
33:34August. Connie Bowker has more. 60-year-old Tina Thompson has been handed an eight-month prison sentence
33:41for repeatedly stabbing for repeatedly stabbing another woman with gardening tools. On the 27th of August,
33:49Tom Sett attacked Nicole O'Reilly in a car park at Swale Council's offices in Sittingbourne. The court today heard how a verbal altercation between the two suddenly became violent. Prosecutors described how Tom Sett swung the gardening tool repeatedly causing injuries to Ms. O'Reilly's neck and collarbone and
34:01leaving her in need of stitches. Tom Sett also told her victim it was a shame she didn't have a real knife. The court viewed CCTV footage of the incident and Tom Sett who appeared in court today via video link admitted she had been drinking at the time.
34:16At the time of the attack as well Tom Sett already had 14 previous convictions and was currently on bail for possession of a bladed article. Initially she was charged with wounding within 10. She later
34:46pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of unlawful wounding. Because of the time she has already served in jail while awaiting trial, it is expected that Tom Sett is going to be released on licence pretty soon. The judge also handed her a five-year restraining order against Ms. O'Reilly and warned Tom Sett to avoid any further confrontation.
35:09Connie Balco there. Now more than 170 drink and drug driving offences were committed in the first half of December across Kent. Kent police rolled out their yearly Christmas enforcement campaign as part of the National Operation Limit Initiative which aims to reduce incidents during the festive season. Our reporter Kai Weh has been finding out more about the campaign and the legal consequences of drink driving.
35:32Kent police have launched their annual Christmas enforcement campaign to crack down on drink and drug driving offences. But within the first half of their campaign, 172 offences have already been committed.
35:4650 of these for drink driving, 46 for drug driving, 56 for being unfit to drive due to drinks or drugs, and 20 for failing to provide a specimen for testing.
35:56These statistics were all discovered during stop checks or tests taken during road traffic collisions across the county.
36:03So I'm arresting you for being over the prescribed limit of alcohol whilst driving to drink driving. So you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence.
36:09You do not mention one question, something you lay to allow in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
36:14I also spoke with David Barter, a solicitor who specialises in motorist incidents about the consequences of drink and drug driving.
36:21I've been doing this work for over four decades, and every year, for as long as I can remember, police have run these awareness campaigns.
36:30And you'd think by now that the message really would have got through to people. It's an unusual period of time, because there are occasions when people will drink more than they might otherwise.
36:40There's a significant criminal law consequence. There's a criminal conviction that can lead to significant financial consequences. Job loss. If there's an accident, insurers won't cover injury or damage to third parties.
36:57I think, above anything else, people, they need to just think, be aware of how long it can take the body to metabolise alcohol and even longer to metabolise drugs.
37:11In a statement, the head of roads policing, Chief Inspector Craig West, said,
37:15Our officers tackle drink and drug driving every day, but this campaign is about raising awareness and hopefully preventing families from losing loved ones.
37:23If you're planning to visit family or attend events over the coming weeks, please do not drink or take drugs before driving.
37:30If you intend to drink, arrange alternative transport to get home safely.
37:34Kai Wei for KMTV.
37:36A former Rochester student has become the breakout star of a new Netflix documentary series with Simon Cowell.
37:46John Fadar, a 17-year-old from King's School, was chosen to be a part of a seven-piece band by the BGT icon during filming of the new series of The Next Act.
37:57The former Choir Boys' new group, called December 10, has been touted as the new One Direction.
38:02We spoke to head teacher of the King's School, Simon Fisher, earlier to get his reaction to the pupils' newfound stardom.
38:09Tell us a little bit about John and yours and the stars' memories of him at the school.
38:14Was he always particularly into music?
38:18Yeah, I mean, John's got an incredible history in terms of his music.
38:22He joined us in year four as a chorister, part of the chorister programme, which we run in partnership with Rochester Cathedral.
38:29He did that between year four and year eight, and then, since then, has been a music scholar.
38:33He's been part of all of the house music competitions, various shows, part of the orchestra.
38:38I mean, really, his musical pedigree is incredible.
38:40And it's so important there, you know, you're talking about his experience as a chorister,
38:45for young people to have those experiences and those really formative experiences at school.
