England manager Roy Hodgson has been able to turn his attention to Euro 2016 since qualification was assured with victory in San Marino.

Hodgson may have his team for the first group game in France fixed firmly in his mind - but fluctuations of form and fitness may paint a very different picture in June.
Captain Wayne Rooney's contribution is once again under the spotlight from a number of people in the media, excluding myself, but by the summer he could well be Manchester United's all-time record goalscorer, as well as England's.
What team should Hodgson pick - and who are the England squad members still fighting for a place?
Roy Hodgson's simplest choice. Joe Hart is in the world's elite and, while we will see more of Stoke City's excellent Jack Butland in the future, there is no doubt about this position for the Euros.
Some serious choices for Hodgson here - complicated by the loss of left-back Luke Shaw, who broke his leg in Manchester United's Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven.
The 20-year-old was in pole position but now the manager must decide whether to go back to the experience of Leighton Baines or look to the younger brigade - Southampton's Ryan Bertrand or Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs.
My pick would be Baines, 31 in December and with 30 caps, unless Shaw makes a full recovery. This is, of course, providing the Everton defender also makes a good return from ankle surgery.
Hodgson again has the choice of youth and experience in central defence. Manchester United's Chris Smalling, 25, and Everton player John Stones are fighting for places alongside two men who have captained England in their past two games - Gary Cahill, 29 and with 38 caps, and 33-year-old Phil Jagielka.
Stones is simply too good to ignore and it is time for Hodgson to look to the future. The 21-year-old - who Chelsea were prepared to pay in excess of £36m to sign - and the much-improved Smalling is a pairing of rich promise.
Hodgson might even consider Stones at right-back but that is a waste of his ability so Liverpool's Nathaniel Clyne should get that spot.
Hodgson's plans have again been struck by injury. Arsenal's Jack Wilshere started to stamp his authority on England, both as a holding midfield player in the win in Switzerland then with two magnificent strikes in the 3-2 victory in Slovenia in June.
Sadly, he is once again injured and may not be back until Christmas after surgery on a broken leg. Hodgson will be desperate to get him involved as quickly as possible.
The manager also needs to decide on a holding midfield player who will allow Wilshere to flourish properly - and perhaps even allow him to trust the maverick brilliance of Everton's Ross Barkley.
Michael Carrick will be almost 35 when the Euros start and has 33 caps stretched out over what will be almost 15 years by the time the tournament begins in France.
He has also been troubled by injury but, if he is fit and in form for Manchester United, he would represent the best chance of providing a solid base to release the youthful exuberance and ability of Wilshere and Barkley.
Some debate surrounds Wayne Rooney, who will be well into his 31st year when the Euros come around - perhaps his last chance to substantiate an England career largely marred by disappointment at major tournaments.
For all that, he still adds attitude, ability and leadership so it is hard to see how he can be left out. Flanked by the pace, versatility and movement of Theo Walcott and Raheem Sterling, England's record goalscorer still has the spark to profit from their flexibility by either dropping deep to allow then to move into more central roles or as the point of attack assisted by them.
There is no case for excluding Rooney in my opinion. England are still so much better when he plays.
Hodgson is a manager who trusts experience so there is every chance he may veer away from that more youthful central-defensive partnership of Smalling and Stones to the more battle-hardened players such as Cahill and Jagielka.
He is, though, a long-term admirer of Smalling from their days together at Fulham so he has every chance. Hodgson has also talked up the performances of Stones at right-back, a position where he was used in the 2-0 win in Switzerland.
This could open the door for one of that experienced pair to partner Smalling, with the odds being on Cahill coming in.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is another player well-regarded by Hodgson, not just for his attitude but also his versatility. Indeed, Hodgson preferred him at right-back to Clyne when he substituted Phil Jones after 45 minutes in Slovenia.
Henderson, mainly used as a midfielder, is out with a foot injury while another player sidelined, Manchester City's Fabian Delph, has been a regular throughout England's successful campaign.
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The unsung Delph started six qualifiers - though he tore a hamstring only nine seconds into the win against Switzerland - and was used as a substitute in the 6-0 victory in San Marino, so he will feel he has strong claims.
The experienced James Milner, with 57 caps to his name, may also be used when circumstances dictate - while Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is another who Hodgson has not been afraid to use in big games, as shown when he started him as a teenager in England's opening game of Euro 2012 against France in Donetsk.
Hodgson is not short of options in attack but once again it is the curse of injuries that complicate his plans, namely around Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge and Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck.
Sturridge was Hodgson's first choice at the 2014 World Cup, scoring against Italy, but has barely played since because of injuries. He is currently on the way back and his mercurial talent may yet win a place if he can be rejuvenated under new Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
The most compelling case for inclusion can be made by Welbeck, an unheralded figure but someone who has always delivered for Hodgson and who is a 'go-to man' when fit.
For all the questions about the 24-year-old as a natural goalscorer - he has scored only eight in 34 appearances for Arsenal - he has flourished for England, with 14 goals in 33 caps.
Welbeck was England's second-top goalscorer in Euro 2016 qualifying with six goals in five games and his tireless work ethic and willingness to do the dirty work on the flanks has made him invaluable and invariably a starter when fit.
The problem is he is recuperating from knee surgery and it is not yet certain when he will return.
And while all this is to be considered, 22-year-old Tottenham forward Harry Kane has made an impact in qualifying with goals against Lithuania, San Marino and Switzerland.
Bertrand's inclusion in Hodgson's latest squad will give the Southampton left-back hope he can spend next summer in France while Tottenham's Kyle Walker and Manchester United defender Phil Jones will also have aspirations of making the trip.
If Hodgson wants to utilise his numbers, Walker may need to impress very quickly because Hodgson has also used Jones - albeit with little success - as a right-back and holding midfield player while Stones can also fill that position.
It leaves Walker fighting for his place on the plane as Jones is a more natural central defender, giving Hodgson a variety of options should he include him.
Swansea City's Jonjo Shelvey has pushed himself into the midfield mix with fine performances while Hodgson's liking for Tottenham's 19-year-old Dele Alli was proven with his inclusion after only three Premier League starts.
Alli's Spurs team-mate Andros Townsend has often looked more at home under Hodgson for England than for his club, so expect him to be right in contention, while Manchester United's Ashley Young will also have eyes on a trip to France.
Competition for places is fierce in attack but there has always been room for a "bolter" - the player who makes the last-minute surprise rush to selection for a major tournament.
Sven-Goran Eriksson famously went down that route with Theo Walcott as a 17-year-old at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The current candidates are more experienced than Walcott, and include Liverpool's Danny Ings, West Brom's Saido Berahino and Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.
Berahino has had his problems at The Hawthorns this season, including a public row with West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace after he refused to sell him to Spurs, but the 22-year-old is a real talent and could give Hodgson a choice to make if he can reproduce his best form.
Ings and Vardy have impressed for their clubs this season, with the latter the Premier League's top scorer with seven goals.
If the 28-year-old Leicester forward continues that form, he could yet be that shock choice to accompany the more established names.
In defence I wanted to accommodate John Stones, hence his appearance at right-back. I like the idea of plenty of experience, which is why I've put Michael Carrick in there, although I was close to including Fabian Delph.
I want Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson either side of Carrick and, with my front three as it is, there's no room for Ross Barkley unfortunately.
And no Theo Walcott or Raheem Sterling? I'd be looking to use their pace as substitutes.
England don't have a genuine holding midfielder but James Milner, now playing centrally at Liverpool, could screen the back four and allow the Arsenal duo of Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to provide energy and creativity in midfield.
On current form I would opt for Theo Walcott ahead of Raheem Sterling. Pace, movement and more clinical in front of goal.
For me, it's inconceivable not to start with Wayne Rooney. His form is always under scrutiny but he remains a quality player. He has shown extra responsibility since appointed captain and - as a leader as well as record goalscorer - he will play an important role.
Wayne Rooney has had an exceptional career but, unless there is a significant improvement, the difficult truth is that he is no longer a striker capable of worrying the most accomplished defences. Harry Kane has also had a difficult start to the season but Rooney's form feels more like part of a decline than a mere blip.
There is a slight concern, perhaps, about a lack of experience in the team without Rooney and Gary Cahill. However, John Stones is too good to leave out and Chris Smalling's improvement at Manchester United puts him ahead of Cahill.
Ross Barkley will face more testing opponents than Estonia but his performance at Wembley last Friday, including one of the best through-balls I have seen for a long time, was another reminder of his rare qualities.
John Stones is a fantastic prospect, but the only way he can be a starter at Euro 2016 is if he is given the chance to establish himself in central defence, ideally building up an understanding with the much-improved Chris Smalling. If not, then it will be Smalling and Cahill in central defence.
Luke Shaw, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck all have injury doubts over them. If Wilshere recovers, then I'd like to see him in a midfield three - but not in the deeper role that Roy Hodgson has used him in. Likewise, I'd like to see Welbeck, if fit, as a wide forward in a 4-3-3. This set-up would mean an extra body in central midfield and a better balance provided the wingers or wide forwards could be trusted to get up and down the pitch.
Wayne Rooney? He stays in my team for now as he's still the most reliable goalscorer and, in this set-up, he would be helped by having speed and dynamism around him. But if Daniel Sturridge, when fit, or Harry Kane make a bigger impression between now and next summer, then Rooney will have to be the one that makes way.
The controversial choice is to leave out Wayne Rooney. Although I would not necessarily have him in the starting XI, I would stress that I would still regard him as a very important member of the squad - with a big role to play from the bench at the very least.
I would want to find a place for Ross Barkley, because he is a rare talent, and would encourage him to be the most forward-thinking of the three midfield players, although I would not want to totally curb the attacking instincts of Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson.
There needs to be some fluidity to the midfield three although Wilshere needs to be the most disciplined. Welbeck might also need to fill in for Barkley.


