Kent Tonight - Thursday 2nd November 2023
Catch up on the latest news from across the county with Sofia Akin.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 (upbeat music)
00:30 - Hello and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:34 I'm Sophia Akin and here are your top stories
00:36 on Thursday the 2nd of November.
00:38 90 mile per hour winds, widespread disruption in Kent
00:42 as storm Kieran batters the county.
00:44 - The Amber Alert for winds has been eased.
00:47 It finished at midday today,
00:49 but it's been raining relentlessly.
00:52 Roads right across the county have been flooded,
00:56 leading to many blocked routes and delayed journeys.
01:00 - Let's make some memories.
01:01 Gillingham FSC's new head coach,
01:03 Stephen Clements, ready for the job ahead.
01:05 - I've done over 400 games in the Premier League
01:07 and Championship as an assistant manager.
01:09 I think I've done it the right way.
01:12 So I haven't jumped straight into this.
01:14 I'm ready to go.
01:16 - And the core of the fruit industry,
01:18 Maidstone's National Fruit Show celebrates 90 years
01:21 of competition and innovation.
01:23 - This show is incredibly important for the industry.
01:25 We're the last of our kind in the UK.
01:27 We are the apple and pear show for the UK.
01:30 - First tonight, storm Kieran has battered Kent today,
01:42 leading to some schools being closed,
01:44 significant delays on railways and damage to buildings.
01:47 Wind speeds of nearly 90 miles per hour
01:49 have knocked over many trees,
01:51 which is leaving emergency teams working around the clock
01:54 to keep our roads clear.
01:55 The umbrella might've ended at midday,
01:57 but rainfall continues this evening,
01:59 leading to flooding fears.
02:01 Gabriel Morris joins us live now with more.
02:03 Gabriel, you've been across Kent today,
02:05 looking at the impact of storm Kieran across the county,
02:09 and you're now in Chatham, aren't you?
02:10 What more can you tell us?
02:11 - I've been right across Kent today, as you say, Sophia.
02:17 I have to say, down on the South Coast,
02:19 that's where some of the winds were their strongest.
02:21 This morning in the early hours of the morning,
02:23 talking speeds of up to 85 miles per hour,
02:27 we saw lots of damage down there,
02:30 lots of fences blown over, some trees as well,
02:34 but actually right across the county,
02:36 there has been damage.
02:38 Up here where I am in Medway, just in front of me,
02:41 I can see widespread flooding.
02:42 That's because it's been raining nonstop today,
02:45 and it's been raining for the past couple of days.
02:47 So the ground is already rather saturated,
02:51 so there is no runoff for that water.
02:53 It's just sitting on the surface.
02:55 We saw earlier today in the morning,
02:58 on the morning commute, the M20 coming off
03:01 at Ashford London Bound, that was flooded as well.
03:06 So the whole across the county has been flooded,
03:08 widespread disruption.
03:09 The Pentagon Centre in Chatham, that's been flooded,
03:13 that's been closed, and around about 15 schools
03:15 have been shut as well.
03:17 Let's have a look at how the storm impacted Kent today.
03:21 (thunder rumbling)
03:24 Storm Kieran certainly packed a punch.
03:27 Wind gusts reached as high as 86 miles per hour
03:31 on the coast this morning.
03:32 At first light, we could see the extent
03:35 of the damage caused overnight by the Amber Alert storm.
03:40 Fences, wheelie bins, and tiles were all smashed,
03:44 but it could have been worse.
03:47 The ferocious winds of Storm Kieran
03:49 blew out the front windows of these two buses,
03:52 which were subsequently abandoned.
03:54 Commuters had to face surface water flooding
03:58 on their way to work, whilst dealing with diversions
04:01 as emergency crews responded to multiple reports
04:04 of fallen trees, some of those even hitting power lines
04:09 and knocking out power for hundreds of homes
04:11 across the county.
04:13 One tree even cut out the broadband of this local councillor.
04:17 - It was clear within 90 minutes.
04:20 So I reported at 6.30, they were on site at eight o'clock,
04:24 and by 9.30, they finished the work.
04:27 Social media has been active.
04:29 One of the small problems is that a lot of people
04:31 have lost their broadband due to cables going down,
04:34 and so communication is more difficult,
04:37 but I urge everybody to report to the online service.
04:41 It's very efficient.
04:42 - Down at the coast, high tide hit at lunch,
04:47 bringing about powerful waves.
