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{{Template:Infobox Torchwood|
{{title dab away}}
story name = From Out of the Rain|
{{real world}}
image = [[Image:Clowning around.jpg|250px]] |
{{ImageLinkTV}}
series= [[Torchwood]] - [[List of Torchwood television stories|TV Stories]] |
{{Infobox Story SMW
series number=[[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]]|
|image                 = Clowning around.jpg
number= 23 |
|series                = ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''
enemy= [[Night Travellers]]|
|season number        = Series 2 (Torchwood)
writer= [[Peter J. Hammond]] |
|series episode number = 10
director =   [[Jonathan Fox Bassett]]|
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/torchwood-2-episode-10-from-out-of-the-rain-blue-revisions-02102007.pdf
producer = |
|main character        = [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Owen Harper|Owen]], [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]]
broadcast date= [[12th March]] [[2008]] |
|enemy                 = The [[Ghostmaker]]
previous story = [[Something Borrowed]] |
|setting              = [[Cardiff]], [[2000s]]
next story = [[Adrift]] }}
|writer               = Peter J. Hammond
|director             = [[Jonathan Fox Bassett]]
|producer             = [[Richard Stokes]]
|network              = BBC Three
|broadcast date       = 12 March 2008
|prev                  = Something Borrowed (TV story)
|next                  = Adrift (TV story)
|trailer              = TORCHWOOD Season 2 From Out of the Rain|format=1x50-minute episode}}
'''''From Out of the Rain''''' was the tenth episode of [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''. It was written by [[Peter J. Hammond]] and directed by [[Jonathan Fox Bassett]].


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
When an old cinema re-opens, past horrors emerge to stalk the streets of Cardiff. As bodies are found with a heart beat but no breath, Torchwood must act fast. Who are the [[Night Travellers]]? And how can Torchwood capture these mysterious breath takers?
When an old [[Electro|cinema]] re-opens, past horrors emerge to stalk the streets of [[Cardiff]]. As bodies are found with heartbeats but no breath, [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] must act fast. Who are the [[Night Travellers]]? How can Torchwood capture these mysterious breath takers?


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
After the old 'Electro' cinema reopens as a museum of local history that was captured on celluloid, the old scenes of a black-and-white film of street scenes are interrupted by mysterious sequences which show a travelling company in the early 20th Century, just before the age of cinema. The film resists all attempts to stop it running, reloading itself, and the projector continues to operate even without power. The Ghostmaker (the leader of the company) and Pearl ('The Mermaid Woman'), once captured on film, manage to escape it and out into Cardiff. Ianto, attending this nostalgic evening with others of the team, is convinced he has seen Jack in the footage. He then witnesses the escape, noticing that two characters have suddenly disappeared from the film.
Local [[Cardiff]] residents transform an old [[cinema]], the "[[Electro]]", into a local history museum airing old celluloid movies as part of its exhibits. The volunteer management discovers that a black-and-white film of a travelling company seems to take on a life of its own, restarting itself in the film projector and preventing the projector from being turned off for a period of time. Unknown to them, two figures from the film, the [[Ghostmaker|troupe's leader]] and its [[Pearl (From Out of the Rain)|"Mermaid Woman"]], step out of the projection screen and become real, disappearing into the streets of Cardiff. On the same night [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]], who has convinced [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] and [[Owen Harper|Owen]] to join him for the evening at the museum, claims to see [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] in the footage. As the team review the film back at [[the Hub]], Ianto notices the absence of the two characters, and the team recognises Jack. Jack admits that he was once part of such a show as the "man who could not die". and describes one troupe, known as the "[[Night Travellers]]", who would perform only at night, appearing by "coming out of the [[rain]]" and disappearing as mysteriously but usually resulting in some of the local residents going missing.


The escaped characters start roaming the streets of the city, taking an obscene delight in gathering an 'audience' to 'join their company – forever'. They steal the last breaths of innocent people, keeping their breath in a silver flask and leaving the victims severely dehydrated and only half alive – with a heartbeat, but no breath. Torchwood starts investigating the mounting casualties and begins research on these old travelling companies. Jack used to be a member of one of the companies, under cover performing the act of 'the man who couldn't die'. He tells of the mysterious 'Night Travellers', who perform only during 'the dead of the night', coming 'out of the rain' and disappearing, taking people with them. The mythology surrounding them suggests that 'young children were told to hold their breath while the travelling show passed by' – an old lady, hospitalised since her family all disappeared in her childhood, warns them of the danger.
Meanwhile, the troupe's leader, known as the Ghostmaker, and the Mermaid Woman prey on innocent victims, drawing their "last breath" into a silver [[flask]] and leaving them with no saliva or tears, and close to death in a near vegetative state. Torchwood investigate and discover multiple stories and old [[superstition]]s relating to the Night Travellers, but a chance mention to a [[hospital]] [[nurse]] leads them to a still living eyewitness — an [[Christina (From Out of the Rain)|old woman]] in a nursing home. She explains to the team how her family was taken from her by the Night Travellers, and relates an old nursery tale that children should hold their breath as the travelling show came into town to prevent themselves from being taken.