Two joggers who helped rescue a German student who lay for 25 hours at the bottom of a cliff have said she is lucky to be alive.

The 20-year-old had fallen at Cavehill Country Park, Belfast, on Tuesday.
David McCrum and Richard Lamont raised the alarm after finding a handbag the next day.
"She was in a hole which, I imagine, saved her life as that kept her from going into hypothermia," said Mr McCrum.
The Queen's University student told the joggers she had been there since about 15:00 GMT on Tuesday.
"She said a gust of wind took her," Mr McCrum said.
"The cold air was passing over the top, she was a very lucky girl."
Mr McCrum said he and his friend found a handbag during an early morning jog and, after returning to the scene, discovered a coat and a hat, which made them increasingly concerned.
"I looked down to see roughly where she fell and I heard a voice saying 'hello'," he added.
"I came across her and couldn't believe it.
"I was amazed, it was unbelievable."
Mr McCrum said he talked to the woman about her family to keep her mind focused.
"I had a connection there, whenever I was looking at her face and into her eyes - looking at someone that was gripping to life," he said.
"It was touching, all sorts of emotions were going through my head."
The woman was taken from the mountain by helicopter on Wednesday and is now in a stable condition in hospital.


Australia's top spy has said there is no evidence of large-scale militant attacks planned against the country.

However, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio), Duncan Lewis, said there could be no guarantee of safety from extremist violence in the future.
Mr Lewis was speaking after the Paris attacks in which 129 people died.
The Islamic State (IS) militant group has said it was behind the attacks and warned of further violence.
Mr Lewis told Australian broadcaster ABC that while there was no evidence of a specific threat against Australia similar to the attacks in Paris, the number of potential threats had increased in recent years.
"We have had three attacks involving fatalities and six thwarted attacks in the past 12 months," he said.
"To put that in some sort of historic perspective, that represents just over a third of the attacks or planned attacks that we've had in this country over the last 15 years."
Asio - Australia's domestic security agency - increased the National Terrorism Public Alert Level from medium to high in September last year. This signifies that an attack is "likely".
Mr Lewis said this had been reviewed following the Paris attacks but that there were no plans to move it to the highest level of "extreme" which indicates an attack is imminent.
"If you consider there have been three successful attacks in Australia since that time, then I think that the threat level of 'likely' is most appropriate.
"We have no specific information leading us to believe there is any imminent threat of an attack presently, it is not appropriate for us to move the threat level to the next elevated position.
"This is very important for Australians to realise, we have no specific information about any particular attack planning in this country that would be reflective of what happened in France," he said.
In October. 15-year-old Muslim boy Farhad Jabar shot dead New South Wales police worker Curtis Cheng as the accountant left a police building in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta.
This came after the Sydney siege incident in December last year in which two hostages were killed, and the shooting of an 18-year-old man in Victoria who wounded counter-terrorism officers outside a police station.
Australia is part of a US-led coalition bombing IS positions in Iraq and Syria and has sent soldiers to help train members of the Iraqi national army.


The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Kenya as a "high-risk" country for the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

Kenya was vulnerable because it was a major transport hub, with many flights from West Africa, a WHO official said.
This is the most serious warning to date by the WHO that Ebola could spread to East Africa.
The number of people killed by Ebola in West Africa has risen to 1,069, the WHO said in its latest update.
Fifty-six deaths and 128 new cases were reported in the region in the two days to 11 August, it added.
Canada said it would donate up to 1,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine to help fight the outbreak.
In Sierra Leone, a doctor who treated patients infected with Ebola has died, reports the BBC's Umaru Fofana from the capital, Freetown.
Dr Modupeh Cole is the second Sierra Leonean doctor to die of the disease.
In Nigeria, Africa's most populous state, a third Ebola-related death was reported on Tuesday.
In other developments:
The WHO's country director for Kenya, Custodia Mandlhate, said the East African state was "classified in group two; at high risk of transmission".
Health checks at the main airport in the capital, Nairobi, have been stepped up in recent weeks.
The Kenyan government said it would not ban flights from the four countries hit by Ebola.
"We do not recommend ban of flights because of porous borders," health cabinet secretary James Macharia said.
Kenya receives more than 70 flights a week from West Africa.
The West African regional body, Ecowas, said one of its officials, Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, had died of Ebola in Nigeria.
The 36-year-old had been in contact with Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian government employee who was the first to be killed by the virus in Nigeria on 25 July, Ecowas said in a statement.
Mr Sawyer had flown in from Liberia, when he was diagnosed with Ebola after collapsing at the airport in Lagos, the biggest city in sub-Saharan Africa.
This is the first time West Africa has been affected by Ebola - previous outbreaks have affected East and Central Africa.
There have been 1,975 confirmed, probable and suspected Ebola cases in West Africa since it was identified in February, according to the WHO.
There is no cure for Ebola and the WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
On Tuesday, it approved the use of untested drugs on Ebola patients.
However, experts say supplies of both the vaccine and the experimental drug Zmapp are limited and it could take months to develop more supplies.
Dr Gregory Taylor, deputy head of Canada's Public Health Agency, said he saw the vaccines as a "global resource".
He said he had been advised that it would make sense for healthcare workers to be given the vaccine, given their increased risk of contracting the disease.
Zmapp has been used on two US aid workers who have shown signs of improvement, although it is not certain what role the medication played in this.
A Roman Catholic priest, infected with Ebola in Liberia, who died after returning home to Spain is also thought to have been given the drug.
What drugs exist currently ?
There are a handful of drugs that have been shown to work well in animals.
One is Zmapp - the drug requested by the Liberian government. This contains a cocktail of antibodies that attack proteins on the surface of the virus.
Only one drug has moved on to early safety testing in humans. Known as TKM-Ebola, this interrupts the genetic code of the virus and prevents it from making disease-causing proteins.
The drug was trialled in healthy volunteers at the beginning of 2014 but the American medicines regulator asked for further safety information. The manufacturer says human studies may soon resume.
Another option would be to use serum from individuals who have survived the virus - this is a part of the blood that may contain particles able to neutralise the virus.
Vaccines to protect against acquiring the disease have also been shown to work in primates. American authorities are considering fast-tracking their development and say they could be in use in 2016. Trials are likely to start soon, according to the WHO.
But experts warn that ultimately the only way to be sure a drug or vaccine is effective is to see if it works in countries affected by Ebola.
EMapping the outbreak


The number of people with mental health illnesses being detained in police cells is a "scandal", MPs have said.