38:50Yes, it's about, you know, sitting in the classroom and going through textbooks, but it's also those experiences as well.
38:57And having those experiences at really formative times in students' lives that, you know, there can be more John's and what's happened to John, you know, keeps happening.
39:08Absolutely. I mean, here at King's School Rochester, one of the things we really want to do is turn out rounded and grounded individuals.
39:15And I think, you know, John is a shining example of that. If you watch the show, I think, you know, it really comes across, you know, what a kind, decent young man he is.
39:23He's aspirational. He's incredibly talented, but he's also grounded. He's humble.
39:28He's really a fine example of, you know, what we seek to do here as a school.
39:31So a great ambassador, what was it like for you and the students and staff to see him rubbing elbows with the likes of Simon Cowell, you know, an absolute giant in the music scene?
39:43I mean, incredibly inspirational for us all to see that, you know, and for our pupils in particular to see that, you know, when you chase your dreams, you can be successful.
39:50I think at the same time, though, you know, John is, you know, he's a very, very grounded young man.
39:55He, you know, is taking this in his stride. So we're incredibly proud of him and how he's, you know, approaching all of this.
40:00You know, it's a sort of a brave new world he's entering, you know, but he's doing so, I think, with a very mature head on his shoulders.
40:06And, you know, on a serious note as well, we see at schools up and down the county and indeed the country, the arts taking a bit of a hammering.
40:18How important is it, you know, to see what's happened with John and that to be an example of how great it is to be involved in the arts, whether it is as a chorister, whether it is learning it as a subject.
40:31How important is it to get that across?
40:35I think it's important we don't forget that, you know, sort of all of these skills and talents, you know, people have.
40:40These are often, you know, sort of, you know, they begin at school, you know, and it's those experiences in school that are really critical for people.
40:46And, you know, when you see people interviewed, you know, they often reflect on their time at school and their journey, whether it's in music, it's in drama, it's in sport or something more academic.
40:54And I think, you know, the grounding John's had here as a chorister, you know, part of an orchestra, you know, he's had all of those opportunities and they've built in him incredible resilience and readiness for these exciting new opportunities he has.
41:06And saving the hardest question for last, I imagine you've binged through the episode so far.
41:11Favourite performance from John and the band?
41:14I really am a big fan of the new single, Bye Bye Bye, which I think dropped on Monday.
41:19It's a really, you know, iconic track and I think, you know, a really great, you know, first single film to put out there.
41:26Amazing. Simon, thank you so much for talking to us.
41:29Really, like I said, a lovely, feel good, inspirational story.
41:33And hopefully there could be more Johns from your school and from other schools as a result of this.
41:37Thank you so much for talking to us today.
41:40Coming up after the break, Phil McDermott's been down to Darrant Valley Hospital to find out about Dartford FC's yearly tradition of donating presents.
41:46And Chris DC will be here with all the film news. See you in a few moments time.
42:16Thanks for listening.
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47:24The club's committee came up with the idea as it was something other clubs had started doing
47:28and they wanted a way to give back to the fans.
47:30We as a committee just come up. We're a very much community club at Dartford.
47:34We do things throughout the year and we just thought we'd do something back for the kids
47:38who are in hospital this time of year, which is not a nice place to be.
47:41So we just thought we'd give something back to the community at Christmas
47:43and that's how we got involved with it.
47:45You can't, you can't, it's something different, you know what I mean?
47:48To see their faces light up when they're sick, not well, it's a horrible place to be
47:53and just that little bit of joy on their faces at this time, it's lovely.
47:57Yeah, we'll really fire the Christmas really.
47:59The darts are no stranger to away matches, but the children on the ward might not have spent the holidays away from home before.
48:06So hopefully seeing their local team giving them a gift will be the assist they need for some Christmas joy.
48:12Finn McDermott for KMTV in Dartford.
48:15And now it's time for a quick look at the weather.
48:23Tonight we have cloudy skies and rain.
48:25Averages of 12 degrees across the county and temperatures are in Ashford.
48:28The rain is particularly bad with the yellow warning.
48:30Into tomorrow morning the skies will be clear.
48:32Average temperatures of 7 and 8, getting slightly warmer into midday.
48:36And the afternoon will look much the same.