04:50 Dramatic scenes, but the RNLI urged people
04:52 not to go too close, but from a safe distance,
04:56 it made a good photo.
04:58 But those rough seas counselled cross-ferry services.
05:01 Lorries have been starting to build up all day in Dover,
05:05 and many schools across Dover have been closed as well.
05:08 - I think the fact that schools were largely closed in Dover
05:12 and the surrounding areas have meant
05:13 that there's lots of traffic not on the road,
05:15 staying at home.
05:16 TAP was put in place kind of around half six this morning.
05:21 What that's meant is there's a large number of lorries
05:23 that are kind of just parking up
05:25 in and around the Dover area.
05:26 Today is fine.
05:27 Today is free-flowing, and that's a positive.
05:30 Tomorrow morning, rush hour might not be quite so positive,
05:35 unfortunately.
05:36 - And the trains, they're severely impacted today,
05:39 travelling at a blanket 40 miles per hour.
05:43 - At one point, we had four trees down on the network.
05:48 There was a trampoline on the tracks,
05:50 but we've been running fewer trains
05:52 on what we call the classic network,
05:55 the routes around Kent, around the coast,
05:58 as opposed to that high-speed line
06:00 from Ashford up to London St Pancras.
06:02 So, yes, there have been a number of cancellations,
06:05 which is why we've put out the advice that we have today.
06:08 - And it's hoped schedules will be back to normal tomorrow.
06:11 - The Amber Alert for wind has been eased.
06:14 It finished at midday today,
06:16 but it's been raining relentlessly.
06:20 Roads right across the county have been flooded,
06:23 leading to many blocked routes and delayed journeys.
06:27 In the afternoon, flood alerts were coming in thick and fast
06:30 with the intense rainfall on saturated ground,
06:33 putting pressure on river systems right across Kent.
06:36 - They all had over an inch, inch and a half of rain
06:39 across parts of more western Kent.
06:42 No flood warnings, which is a good thing,
06:44 'cause when we start issuing flood warnings,
06:46 that's when flooding really is gonna start happening
06:48 to people's property.
06:49 So, hopefully, looking at the forecast,
06:52 there's some showers about today and some rain tonight,
06:55 but tomorrow looks like, hopefully,
06:57 we might get a little bit of a respite,
06:59 and that will allow things to drain down,
07:01 surface water to dissipate,
07:03 and we're ready for the next lot.
07:06 - The consensus is, though, Kent got off lightly,
07:09 and lower wind speeds into the evening
07:11 are allowing for urgent repairs to be made.
07:14 Gabriel Horace, we're keen.
07:15 Well, it is still windy, as you can probably hear
07:21 from the microphone,
07:23 but it's not as extreme as it was this morning.
07:25 The issue now is the rain.
07:27 There still is a yellow weather warning
07:28 from the Met Office in force until midnight tonight.
07:32 And as I was saying earlier,
07:33 surface water is already rather high.
07:37 Drains are blocked in places.
07:39 We are in autumn.
07:40 This is when leaves are falling from the ground.
07:42 Councils are saying they are clearing them
07:44 as quickly as possible.
07:46 The fear is now, is that there's gonna be,
07:50 there's more rainfall over the weekend.
07:51 There's another yellow weather warning for rain on Saturday.
07:56 The hope is tomorrow it'll give enough time
08:00 for the water to seep away
08:03 and for the surface water to go.
08:05 If not, we could be looking at more flooding on Saturday.
08:10 Our reporter, Sophia Aiken,
08:11 has been looking at one case of flooding today in Rochester.
08:15 The Met Office warned of flooding across the country today
08:18 as yellow and amber alerts scatter Kent and beyond.
08:21 But Rochester residents were still shocked
08:23 to wake up to this.
08:25 The main road along the Esplanade was completely flooded,
08:29 with estimates of eight inches of water blocking the road.
08:32 The fields were also waterlogged.
08:35 This led to carnage this morning,
08:37 with most drivers going around the puddle,
08:39 but some braving it
08:41 and driving right through the deepest part.
08:43 One community group member said
08:45 this flooding isn't a surprise.
08:47 It's a well-known spot for flooding.
08:50 We're not entirely sure what causes it.
08:52 It could be drainage problems.
08:54 Obviously, there's a lot of trees here,
08:55 so it could be leaves blocking the drains.
08:58 It's quite a difficult thing to deal with.
09:01 The Esplanade, the castle, all of this is a conservation area.
09:05 It's possible the infrastructure underneath isn't the best,
09:07 and I think it's probably also quite difficult
09:09 to do a permanent repair
09:11 because of the historical status of the area.