A Home Affairs Committee report called for a change in the law so that police cells were no longer deemed a "place of safety" under the Mental Health Act.
About 6,000 adults and 200 children with mental health issues were detained in police cells last year because of a shortage of space in NHS hospitals.
Home Secretary Theresa May said the government was reducing the numbers.
Currently, people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 can be held in a hospital or police station for up to 72 hours.
Police have been forced to "fill the gap" because of a lack of NHS facilities, the chairman of the cross-party committee, Labour's Keith Vaz, said.
He called for the detention of children with mental health issues in police cells to "cease immediately".
Last year 236 children were detained in a police cell under the law.
"These people are not criminals, they are ill and often are experiencing a great deal of trauma," he said.
He said in many cases detentions acted as the "starting point" for those who were mentally ill to enter the criminal justice system - often ending in prison.
Finally, it seems, there's a will to change.
For years police have complained that too much of their time was spent dealing with people who needed specialist mental health care.
Now, a consensus is forming that a noisy, brightly lit police custody suite, with drunken hooligans and gangsters sometimes passing through, is simply not an appropriate place for someone in the midst of a breakdown.
The question is: can adequate alternative accommodation to police cells be found - and funded - at a time when the NHS is so stretched?
Ensuring support is available after detention under the Mental Health Act is also crucially important.
What is striking is that while deaths in custody have declined over the past six years, apparent suicides within two days of release have increased.
Care does not, and must not, stop at the gates of the police station.
The committee's policing and mental health report also found:
Mrs May said she had "always been clear that people experiencing a mental health crisis should receive care and support rather than being held in a police cell".
She said reforms were "already bearing fruit", with 22% fewer people held in cells under the Mental Health Act in 2013/14 than in the previous 12 months.
But the Police Federation of England and Wales said ministers must "do more" to ensure mental health patients were treated by the NHS "instead of leaving it to police officers".
Doug Campbell, mental health lead for the federation, said: "Just as you would not expect a doctor to run a complex police investigation, police officers can never be an adequate replacement for medical staff."
The report comes after a mentally ill teenager was held in a cell for two days last year due to a lack of hospital beds.
Her mother said the 16-year-old girl had suffered "heartbreaking" failings in her care.
NHS England later apologised and described her care as "unacceptable".
The case sparked an outcry and debates in Parliament, leading to Home Secretary Theresa May announcing an overhaul of mental health laws in England and Wales.
Care minister Norman Lamb, who has spoken out about the issue in the past, said real progress had already been made, and added that "in many parts of the country it's now a thing of the past".
Local authorities in England have pledged to ban the practice.


The former IRA man shot dead outside his home in Belfast's Short Strand area earlier this week had been told by police he was under threat from republicans.

Kevin McGuigan Sr was given the warning shortly after the killing of former IRA commander Gerard 'Jock' Davison in May.
The two men were once close friends.
But they fell out and Mr McGuigan was later shot several times in a so-called punishment attack.
The attack was said to have been ordered by Jock Davison.
BBC News NI's home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney said: "When Mr Davison was shot dead in May, republicans suspected Mr McGuigan may have been involved.
"It has emerged that shortly after the killing, the father of nine was warned by the police that he was under threat from republicans.
"That will further fuel speculation that he was killed in a revenge attack by members of the Provisional IRA.
"The police have warned against such speculation and say they have an open mind about who might have been responsible."
A man and a woman arrested as part of the murder investigation have been released unconditionally.
First Minister Peter Robinson has warned of serious political repercussions if it is established that the Provisional IRA was involved.
Sinn Féin has said the organisation was not involved.
Earlier, the sister of Belfast murder victim Robert McCartney called for an external police force to investigate the killing of Mr McGuigan.
Catherine McCartney, whose brother was stabbed to death more than a decade ago, said she had "zilch confidence" in the PSNI to investigate.
"People in this place need justice, they need a police service that works, they need a police service that is impartial," she said.
"It shouldn't matter what your involvement is in the peace process or who you are, if you are murdered in the street you deserve protection from the state and you deserve a proper investigation.
"It doesn't happen here, because everything is politically sieved."
Ms McCartney said she believed the PSNI was incapable of dealing with paramilitary murders that could have an impact on the "peace process".
"I would be asking people from outside to come in and investigate these murders. I have zilch confidence in the police when it comes to murders like this," she added.
In response, the police said: "The particular arrangements in place in Northern Ireland guarantee unprecedented levels of scrutiny and accountability.
"These ensure that everyone in our community can have confidence that police are answerable for their actions and decisions in conducting major investigations."
No-one has ever been convicted of killing Mr McCartney, whose case came to international attention because of a campaign by his sisters.
They blamed the IRA for murdering him and interfering with evidence and witnesses.
Ms McCartney said she believed the IRA was the only group that could carry out the murder of Mr McGuigan.
Commenting on Sinn Féin's denial of that, she said: "Sinn Féin's default position is always it wasn't the IRA, and I would like to ask Sinn Féin how they know that?
"I would be interested to know how they can establish that so quickly?"


Two people have died following an incident in a north Wales village, BBC Wales understands.

Emergency services were called to the incident in Llanberis, Gwynedd, close to the Snowdon Valley Mountain railway line, at 08:30 BST on Sunday.
North Wales Police said a "multi-agency response" is under way. Police, Llanberis Mountain Rescue, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the ambulance service are all at the scene.
The incident is currently ongoing.


A demonstration has been held over the rise in the number of students at Falmouth University in Cornwall.

The Save Our Falmouth Group organised the event in response to the latest planning applications for large scale student accommodation.
Protestors say the demand on housing is already high and any more students will have a detrimental effect on the town.
A Falmouth University spokesperson said there are two public consultation events taking place this month.


French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has called for an end to free education for the children of illegal immigrants.