The ghosts aim to bring all their other travelling carnival fellows back into reality at the old cinema but, finally after various victims have been hospitalised and others kept frozen at a deserted former lido by Pearl, the solution occurs to Jack. Being filmed again, the loosened entities may thus be recaptured onto celluloid. Effectively, he manages to achieve this with a home movie camera, filming all the phantasmagoric creatures as they emerge from the screen and catching up with their fleeing leader. He exposes his reel to the sun, vanishing the carnival ghosts for ever. However, for its last act before disappearing, the Ghostmaker throws the open silver flask and, despite Ianto's quick catch, most of the human souls are lost in the air. The frozen victims hidden at the lido simply disappear – Torchwood never even knowing of them – and the cataleptic victims in the Cardiff hospital all die, except for one child from an entire family affected. At his bedside, Ianto and Jack return his breath and bring him back to life. The silver flask ends up being stored by Jack in his safe at Torchwood.
As the team investigates, the Ghostmaker decides to release more of his companions from the film to regain their audience and begin travelling again like the old days. Jack surmises that if they were released from the film, they could be captured by it as well using a home movie camera. The team rushes back to the theatre as the Ghostmaker is releasing the others from the film and is able to use a camera to confine all the Night Travellers save for the Ghostmaker; Jack then rips open the camera and exposes the film to [[sunlight]], effectively exorcising the ghosts. They are able to capture the Ghostmaker, who in a last fit of revenge, opens the silver flask and throws it into the air. Ianto catches and closes it quickly, but too late to save all but one victim; the other victims, with the loss of their breath, quickly pass away. Torchwood restores the breath to the last victim, a [[young boy (From Out of the Rain)|young boy]], and the silver flask is stowed away back at Torchwood.


Though the threat of the Night Travellers has been stopped now, Jack speculates that there could be more films with their ghosts trapped inside, confirmed by a scene at a car-boot sale where a man and his son purchase an old film reel. The metal case of the film is briefly opened and, back at the Hub, Jack hears a sliver of the Night Traveller's carnival music...
Though the rest of the team believe the threat is over, Jack surmises there may be more reels of the Night Travellers. Someone buys such a reel at a car boot sale. It has the emblem of the Night Travellers troupe carved on the canister. A man is inclined to pick it up, but drops it on the ground, dislodging the lid and exposing a piece of the film. He picks up the canister and closes the lid tight, but for a brief moment, the sound of familiar calliope music drifts into the air. The sound reaches all the way to Jack's ears, but vanishes almost immediately. Jack wonders for a moment if his suspicions are true. He dismisses it as hearing things that aren't there and resumes his duties, putting the case of the Night Travellers to rest... if time will allow.


==Cast==
== Cast ==
*Captain [[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
* [[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
*[[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
* [[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
*[[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
* [[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
*[[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
* [[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
*[[Ghostmaker]] - [[Julian Bleach]]  
* [[Ghostmaker]] - [[Julian Bleach]]
*[[Pearl]] - [[Camilla Power]]  
* [[Pearl (From Out of the Rain)|Pearl]] - [[Camilla Power]]
*[[Jonathan Penn]] - [[Craig Gallivan]]  
* [[Jonathan Penn|Jonathan]] - [[Craig Gallivan]]
*[[David Penn]] - [[Stephen Marzella]]  
* [[Greg (Meat)|Greg]] - [[Ger Carey|Gerard Carey]]
*[[Faith Penn]] - [[Hazel Wyn Williams]]  
* [[David Penn|Dave Penn]] - [[Stephen Marzella]]
*[[Nettie Williams]] - [[Lowri Sian Jones]]  
* [[Faith Penn]] - [[Hazel Wyn Williams]]
*[[Christina]] - [[Eileen Essell]]  
* [[Nettie Williams|Nettie]] - [[Lowri Sian Jones]]
*Restaurant Owner - [[Anwen Carlisle]]  
* [[Christina (From Out of the Rain)|Christina]] - [[Eileen Essell]]
*Senior Nurse - [[Yasmin Wilde]]  
* [[Restaurant owner (From Out of the Rain)|Restaurant Owner]] - [[Anwen Carlisle]]
*A&E Nurse - [[Caroline Sheen]]  
* [[Senior nurse (From Out of the Rain)|Senior nurse]] - [[Yasmin Wilde]]
*Young Dad - [[Alastair Sill]]  
* [[A&E nurse (From Out of the Rain)|Nurse]] - [[Caroline Sheen]]
*Young Mum - [[Catherine Olding]]
* [[Mother (From Out of the Rain)|Mother]] - [[Lisa Winton]]
* [[Daughter (From Out of the Rain)|Daughter]] - [[Gaia Davies]]
* [[Couple in car (From Out of the Rain)|Couple in Car]] - [[Alastair Sill]], [[Catherine Olding]]
* [[Young boy (From Out of the Rain)|Young boy]] - [[Tom Langford]]