09:13 Medway Council responded to the issue this afternoon,
09:16 sending a vehicle to clear up the water.
09:18 This flooding is expected to be mostly from rainfall.
09:21 While it is a stone's throw from the River Medway,
09:23 Chris says the water from the river
09:25 will only come up onto the mainland when the tide is high.
09:28 This was a problem they faced Monday
09:30 when the storm was brewing.
09:32 Earlier in the week,
09:33 when we had one of the highest tides of the month,
09:36 we did see water coming over this footway.
09:39 This is something that we're probably going to see
09:40 more regularly as water levels rise.
09:43 And all the hard work the force group invested
09:45 into planting flowers along the river has all been tarnished.
09:49 We are concerned because, of course,
09:51 saltwater is not good for grass and plants.
09:54 So where we are now is a place where saltwater
09:57 could easily come over from the river onto the grass
09:59 and damage it.
10:01 The flooding we've seen today
10:02 isn't the first of its kind to happen along this road,
10:05 but residents say it could very well be the worst
10:07 that they've ever seen this road flooded.
10:10 And they say if this continues to happen,
10:12 they're deeply concerned for the future of the Esplanade.
10:15 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Rochester.
10:18 Well, as you can see,
10:19 lots of disruption across the county due to this storm,
10:23 including in Chatham Library.
10:24 They also experienced flood disruption overnight,
10:27 meaning they had a delayed opening time this morning.
10:30 They took to X saying the library and community hub
10:33 were both shut due to this overnight flooding.
10:36 Library staff worked through the morning
10:38 to clear up all the damage and the water,
10:40 and they managed to reopen their doors before 10 a.m.
10:44 Luckily, no damage occurred to any of the books
10:46 or the library equipment.
10:48 Well, let's take a look to see
10:50 if this storm's sticking around
10:52 and what we can expect for the evening and the coming days.
10:55 (upbeat music)
10:58 Well, as you've seen,
11:02 that rain does seem to be sticking around.
11:04 Winds slightly less ferocious as they have been today.
11:08 Little bit of sunshine coming out tomorrow,
11:09 but that rain is sticking around in North Kent.
11:12 Slightly windy, but not as windy as it's been today.
11:15 Raining throughout Kent in the afternoon,
11:17 11 degrees across the board, 12 degrees in Chatham.
11:21 And that rain isn't going anywhere
11:23 until Monday, it seems, 12 and 13 degrees on Saturday.
11:27 Sunshine on Monday.
11:28 (upbeat music)
11:30 Well, coming up after the break,
11:36 we've got more news from across Kent,
11:39 including Gillingham FC's new head coach
11:41 who says he can't make any promises to fans
11:43 as he prepares to take on his first game
11:45 since being appointed in the role.
11:47 Stephen Clements spoke to the press for the first time today.
11:50 Plus, Maidstone has hosted its national fruit show.
11:53 See you very soon.
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13:38 - People do feel like they've been ignored
13:43 by this government.
13:44 - The Conservative administration
13:45 have delivered the lowest council tax in Kent.
13:48 We will continue to do that.
13:49 - In particular, what was the last time
13:50 you heard the government talk about waiting?
13:51 - So we do need something else
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13:55 - The Kent Politics Show only on KMTV.
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14:59 (upbeat music)
15:01 - Live on KMTV.
15:12 Now a council's been criticised
15:14 for spending £600 of taxpayers' money
15:17 on a hat for their mayor.
15:18 Hawkingstown Council bought the hat
15:20 after its previous mayor accidentally lost it
15:23 whilst on civic duty.
15:24 You should be able to see some pictures
15:26 popping up on the screen.
15:27 The current mayor, Chris Johnson,
15:29 this is the previous mayor with the hat.
15:32 But the current mayor, Chris Johnson,
15:34 defended the purchase as a necessary and normal purchase.
15:37 He did refuse to comment any further.
15:39 While the current mayor,
15:41 who we can see up on the screen now,
15:42 was required to wear their civic regalia on occasion,
15:45 some question why a cheaper version
15:47 couldn't have been purchased for closer to £150.
15:50 Now a Rochester man has been subjected to an arson attack.
15:54 Fazer Azhar's home in Arathusa Road has been destroyed
15:58 after his cars were doused in gasoline
16:00 by an individual wearing a balaclava.
16:03 The attack was captured last Monday
16:05 on Fazer's doorbell camera.