In a speech in Paris, the National Front's candidate in the 2017 presidential race next spring said she had nothing against foreigners.
"But I tell them: if you come to our country don't expect to be taken care of, to be looked after, that your children will be educated without charge," she said.
"No more playtime," she added.
Ms Le Pen is widely expected to be one of two candidates to reach the second and final round of the election in May.
Latest opinion polls suggest she is running neck-and-neck in polling for the first round with the centre-right candidate Francois Fillon, who was selected in national primaries at the end of November. The Socialists will hold their own primaries next month.
However, around two-thirds of voters would choose Mr Fillon over Ms Le Pen in the deciding round.
Ms Le Pen had been widely reported as saying the education ban should apply to foreigners, but after her speech she clarified to the AFP that she was talking about illegal immigrants.
However, she also said that foreigners using the state education system must be living in France legally and contributing to the tax system.
Cutting immigration has long been a bedrock policy of the FN, and Ms Le Pen has campaigned hard to cut legal immigration dramatically to 10,000 people a year, and to halt the right to family reunions.
Education has also been a central theme for the far-right leader. In 2014, she spoke out against providing substitute meals for pork dinners in schools for Muslims and Jews.
However under French law dating back to 1881, free primary education is a basic right for all children. The right to education is also a fundamental tenet of the European Convention on Human Rights.
French Education Secretary Najat Belkacem said in a blog entry that Ms Le Pen had not only demonstrated total indifference to the terrible plight of many migrant children, she showed the same level of ignorance of fundamental French values and laws.
Since she took over the running of the FN from her father almost six years ago, Marine Le Pen has worked hard to detoxify the party's extremist image and attract mainstream voters.
Her presidential campaign bears no trace of the party name and features a blue rose, borrowing imagery from both left and right.
But Ms Le Pen has had to respond to Mr Fillon's election as candidate by setting out distinctive policies.
On Wednesday, she accused him of being in hock to France's business organisation Medef, the European Commission, the banks and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.
In a live interview on Wednesday on one of France's main TV channels, TF1, she suggested she would put France back together in five years.
"I want to sort out the schools, France's diplomacy and the economy" she said, adding that she wanted a referendum on France's membership of the European Union.


A 10-year-old girl, Eliana Mann, is like a "new child" after having a massive tumour that weighed more than 3kg removed.

Her mother said Eliana, from north London, had been transformed by the operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
Surgeons said the growth had reached the size of a small football.
The tumour was benign, but it would have been deadly had it continued to grow.
In the summer of 2009, Eliana was not growing properly. Her feet had not grown for a couple of years, she was not eating properly and was tired all the time.
Her father, Paul, thought her stomach felt quite hard. Her doctor agreed and Eliana was sent to hospital for testing.
The results showed she had a massive benign tumour growing in her abdomen.
As it was so large, doctors first tried to shrink it with chemotherapy. However, after a year and a half of therapy the tumour was still growing.
In July 2011, the decision was made to remove the tumour.
Eliana's mother, Tara, said the tumour was "absolutely enormous" and "took up 50% of her abdomen".
She told the BBC: "If she didn't have the tumour removed it would end up just growing and growing and growing and it would kill her just by its size.
"We didn't really have much option - it was a lifesaving operation."
Surgeon Edward Kiely said: "This type of tumour in this location is very rare - fewer than one per year at Great Ormond Street Hospital."
Success was not guaranteed; there was a one in 10 chance of not being able to remove the tumour.
The operation took nine hours. Several pieces of tumour were removed - the largest weighed in at more than 3kg.
Tara said: "By September when Eliana went back to school she was like a new child. She's grown, she's put on loads of weight, she's got loads of energy, she does boxing, netball, she goes swimming."
Eliana still needs scans every three months to see if the tumour returns.
Eliana's story is featured in the BBC2 documentary series Great Ormond Street on Tuesday, May 15 at 2100 BST.


A Norwegian neo-Nazi musician has been released two days after he was arrested in central France on suspicion of "preparing a major terrorist act".

Kristian Vikernes was arrested after his wife bought four rifles.
Officials say questioning of the suspect did not bring to light any evidence of a terrorist plot.
Vikernes had in the past received a copy of a manifesto from right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Officials say Vikernes will have to answer charges of incitement to racial hatred over the content of some of his writings on the internet, but no charges relating to terrorism have been filed.
Kristian "Varg" Vikernes was arrested along with his French wife on Tuesday in Correze, a region in central France.
She was released from custody on Wednesday evening.
Officials say she had a legal firearms permit when she bought the four rifles.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls had said that even though Vikernes was not thought to have a specific target in mind, the arrest was justified by the need to "act before and not after" with regard to terrorism.
An official at the Paris prosecutor's office said there were "several indications that made the services fear he could possibly carry out a violent act".
The official said Breivik had sent a copy of a manifesto setting out his ideology to Vikernes, who is also a convicted murderer.
Breivik planted a bomb in central Oslo and went on a shooting spree on the nearby island of Utoeya in July 2011. He was imprisoned for the maximum 21-year term last year.
Vikernes, a black-metal musician and writer known as Varg, was convicted in 1994 of stabbing a man to death in Oslo and burning down several churches.
He was released in 2009 and moved to France with his wife and three children.
Since then he has continued releasing music and writing.
Through his writings he promotes what he calls "Odalism", an ideology based on the idea that White Europeans should re-adopt "native European values".
It includes racism, anti-Semitism and elements of ethnic European paganism.


Chelsea Football Club have been given permission by the local council to build a new £500m 60,000-seat stadium.

Hammersmith and Fulham council's planning committee have backed plans to demolish the current 41,600-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium.
The plans include a walkway from the nearby District Line station.
"We are grateful that planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of our historic home," Chelsea said in a statement.
"The committee decision does not mean that work can begin on site. This is just the latest step, although a significant one, that we have to take before we can commence work, including obtaining various other permissions."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan will have the final say on whether Chelsea can build their new stadium.
The new stadium has been designed by architects Herzog and de Meuron, who were also responsible for the "Birds Nest" Olympic stadium in Beijing.
The proposals could mean owner Roman Abramovich has to find a temporary home for the current Premier League leaders for up to three years, with both Twickenham Stadium and Wembley Stadium being looked at as possible options.
Chelsea might, however, struggle to use Wembley as north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur will occupy the national stadium for at least the 2017-18 football season as work finishes on Spurs' own new 61,000-capacity stadium.
Chelsea could stay at Stamford Bridge while the work takes place but this is thought to be the most expensive option.
Mr Abramovich has wanted to increase capacity at Chelsea on match days for a number of years.
He previously attempted to buy Battersea Power Station with a view to redeveloping the site into a new stadium, ultimately losing out to property developers who are currently building luxury apartments at the site.
Ten years ago Arsenal built the 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium, last summer West Ham moved to the 57,000-capacity Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London, and Spurs are currently redeveloping their White Hart Lane ground.
The current 41,663-capacity Stamford Bridge is the seventh biggest stadium used by a Premier League team, well behind Manchester United's 76,000-seater stadium at Old Trafford.