==Production crew==
== Crew ==
''to be added''
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== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
*[[Providence Park]]
* [[Providence Park]] is a [[Wales|Welsh]] psychiatric [[hospital]].
* Christina describes [[hurdy-gurdy]] music to Jack and Ianto.
* The [[Ghostmaker]] attempts to take Owen's breath, but cannot, as Owen is already dead.
* [[Jack Harkness]] was working on behalf of an (as-yet) unidentified organisation in the [[1920s]] when he was assigned to infiltrate a travelling circus in order to investigate the Night Travellers. Although he never encountered them, by coincidence film footage of him got mixed in with footage of the Night Travellers.
* Owen makes up an aunt for Gwen named "[[Peggy|Aunty Peggy]]".
* Posters for the films ''[[Smoke on the Railway]]'', starring [[Douglas Hanley]], ''[[Under the Moonlight Waterfall]]'', starring [[Harley Farnsworth]] and [[Molly Landers]], and ''[[Walking in the Orchard]]'', starring [[Eleanor Pace]], can be seen at the [[Electro]].


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
* The episode ends with a father and son purchasing some old reels of film from a car boot sale. This is apparently a frequent occurrence in the UK, and in fact according to the featurette ''The Missing Years'' included on the ''[[Lost in Time]]'' DVD set, car boot sale purchases have been credited in the recovery of several lost ''Doctor Who'' episodes over the years.
* This episode aired immediately after the [[BBC Two]] repeat of ''[[Something Borrowed (TV story)|Something Borrowed]]'' at 9:50pm on [[BBC Three]]; and was repeated on BBC Two in its usual 9:00pm timeslot the next week, on Wednesday [[19 March (releases)|19 March]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* A family friendly pre-watershed edit of this episode aired at 7:00pm, the following day, Thursday [[20 March (releases)|20 March]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]] on [[BBC Two]].
* This episode's closing credits gave audiences their first notion that perhaps Gwen remained a Cooper after marriage. Audiences would have to wait a while for narrative confirmation, however. It wasn't until ''[[Series 4 (Torchwood)|Miracle Day]]'' that dialogue with British officials unambiguously established that Gwen never officially took the Williams surname.


=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
''to be added''
* 2.9 million [[BBC Two]] viewers, with an [[AI]] of 87%
* 0.951 million [[BBC Three]] viewers
* 3.85 million viewers - final BARB ratings<ref>[https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/ BARB Ratings - April, 2008]</ref>


=== Myths ===
=== Filming locations ===
* Gwen Cooper is now known as Gwen Williams. In fact, the closing credits of this and succeeding episodes establish that her name is not changed, and this has been confirmed by off-screen sources including [[Eve Myles]]. In addition, she is referred to on screen as Gwen Cooper in [[DW]]: ''[[Journey's End]]''.
* The then-derelict Ynysangharad Lido in Pontypridd was the location of the pool scene where Pearl and the Ghostmaker are seen at night.
* The set of [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]]'s attic which features predominantly in another ''Doctor Who'' spin-off ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' was used as Jonathan's flat.