16:07 It burnt the Land Rover, Mercedes and Audi,
16:09 all of which are now unusable.
16:12 Faz managed to get his parents
16:13 to the bottom of their back garden to safety.
16:16 Police were also in attendance and took over proceedings
16:19 after the fire was found to be arson.
16:21 You can see it going up in flames there.
16:24 Fire crews arrived at 10.57pm after getting calls
16:27 about the fire with three fire engines attending.
16:30 Now, Gillingham FC's new head coach
16:35 says he can't make any promises to fans
16:37 as he prepares to take on his first game
16:39 since being appointed in the role.
16:41 It comes four weeks to the day
16:42 since Neil Harris was removed from his role as manager.
16:46 Gillingham currently sit ninth in League Two,
16:48 10 points away from the top.
16:49 Well, new head coach Stephen Clements
16:51 will be in the dugout this Saturday
16:53 when Gillingham take on Hereford in the FA Cup first round.
16:56 And with more on this,
16:57 I'm joined by our reporter Bartholomew Hall.
17:00 Bartholomew, thanks for joining us now.
17:02 What should fans take away from this presser
17:04 that we heard, the first time we heard
17:05 from Stephen Clements today?
17:06 - Well, it's exactly that.
17:07 It's the first time that fans have been able to hear
17:10 the press, the media asking some questions to him
17:13 and get a bit of an understanding
17:14 of what kind of character he is,
17:16 what kind of outlook he has for the rest of the season
17:19 ahead of him and the kind of job that he has to take on.
17:22 And also, some uncomfortable questions as well,
17:24 to see how he deals with that.
17:25 Because of course, the biggest criticism, as we all know,
17:28 of any sort of football manager or head coach,
17:31 as he is known as, is always from the fans themselves.
17:34 But, well, as we said yesterday and as you said,
17:37 this is Stephen Clements' first top job at a club,
17:40 but make no mistake, he is well-versed
17:42 in the football landscape.
17:45 And really, from my observation,
17:47 he seems absolutely keen to get started,
17:49 a very optimistic character,
17:51 and he's really looking forward to the season
17:53 that he's got and the job that he's got ahead of him.
17:55 Now, if you remember back at the start of this season,
17:57 Gillingham were sort of primed to be
17:59 one of the sort of top-flying clubs
18:01 in League Two this season.
18:02 And really, as it's kind of developed,
18:04 they've fallen down from the sort of top three,
18:06 and especially the last four weeks,
18:08 no permanent manager in place.
18:10 It's not been kind of the, you know,
18:12 it's definitely not been the highlight of the season so far.
18:15 But now, having Stephen in place,
18:17 lots of fans will be hoping that this is the kind of,
18:20 this is the clarity that they needed to move forward.
18:23 So I asked Stephen at the press conference
18:26 what goals he has for the season
18:27 and where he would like the club to be at the end of it.
18:30 - I think whatever club I've been at,
18:32 it's about winning football matches.
18:33 Now, I've been at clubs in the Premier League,
18:35 where it's generally been about trying to stay in the league.
18:38 I've been at clubs in the EFL Championship,
18:41 and it's about trying to get promotion.
18:43 Now, I know where this club's at.
18:45 I know it's not trying to stay in the league.
18:46 I know I've got to win football matches,
18:47 and that's what I'm going to try and do.
18:49 I'm not going to make any promises
18:50 that we're going to be in a certain place
18:52 come the end of the season,
18:53 but that's been my job all my life,
18:55 to win football matches,
18:56 and that's what I will try and do now.
18:59 - It's going to be his first time, Bartholomew.
19:01 Is there an element of not knowing what's to come?
19:03 - I think it's an absolutely fair point to put forward.
19:06 I've seen a few fans in the online forums saying that.
19:09 It's a manager who is, well, it's a head coach, rather,
19:11 who's in his first managerial spot,
19:14 but as I said, he is well-versed.
19:16 You just have to look at his history
19:17 and his bringing up, really.
19:19 He is the son of Ray Clements,
19:21 the former England goalkeeper,
19:23 regarded as one of the best England goalkeepers of all time.
19:25 So he grew up around the top flight of football.
19:28 He played in the Premier League.
19:29 He played for Tottenham, Birmingham City, and Leicester,
19:33 and as well, he's been a coach
19:34 under the guise of Steve Bruce, of course.
19:36 Many know he was kind of linked with the job himself,
19:39 Steve Bruce, over the past few weeks.
19:41 Former Gillingham legend,
19:43 went on to play at Manchester United.