A 15-year-old girl "wanted to kill herself" before revealing to her father that she had a sexual encounter with footballer Adam Johnson, a court heard.

In a statement to Bradford Crown Court, the father told of his "shock and disbelief" as he consoled his daughter.
He said the girl confessed to meeting the player in his car and that "things had happened".
Mr Johnson, 28, from Castle Eden in County Durham, denies two counts of sexual activity with a child.
The jury has been told the former Sunderland player met up the girl in his car outside a Chinese restaurant near her home in January 2015 after the pair had exchanged messages on social media.
In the statement, which was read to the court, the girl's father said his daughter was "crying her eyes out" when she came down from her bedroom to tell him about their meeting.
He said: "She said she wanted to kill herself. She sat cuddling me crying, after half an hour reassuring her, she made me promise that I would not tell anyone, including her mum," his statement read.
"I told her that no matter what she thought I would say, I would always be with her. What is it?"
"And she replied, 'I have met up with Adam Johnson.'
"I think I asked her what had happened. She replied, 'Things have happened."'
He said he pressed her for details of what had gone and the girl said they had not had sex.
He said his daughter got a Sunderland FC season ticket at Christmas 2014, with various members of the family taking her to games.
He confirmed his daughter would often stay back after games to catch a glimpse of players and take photos and Mr Johnson had offered his daughter a club shirt.
He said he was "in a state of total shock and disbelief" after being told what had happened.
Earlier, the court heard from a friend of the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who described Mr Johnson as a "bit of a paedophile" for going after a 15-year-old girl.
The friend said the girl had shown her messages on her phone from the England international.
A second friend told the court the girl had planned to have sex with the footballer during a planned further encounter in his car, although that meeting did not take place.
Mr Johnson messaged her to say he did not have an excuse to explain to his girlfriend, Stacey Flounders, why he was leaving the house, the court heard.
The girl was "mad at the fact he had messed her about", the witness said.
"That was the same night she told her mam and dad," she added.
The jury was also shown a 10-second video clip recorded by the girl on her phone while in Mr Johnson's car. Neither are visible, but Mr Johnson's voice can be heard talking, though the audio is partly inaudible.
The jury of eight women and four men were previously told of other social media exchanges between Mr Johnson and the girl, who had made it clear she was 15, after their encounter in his car where the footballer wrote: "It was class. Just wanted to get your jeans off, LOL."
The court heard the girl replied: "Next time."
The girl's messages also congratulated Johnson on the birth of his daughter and Mr Johnson was messaging the girl and his partner simultaneously after the sexual activity had taken place.
The footballer later researched "legal of age of consent" on the internet and allegedly asked the girl to delete messages between them.
Born in Sunderland, Mr Johnson began his career at Middlesbrough before moving to Manchester City and then on to Sunderland for £10m in 2012.
The trial continues.
The footballer has previously pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child, involving kissing, and one charge of grooming. He was sacked by Sunderland as a result.


A roller derby team in the Highlands is to hold its first ever home game this weekend.

Inverness City Roller Derby, which was formed in 2015, will compete in the exhibition game against Ice Ice Baby.
The visiting team is made up of players from Aberdeen's Fight Hawks, Helgin Roller Derby, Mean City Roller Derby and the Fair City Rollers.
Sunday's game at Inverness Leisure Centre will be followed by a roller disco and children's activities.
Roller derby is a full contact, tactical sport played on skates.
Popular in the US in the 1950s and 60s, it has experienced a renaissance in recent years and there are teams across Scotland.
A spokeswoman for Inverness City Roller Derby said the team was "very excited" about the upcoming first home game, which will start at 13:45.


Russian energy giant Rosneft says it has discovered oil with its US project partner Exxon Mobil at a controversial well in the Arctic.

Drilling was completed in record time, it said, but questions remain about how quickly the well can be developed.
Exxon has said it will "wind down" the project following US sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
Environmentalists have campaigned hard against drilling for oil in the pristine region.
"Rosneft successfully completed the drilling of the northernmost well in the world - the Universitetskaya-1 well in the Arctic," the company said in a statement.
Rosneft boss Igor Sechin, himself a target of US sanctions, said the well had produced "an astonishing sample of light oil".
He estimated the well could access 100 million tonnes of oil and 338 billion cubic metres of gas.
"This is an outstanding result of the first exploratory drilling on a completely new offshore field," he continued.
"This is our united victory - it was achieved thanks to our friends and partners from Exxon Mobil, Nord Atlantic Drilling, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Baker, Trendsetter, FMC."
Experts said more testing would need to be carried out before an accurate picture of recoverable reserves in the region could be established.
They said it was unclear how the project would develop given US sanctions that prohibit US companies from participating in joint ventures with Russian energy companies.


A top aide to US President Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, has cited a "massacre" which never happened while defending the president's controversial immigration ban.

Ms Conway said Mr Obama brought in a six-month ban on Iraqis after the arrest of "the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre".
"Most people don't know that because it didn't get covered," she added.
In fact, there was no massacre at Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Ms Conway, whose official role is counsellor to the president, later tweeted that she meant to say "Bowling Green terrorists".
She made her remarks during an interview with MSNBC television, in which she defended Donald Trump's ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.
"President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee programme after two Iraqis came here to this country were radicalised, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre," she said.
In 2011, Barack Obama's administration brought in enhanced security measures for Iraqis after two men were arrested on terror charges - but there was never a formal ban in place.
It came after Iraqi natives Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi were arrested on charges of attempting to send weapons and money to Iraq to support al-Qaeda there. They also admitted using homemade bombs against US troops when they lived in Iraq.
The pair lived in Bowling Green, Kentucky - but were never accused of planning or attempting to carry out an attack in the US. Both are still in prison.
"Bowling Green Massacre" began to trend on Twitter following the interview, as users ridiculed Ms Conway's error in tributes to the fictional people who lost their lives in a massacre which did not happen.
She also recently made headlines for coining the term "alternative facts" when defending President Trump's White House.
In his first briefing, incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer gave attendance figures on Mr Trump's inauguration which contradicted photographic evidence - and were quickly denounced in many US news outlets as "falsehoods" and "lies". Ms Conway later said Mr Spicer had been presenting "alternative facts".
The phrase quickly became the subject of ridicule online.