=== Filming Locations ===
''to be added''
''to be added''


=== Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors ===
=== Production errors ===


*Although it is stated that Owen can no longer feel things, he is able to determine that one of the victims has a pulse. ''A pulse is a physical movement of the body. It isn't the same sort of "feel". It's no different than Owen feeling a doorknob turn in his hand. Yet in [[TWN]]: [[Pack Animals]], which takes place prior to [[TW]]: [[A Day in the Death]] as the first medic on the scene of a bus crash, he must direct uninjured passengers to check pulses for him because he cannot feel them himself.''
* It is stated early in the episode that the victims of the [[Night Travellers]] are not breathing, however when the children are shown in their comatose state their chests are clearly raising and lowering.
*The Film the Night Travellers  are trapped on changes format from 35mm at the Electro theatre to the much smaller 16MM format when it is screened at the Torchwood Hub.
*If the Night Travellers were manipulating the film, inserting their own images, why would they bother to include the footage of Jack, who indicates he wasn't involved with them? ''Perhaps Jack was part of the legitimate footage of Hope Street that happened to get mixed in with the circus footage; note the footage of Jack is not repeated in the way the Night Travellers footage is.''


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
*The Ghostmaker realizes Owen has no breath as Owen is a living dead person. ([[TW]]: ''[[Reset (Torchwood story)|Reset]]'', ''[[Dead Man Walking]]'', ''[[A Day in the Death]]'')
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
*[[Jack Harkness]] was working on behalf of an (as-yet) unidentified organization, (most probably the [[Time Agency]] or the Institute) in the 1920s when he was assigned to infiltrate a travelling circus in order to investigate the Night Travellers. Although he never encountered them, by coincidence film footage of him got mixed in with footage of the Night Travellers. ''As he did not become immortal until after he left the Time Agency, it is more likely he was working for Torchwood at the time.  Also, in [[TW]]: [[Fragments]] an account of events from his mission searching for the Night Travellers can be read in the first of the handwritten reports prepared for his Torchwood file.''
* Jack is shown to use a revolver to kill himself only to then revive while traveling with the circus. His immorality was previously established in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Parting of the Ways}} and has allowed him to function as an under cover agent for Torchwood against alien threats in the 20th century before as shown in [[TV]]: {{cs|Small Worlds (TV story)}}.
*Although this is never addressed on screen, the closing credits for this episode established that Gwen continues to be known as Gwen Cooper, and not Gwen Williams.
* The Ghostmaker realises Owen has no breath, as he his respiratory system ceased functioning after his death and resurrection in [[TV]]: {{cs|Dead Man Walking (TV story)}}.


== DVD releases ==
== Home video releases ==
*This story along with the rest of Torchwood [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]] was released in a complete series boxset in 2008.
* ''{{StoryTitle}}'', along with the rest of [[series 2 (Torchwood)|series 2]], was released in a complete series box set in [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)


==See also==
== Footnotes ==
* [[DW]]: ''[[The Greatest Show in the Galaxy]]''- another storyline involving a sinister circus.
{{reflist}}
* [[BFBS]]: ''[[The Dead Men Diaries]]'': ''[[The Light that Never Dies]]'' also has living beings trapped on celluloid.


==External links==
== External links ==
''to be added''
{{dwrefguide|torchwood_23.htm|From Out of the Rain}}
{{Torchwood series 2}}
* {{briefhistory|torchwood/2008j.html|From Out of the Rain}}
[[Category:Torchwood episodes]]
* {{whoniverse|tw2_10|From Out of the Rain}}
[[Category:Stories set in Cardiff]]
* {{locguide|fromoutoftherain|From Out of the Rain}}
[[Category:Stories set in 2009]]
{{TWTV}}
[[Category:2008 television stories]]
{{TitleSort}}
 
[[Category:Needs crew check]]
[[Category:Torchwood television stories]]
[[Category:Series 2 (Torchwood) stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 2000s]]
 
[[fr:From Out of the Rain]]
[[he:משום מקום (סיפור טלוויזיה)]]

Latest revision as of 23:15, 11 March 2024

RealWorld.png

From Out of the Rain was the tenth episode of Series 2 of Torchwood. It was written by Peter J. Hammond and directed by Jonathan Fox Bassett.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

When an old cinema re-opens, past horrors emerge to stalk the streets of Cardiff. As bodies are found with heartbeats but no breath, Torchwood must act fast. Who are the Night Travellers? How can Torchwood capture these mysterious breath takers?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Local Cardiff residents transform an old cinema, the "Electro", into a local history museum airing old celluloid movies as part of its exhibits. The volunteer management discovers that a black-and-white film of a travelling company seems to take on a life of its own, restarting itself in the film projector and preventing the projector from being turned off for a period of time. Unknown to them, two figures from the film, the troupe's leader and its "Mermaid Woman", step out of the projection screen and become real, disappearing into the streets of Cardiff. On the same night Ianto, who has convinced Gwen and Owen to join him for the evening at the museum, claims to see Jack in the footage. As the team review the film back at the Hub, Ianto notices the absence of the two characters, and the team recognises Jack. Jack admits that he was once part of such a show as the "man who could not die". and describes one troupe, known as the "Night Travellers", who would perform only at night, appearing by "coming out of the rain" and disappearing as mysteriously but usually resulting in some of the local residents going missing.