19:45 And yeah, I mean, he coached with Steve Bruce
19:49 at Sunderland, Hull City, Aston Villa,
19:51 where he coached Jack Grealish,
19:53 and we know the career that Jack Grealish
19:54 has gone on to have with England and Manchester City.
19:57 And he actually said in the press conference today
19:59 that we can expect a few famous faces
20:00 to be in the stands at Priestfield
20:02 as the season continues.
20:04 But yeah, let's hear from Steve
20:06 on answering some of the questions.
20:07 And of course, that key one about,
20:09 is this a risk for the club to be taking on a novice?
20:12 - Well, every appointment is a risk.
20:15 So there could be a very experienced
20:17 League Two manager sitting here right now
20:19 who's got four promotions to his name,
20:21 and there's no guarantee he's going to be successful.
20:23 So all I can say is I've done my work.
20:26 I've had a good career.
20:28 I've done over 400 games in the Premier League
20:30 and Championship as an assistant manager.
20:33 I think I've done it the right way.
20:34 So I haven't jumped straight into this.
20:36 I'm ready to go.
20:38 I think if I'd never had a go at head coaching or management,
20:41 I think it was something that I would regret later in life.
20:44 So this is the opportunity.
20:46 I'm hoping I can, as I said yesterday,
20:50 make some good memories for the people of Gillingham,
20:53 something that we can all look back on with a fondness.
20:58 - And of course, all of this comes ahead
20:59 of Gillingham taking on Hereford,
21:01 the first FA Cup game of the season for the club.
21:03 - We'll have to see how it goes in his first game.
21:05 Bartholomew, thank you very much.
21:08 Now, the National Fruit Show celebrates
21:10 its 90-year anniversary today in Maidstone
21:12 with many of the fruit businesses in attendance
21:14 from across the country.
21:16 With its storied history, it's been the hotspot
21:18 for one of the UK's biggest homegrown industries
21:21 and is making preparations for the future.
21:23 Finn McDermid has more.
21:25 - Today marks the 90th annual National Fruit Show
21:28 in Maidstone, an event where all things fruit come together.
21:31 From the farmer to the salespeople,
21:33 there's much more to fruit than just apples and pears.
21:37 The event shows off just how much effort
21:39 goes into the UK's homegrown produce,
21:41 from technological innovations like drones
21:43 and moisture sensors to equipment
21:45 like herbicides and farm vehicles.
21:48 I spoke to Ali Kappa on why the fruit show
21:50 is just so important.
21:51 - So I think the lovely thing
21:54 about the National Fruit Show
21:55 is it brings the whole industry together.
21:57 Everybody from the grower all the way through
22:00 to the consumer and indeed the next generation
22:03 who might be looking for careers in the industry.
22:06 So it's really, the show is a brilliant place
22:08 to come together for everybody to talk,
22:10 to collaborate, to come up with new ideas
22:13 for the industry and to look forward
22:16 positively to the future.
22:17 And that's hard at the moment
22:19 because there are a lot of challenges in the industry.
22:22 - The show was started by a group of modern-based farmers
22:25 in the 1930s.
22:26 The National Fruit Show has an impressive history.
22:29 Sarah Calcutt has had a front row seat to that history.
22:33 Coming from a generation of farmers,
22:35 she has attended the event since she was a child,
22:37 but this marks her last event.
22:40 - I mean, the show was founded 90 years ago
22:42 on the bring the best together.
22:44 We started in Marden, bringing the best together
22:46 and we had the most important buyer of the time,
22:49 which was Selfridges, bought the buyer from Selfridges down,
22:52 gave him a really good lunch, showed him the greatest fruit,
22:54 got him to sign the contract, job done.
22:56 And for the last 90 years,
22:57 this society has been all about showcasing
23:00 what is absolutely brilliant about British Amherst and Pears.
23:03 - Education is one of the main priorities
23:04 at the moment for the industry,
23:06 with some companies doing workshops around the country
23:09 for schoolchildren anywhere from four to 18 years old.
23:12 I spoke to Samantha Smith on just how they're going about this.
23:16 - We deliver our education programme from primary schools
23:18 and actually early years,
23:20 all the way through to secondary schools.
23:22 And we also deliver a full community outreach programme
23:25 and that could include beavers or brownies or scouts,
23:29 any kind of group that comes together.
23:31 So National Farmers Union have farming groups as well.
23:34 So we go out to talk to all of these people
23:35 and we also do big community events, so county shows.