National League Eastleigh have signed defender Chinua Cole from Isthmian League side Staines Town.

Cole, 22, has agreed a two-and-a-half year deal at the Silverlake Stadium, having joined Staines from Barnet in February 2016.
Eastleigh have also announced that Tyler Garratt's loan from League Two leaders Doncaster Rovers has been extended until 29 April.
The 20-year-old left-back has scored once in five matches for Eastleigh.
The Spitfires are 13th in the National League and travel to struggling Guiseley on Saturday.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Nigeria winger Asisat Oshoala has left Women's Super League One club Arsenal Ladies to join Chinese side Dalian Quanjian.

The 22-year-old won the BBC's Women's Footballer of the Year Award in 2015 before joining Arsenal from Liverpool.
She helped the Gunners win the Women's FA Cup at Wembley in May 2016 and was recently awarded the African Women's Player of the Year Award.
She also played for her country at the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.


Rock star Bruce Springsteen will be one of the castaways on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs this Christmas.

The singer-songwriter will be Kirsty Young's guest on 18 December.
He said of his track choices: "This is the music that electrified me - they galvanised me into changing my life in some way."
Other BBC radio highlights over Christmas includes Carey Mulligan guest editing Radio 4's Today programme and Glenda Jackson in King Lear.
Jackson said: "This is a very exciting prospect for us all. It will be very interesting to see how the play transfers from stage to microphone. I look forward to it."
The radio dramatisation of the current Old Vic production also includes Celia Imrie, Jane Horrocks and Rhys Ifans in the cast.
The production will air on Radio 4 on Boxing Day, 410 years to the day that it was performed for the first time in front of King James I.
Radio 2 highlights include last year's Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain inviting listeners for a festive family feast in the run-up to the big day, while Dolly Parton will relive childhood memories of Christmas in the Appalachian Mountains with her sister Stella on Christmas Eve.
Choirmaster Gareth Malone will follow on from Parton with two hours of his favourite choral music.
Malone will share his personal favourites on Desert Island Discs on Christmas Day.
Martha Reeves will also reminisce about Motown Christmases past as well as playing some of her favourite tracks from the likes of Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes.
Radio 1 will reveal the the top five artists for Sound of 2017 on Clara Amfo's Radio 1 show from 2 to 6 January.
And Radio 1Xtra will announce the 10 acts from the world of black music that the station predicts to be big in 2017.
On Radio 3, Planet Earth II presenter Sir David Attenborough reveals another side of himself as he tells stories behind music he has recorded from his travels around the world.
Composer of the week over Christmas will be Ivor Novello as Donald Macleod explores several works specially recorded for the series, some of which have not been heard for 100 years.
Radio 5 live will feature the usual festive programme of Premier League football games, and round-ups of the year in sport, including The Andy Murray Story.
6 Music's offerings include Three Wise Women, with Natasha Khan, of Bat for Lashes, Laura Marling and Annie Nightingale presenting their own shows.
And Kate Tempest returns to the station to look ahead to the coming year.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


MPs are set to hold a debate and vote on Wednesday over whether the UK should extend its bombing of IS targets to Syria.