Meanwhile, the troupe's leader, known as the Ghostmaker, and the Mermaid Woman prey on innocent victims, drawing their "last breath" into a silver flask and leaving them with no saliva or tears, and close to death in a near vegetative state. Torchwood investigate and discover multiple stories and old superstitions relating to the Night Travellers, but a chance mention to a hospital nurse leads them to a still living eyewitness — an old woman in a nursing home. She explains to the team how her family was taken from her by the Night Travellers, and relates an old nursery tale that children should hold their breath as the travelling show came into town to prevent themselves from being taken.

As the team investigates, the Ghostmaker decides to release more of his companions from the film to regain their audience and begin travelling again like the old days. Jack surmises that if they were released from the film, they could be captured by it as well using a home movie camera. The team rushes back to the theatre as the Ghostmaker is releasing the others from the film and is able to use a camera to confine all the Night Travellers save for the Ghostmaker; Jack then rips open the camera and exposes the film to sunlight, effectively exorcising the ghosts. They are able to capture the Ghostmaker, who in a last fit of revenge, opens the silver flask and throws it into the air. Ianto catches and closes it quickly, but too late to save all but one victim; the other victims, with the loss of their breath, quickly pass away. Torchwood restores the breath to the last victim, a young boy, and the silver flask is stowed away back at Torchwood.

Though the rest of the team believe the threat is over, Jack surmises there may be more reels of the Night Travellers. Someone buys such a reel at a car boot sale. It has the emblem of the Night Travellers troupe carved on the canister. A man is inclined to pick it up, but drops it on the ground, dislodging the lid and exposing a piece of the film. He picks up the canister and closes the lid tight, but for a brief moment, the sound of familiar calliope music drifts into the air. The sound reaches all the way to Jack's ears, but vanishes almost immediately. Jack wonders for a moment if his suspicions are true. He dismisses it as hearing things that aren't there and resumes his duties, putting the case of the Night Travellers to rest... if time will allow.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This episode aired immediately after the BBC Two repeat of Something Borrowed at 9:50pm on BBC Three; and was repeated on BBC Two in its usual 9:00pm timeslot the next week, on Wednesday 19 March 2008.
  • A family friendly pre-watershed edit of this episode aired at 7:00pm, the following day, Thursday 20 March 2008 on BBC Two.
  • This episode's closing credits gave audiences their first notion that perhaps Gwen remained a Cooper after marriage. Audiences would have to wait a while for narrative confirmation, however. It wasn't until Miracle Day that dialogue with British officials unambiguously established that Gwen never officially took the Williams surname.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 2.9 million BBC Two viewers, with an AI of 87%
  • 0.951 million BBC Three viewers
  • 3.85 million viewers - final BARB ratings[1]

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The then-derelict Ynysangharad Lido in Pontypridd was the location of the pool scene where Pearl and the Ghostmaker are seen at night.
  • The set of Sarah Jane's attic which features predominantly in another Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures was used as Jonathan's flat.

to be added

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • It is stated early in the episode that the victims of the Night Travellers are not breathing, however when the children are shown in their comatose state their chests are clearly raising and lowering.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • Jack is shown to use a revolver to kill himself only to then revive while traveling with the circus. His immorality was previously established in TV: The Parting of the Ways [+]Loading...["The Parting of the Ways"] and has allowed him to function as an under cover agent for Torchwood against alien threats in the 20th century before as shown in TV: Small Worlds [+]Loading...["Small Worlds (TV story)"].
  • The Ghostmaker realises Owen has no breath, as he his respiratory system ceased functioning after his death and resurrection in TV: Dead Man Walking [+]Loading...["Dead Man Walking (TV story)"].

Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • From Out of the Rain, along with the rest of series 2, was released in a complete series box set in 2008.
  • It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ BARB Ratings - April, 2008

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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Torchwood television stories
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Children of Earth: Day One • Day Two • Day Three • Day Four • Day Five
Series 4
Stories listed here are only those that have been officially licensed by the BBC.
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