23:38 And they're not just here in Kent,
23:40 but they're all over the country.
23:42 - Hopefully we will see more efficient solutions
23:44 to the problems of modern farming
23:45 in next year's fruit show as well.
23:47 Finn McDermott for KMTV.
23:49 - Now, as you know, every Thursday,
23:52 we, a new episode of the Kent Film Club,
23:55 where guests reflect on films
23:56 that have meant the most to them over the years.
23:59 So joining me now is Chris Deasy,
24:00 the presenter of the Kent Film Club.
24:02 Chris, thanks for joining me.
24:04 On a day that we've had lots of storms,
24:06 some crazy weather that's felt a bit like
24:08 we're in a film ourselves.
24:10 So I wanted to ask you, what's your favourite film
24:12 where the weather is quite a prominent,
24:14 almost a character in itself in the film?
24:16 - Actually, that's a really good question
24:17 because the film that comes to mind is "The Perfect Storm",
24:21 which I think is Wolfgang Peterson
24:23 who made "In Line of Fire and Outbreak".
24:24 So big sort of disaster movies.
24:27 They were so popular in the 1990s.
24:29 But yeah, making the weather a character in the film.
24:31 So everyone, of course, is retreating inside.
24:33 But even things like "Independence Day",
24:35 they use the same kind of tropes.
24:37 Sort of, you know, the work's under siege,
24:39 but we have to find some way to take cover.
24:42 But you're right, actually today, even coming here,
24:44 you know, it felt like I was in a movie sometimes.
24:45 Sort of not quite sure whether, you know,
24:47 the weather was gonna allow me to actually come in.
24:49 So we could make a film out of this.
24:50 - We could, we could, couldn't we?
24:52 You're going to be seeing a film this evening,
24:54 I believe, what are you seeing tonight?
24:55 - I'm seeing, not for the first time, "Cat Person",
24:58 which was the best film I thought
25:00 at the Sundance Film Festival
25:01 when I was there in Utah earlier this year.
25:03 And it's a hybrid, 'cause I know every week
25:05 we kind of talk about horror.
25:07 But it is a horror, but rom-com at the same time.
25:10 Sort of like dating horror.
25:12 So it's a great hybrid of different genres.
25:14 And it does work, but it sort of has
25:17 two different demographics,
25:18 two different constituencies of people.
25:20 And it sort of throws them all into one.
25:22 I think quite successfully,
25:23 but it's great to see that it's actually
25:24 made it to the multiplex.
25:25 - And there are some people that can't re-watch a film,
25:28 but you're doing that tonight.
25:29 Do you not ever sort of get bored of re-watching films?
25:32 Are there certain films that you can re-watch,
25:33 certain films that you would never want to re-watch?
25:35 - You see, there are some films that,
25:37 even watching it the first time,
25:38 you're thinking, this is awful.
25:39 But often, when you then find that people are saying,
25:42 hang on a minute, you've misrepresented it,
25:43 or you read the critics' reviews,
25:45 sometimes I will go back.
25:46 And even when I'm writing a review after a film,
25:48 I sometimes think, there's more in this
25:49 than I perhaps realised first time around.
25:51 - And it's the start of November,
25:54 which for many people is the mark of Christmas,
25:56 might be too early.
25:58 Is it too early to start watching Christmas films?
26:00 - Well, as I was saying this last week,
26:01 because I think that as somebody who does watch,
26:04 and I'm on the record of saying this,
26:06 watching Christmas films all year round,
26:08 I do kind of think that it's that hybrid.
26:10 We were saying that about Storms,
26:11 about rom-coms, about horror films.
26:13 But Christmas, I think, intersects with people's lives
26:15 in so many different ways.
26:16 And we all need the miraculous,
26:17 the supernatural to different degrees.
26:19 So I think, I've been asked this question for a few months,
26:22 what do you think is your favourite Christmas movie?
26:24 I think it's, we like the surprise,
26:26 we like the building up to that moment,
26:28 almost of like catharsis that will come in December.
26:30 So in answer to your question, no, absolutely.
26:32 Let's go for it.
26:33 - Well, as we've seen on social media,
26:34 Mariah Carey has officially defrosted for the year.
26:37 Chris, thank you very much.
26:39 Great to have you as always.
26:41 Well, that's all we've got time for tonight.
26:43 Thank you very much for watching.
26:44 We'll be back at five o'clock tomorrow
26:46 with the Kent Politics Show.
26:47 Have a lovely evening and good night.
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