48:38Temperatures still at an average of 8 degrees.
48:40Wind speeds of 6 miles per hour.
48:43The outlook into the weekend, pretty overcast throughout
48:46and pretty consistent temperatures are between 9 going up to 11 on Sunday.
48:59And later on we'll be showing a new episode of Kent Film Club.
49:03But before that I'm joined by the presenter of the show, Chris Deasy,
49:06to talk about all the big stories in cinema this week.
49:11Obviously incredibly tragic news in the last week about Rob Reiner.
49:15But a chance now to celebrate some of the amazing films
49:19that have had an impact on cinema.
49:22And those links to Kent as well.
49:24A few of them there. Go through them with us.
49:26Well, Process Bride, it was Pennshurst Hall.
49:29And it was the famous sword fight that you see in that film.
49:32Christopher Guest and Mandy Patinkin.
49:34That was filmed not far away from here in Kent.
49:37So a local connection.
49:39But I was just thinking as well,
49:40he had about a run of 6 films,
49:43all of which are deemed classy.
49:44Think of Spinal Tap, because we had a sequel to that this year.
49:47Stand By Me, the adaptation of the Stephen King novel.
49:51And then of course The Princess Bride,
49:52When Harry Met Sally,
49:54Misery, which won an Oscar for Kathy Bates,
49:56and A Few Good Men.
49:57As well as that, The American President.
49:59In later years he did The Bucket List.
50:01So this is a filmmaker
50:02who was really at the top of his game
50:04in the 80s, 90s,
50:06and still going strong into his late 70s.
50:09And an actor as well.
50:10Making that transition is very difficult.
50:13I mean, to do any of those areas in the industry
50:15is incredibly difficult.
50:17But tell us a little bit about his acting profile as well.
50:21Well, he was in Bullets Over Broadway, for example.
50:23But also it's a family connection
50:25because his father was Karl Reiner,
50:27who was 98 when he died back in 2020.
50:30And later years he directed some of the Steve Martin films
50:33like The Jerk and Fatal Instinct.
50:35And he was also in the Oceans film.
50:37So he was an actor as well as a director.
50:39And his mother,
50:40well, you know the famous scene
50:41in When Harry Met Sally,
50:43the I'll have what she's having,
50:44that was Rob Reiner's mother, Estelle.
50:46And so really through cinema culture.
50:50And you went through those films
50:53and that amazing run that he had
50:54in the 80s, 90s,
50:57all the way to the present day.
50:59What does that speak to his versatility as well?
51:01Like different genres, different casts.
51:04Tell us a little bit about that.
51:05Each one of those films, totally different genre.
51:07So you've got the romantic comedy
51:09When Harry Met Sally,
51:10but you've got the fantasy.
51:11You've got the courtroom legal thriller.
51:13You've got straight out horror
51:14in the form of misery.
51:16He also did Ghosts of Mississippi,
51:17which was about the civil rights movement
51:18in the 1960s.
51:19So all of these films here
51:21were totally different genres.
51:23But it showed his versatility
51:25and also very different actors in the films.
51:27I mean, he was very popular.
51:28I mean, you just look at the wealth
51:30of Hollywood aid talent,
51:32who whether they'd worked with Rob Reiner or not,
51:34would speak so effusively about him
51:37and the work that he did over the years.
51:39And those films as well,
51:43a lot of them getting awards recognition as well
51:47and the Oscars.
51:47So talking a bit about that,
51:49some big news in the last week.
51:50Give us an update about the Oscars.
51:51Well, so incredible news
51:53that from 2029,
51:55it'll be streamed on YouTube.
51:58So you won't have to go to...
51:59I mean, in America, it's always been, you know, ABC.
52:01In Britain, Sky.
52:03Sometimes it's been on BBC.
52:04Sometimes it's been on ITV.
52:06So you'll be able to watch the Oscars free
52:07at two in the morning when it's released,
52:09when we have the ceremony in March.
52:12But for the next three years,
52:13it'll still be on pay-per-view.
52:14Chris, I'm going to interrupt you there.
52:15I'm coming in to sit down.
52:16We've not done this on KMTV before.
52:19Oh, no.
52:19If you could just shovel up a bit.
52:20So it's actually Cameron's last day today at KMTV,
52:24loyal viewers of KMTV.
52:27So we've never done this before, Cam.
52:29Yeah, this is my rehearsal.
52:30But anyone who's ever left KMTV,
52:32we thought we'd come in and have a chat.
52:34You're still doing all the timing.
52:35Yeah, I will time down.
52:36I'll shut the script away as well.
52:38So I have an idea what's going on.
52:39Hopefully there'll be a still of you in a minute.
52:41But Cameron has been working at KMTV for eight and a half years.
52:47He's done everything from reporting on the news
52:50to presenting to doing all of our commercial work.
52:54And he's been an absolute joy to work with.
52:57He likes a joke.
52:59We're not going to say too many right now.
53:01But also what we're going to talk about,
53:04and we could not leave,
53:06you could not leave KMTV without us talking about your big moment.
53:10It's back.
53:10So this happened about, oh, God, seven years ago,
53:15where Cameron was out on a shoot.
53:19It was about a drugs raid.
53:22In fact, it would make a good Rob Lohaner film, frankly.
53:26And this is what happened, everyone.
53:28So let's play it now.
53:40We've had enough times over the years.
53:46Relive the trauma.
53:47So what's about to happen, Cam?
53:49So about to happen.
53:50So I've set up a very professional scene about drugs raid,
53:54and lo and behold,
53:56a very suspicious-looking pot plant runner behind.
54:00And, yeah, my journalism career peaked back then, I think.
54:05Oh, it didn't peak.
54:07It didn't peak.
54:07So what happened?
54:08Tell us what happened afterwards.
54:10So afterwards, it just kind of went gangbusters, didn't it?
54:13Went all around the world.
54:16Oh, tiny trust.
54:17I've got tiny checks on here as well.
54:19Went on Newsnight.
54:22Went over into America as well.
54:25You didn't talk to us about it much in the newsroom?
54:26No, I was very, very...
54:29Coy.
54:30Yeah, very coy about it.
54:32But, Chris, we can even do a film clip.
54:34It's not a film, it's a TV.
54:35Can you name another Cameron Tucker?
54:37There is another Cameron Tucker in America.
54:39But, of course, I think there was a point when you had more likes on social media
54:44than the other Cameron Tucker.
54:45So when it all went viral, all the American viewers found it hilarious
54:49because this character in Modern Family is called Cameron Tucker.
54:52So Cameron Tucker is made in the woods, which is very, very, very funny.
54:56What have some of your highlights been, Cam?
54:58Oh, it's so...
55:00You've really caught me off guard because it's so hard to...
55:03It's so hard to...
55:04I think just starting off and being part of that team to start the organisation
55:08and part of that launch, and it's so exciting.
55:12And that's really gone through the whole way.
55:14It's become that platform for so many journalists
55:17to go on to, you know, amazing things around the world
55:21and to have helped be part of that team is amazing.
55:25And work, you know, being able to go abroad,
55:27working with Chris on the Generation Series and the BFI
55:30and working with amazing partners.
55:31You even said Generation Y.
55:33I know I've been trying to do that.
55:35It's very good.
55:35And then finishing off with, you know, trying to train the...
55:38You know, talking about the next generation
55:40and getting my son in front of the camera as well with Tiny Treks.
55:43So what's next, Cam?
55:44What's next?
55:45So I'm going to be off to be the video production manager
55:49at the Tank Museum in Dorset,
55:51with the biggest YouTube channel for a museum in the world,
55:55doing documentaries and history,
55:58all areas I love, and working with an amazing team there
56:01and going with very fond memories in my time here.
56:04Very good, Cam.
56:05Well, last of all, before we let you do your good night,
56:09I just want to say thank you very much
56:10for all your hard work over the years.
56:13You're a proper KMTV OG,
56:15and we hope you have a fantastic career once you've left here.
56:19Yeah, and really got me at the end there.
56:23Thank you, Andy, and thank you, Chris.
56:25And to everyone, indeed, here at KMTV,
56:29I'm going to keep it together for the next 20 seconds.
56:31You've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
56:34There's more news made just for Kent across the county.
56:38Not from me, but from the rest of the team after today.
56:41Join us tomorrow on KMTV.
56:43Good night.
56:49Good night.
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