British armed forces are already deployed in more than 80 countries across the world in a range of roles, including some major deployments listed below.
About 450 UK troops remained in Afghanistan to advise and train Afghan security forces after combat operations ended in October 2014.
This number of troops is to be maintained throughout 2016.
UK forces were part of a US-led coalition which toppled the ruling Taliban in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks in the US.
More than 450 British troops died during the 13-year Afghanistan war and at the height of the conflict, in 2009, about 10,000 UK troops were based in the country.
One of the places in which the Navy is expanding its presence is Bahrain, where construction on a new naval base, HMS Juffair, started in October.
The base will be the first east of Suez in the Middle East since 1971, and it will service Britain's minesweepers and two new aircraft carriers.
Current military duties of British units stationed in the country vary, but troops are generally involved in providing joint infantry and amphibious training to overseas forces.
About 100 British military personnel are based in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and a further 25 are deployed on a continuing training mission in Ukraine, according to the MoD.
Troops are in the Baltic region to deter Russian aggression beyond Ukraine and reassure eastern European Nato members, the government has said.
They help lead large-scale training exercises for international armed forces, and the RAF has been sending Typhoon jets to the region to help patrol the skies.
Cyprus has been an independent republic since the 1960s, but Britain retains two areas of sovereign territory on the island.
These are used as bases for about 2,200 armed forces personnel permanently deployed there, which includes roughly 250 UN peacekeeping troops.
Others are stationed at Royal Air Force bases on the island - such as Akrotiri, from where units have been flying since September 2014 to conduct air strikes against IS in Iraq.
A strong military presence has remained on the Falkland Islands since the war between Britain and Argentina over the territory in 1982.
As part of a government package to invest Â£280m in renewing and increasing its defences on the Islands, around 1,200 military personnel remain stationed on the islands.
According to the MoD, defences include surface-to-air missiles, Royal Navy ships, RAF Typhoon jets and specialist troops, and military personnel are also responsible for search and rescue assistance.
Notably, Prince William served as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot on the islands in 2012.
British armed forces have been based in Germany for about 70 years, but the UK announced plans in 2010 to relocate all troops serving in the country by 2020.
About 6,000 military personnel are currently deployed in Germany, but this is scheduled to be reduced to 4,400 troops by 2016.
In the government's most recent strategic defence review, it said the intention was still to withdraw forces from by 2020, but "we will continue to seek opportunities to train alongside the German armed forces".
Germany, it added, was "an essential partner".
Gibraltar is a permanent joint operating base for UK operations in the region.
Britain rules Gibraltar under the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, but Spain continues to claim sovereignty over the territory and there have been numerous disputes between the nations.
The Rock is home to about 160 military personnel who are responsible for military communications and maintaining infrastructure, amongst other things.
Military units stationed there include the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, which is one of the Navy's two permanently deployed sea-going units.
Their role is to patrol Gibraltar's shores and watch over shipping, contribute to joint operations and provide a 'quick reaction force' for ships in the area.
British forces ended combat operations in Iraq in 2009, six years after the beginning of the war to oust Saddam Hussein's government amid concerns it was concealing weapons of mass destruction.
A number of British troops remained to train Iraqi security forces in counter-IED skills, equipment maintenance, medical skills and information operations.
In July, Prime Minister David Cameron authorised the deployment of up to 125 additional troops to help train domestic security forces to battle so-called Islamic State.
This will take the total number of UK military training personnel in the country to more than 275.
More than 200 military personnel are permanently stationed in the east African country alongside other troops who are on temporary deployments.
Troops in the country are largely responsible for UN peacekeeping and training other British units.
They also train other forces in mine action skills, operate a dog detection unit, and provide civil engineering and healthcare assistance within communities.
Hundreds of British armed forces personnel are also based in other countries for small-scale deployments which are often short-term or in response to emergency situations.
In Nigeria, British troops are training domestic forces to "improve security and combat Boko Haram"; while in Somalia 70 personnel are helping UN peacekeeping efforts and combating Islamist militant groups like al-Shabab.
British military personnel are also involved in a number of aid efforts around the world, for example in Nepal and Sierra Leone.
Other overseas deployments include training, exchanges and loans to armed forces in various different countries such as Canada and Brunei.


A celebration will be held in a drained chamber of Camden Lock to mark the end of three-years of repairs.

The event, a so-called silent disco, will see 160 people dancing to music while wearing headphones on Saturday evening.
The chamber at the north London site will also be open to public as the Regent's Canal marks 200 years.
Eight sets of lock gates on the Regent's Canal were repaired on replaced at a cost of Â£500,000.
The two-hour party will take place at Hampstead Road Lock 1A, with revellers able to book tickets for half-hour slots from 19:00 BST.
People coming to visit the lock during the day will get a chance to walk along the original timber flooring in the bottom of the lock chamber, and take part in events like free fishing session and canoeing.
Jeannette Brooks, development and engagement manager for the Canal & River Trust, said: "Never before has a music event taken place in the bottom of a drained canal so this is a world's first! We want people to come along and rock the lock at the silent disco!"
Graham Smith, construction supervisor for the Canal and River Trust, said: "Repairing all the lock gates at Camden (Hampstead Road Lock 1A and B, Hawley Lock and Kentish Town Lock) over the last few years has been challenging, but we're pleased with the work we've done and the gates shouldn't need replacing for a quarter of a century."
A gun was discovered in the drained canal bed which police believe has been in the water since the 1980s.
It is not in working condition and has "no forensic opportunities".


People from across England have offered the survivors of the Grenfell Tower blaze accommodation, as the relief effort continues.

It comes as local community groups and charities have been inundated with thousands of donations from the public.
Several relief funds for the victims, set up on the Just Giving website, have collectively raised Â£2.8m already.
Kensington and Chelsea Council has said every survivor of the tragedy has been found temporary accommodation.
So far 30 people are known to have died in the blaze but that number is expected to rise significantly.
On Thursday, the first victim of the fire was named as Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali, 23.
Local groups have asked the public not to make further donations of clothes, food, toys, medical supplies and other items to allow them to collate and distribute what they have already received.
People from as far as Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Surrey, Essex, Dorset and Oxford have taken to social media to make offers of accommodation.
One woman called Laura-Jayne, who manages student accommodation, took to Twitter to offer 21 studio flats as temporary accommodation. She told the BBC she had contacted the council to let it know she had accommodation available but had yet to hear from a council officer.
Others left notes near to the site of Grenfell Tower. Among the posters of the missing on a bus stop on Latimer Road was one note from a man called Duncan from Surrey.
It read: "We are a family of four living an hour away from central London in the countryside. We can offer accommodation to individuals or a family. We have got three bedrooms. We can pick you up from London. There are several stations close to us that provide regular trains to and from London."
The council was unable to say how many of those displaced by the Grenfell Tower blaze were still in the Westway Sports Centre or other relief centres, saying it was "a fluid figure".
The council said it was focusing its efforts "on rehousing those affected by the fire".
So far 77 households out of the 120 that made up Grenfell Tower have been given temporary accommodation in west London hotels.
A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea Council said: "We have a team looking at longer-term rehousing for people, but we are unable to say how long this will take yet. Everyone has somewhere to stay temporarily."
The council added it had been in contact with neighbouring boroughs and housing associations in order to provide longer-term accommodation to the survivors of the tragedy, as well as looking at housing options within the borough.
Andrew Slaughter, the Labour MP for Hammersmith and Fulham, told BBC Radio London it was vital that every victim of the blaze was "rehoused in the immediate area".
He added Theresa May's government had to make the tragedy its "number one priority" and that how the prime minister responded to the week's events would "define her premiership".
Housing minister Alok Sharma has said the government would support every family that has been affected by the tragedy.
But the BBC understands that taking over empty homes in the borough, as suggested by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Thursday, is not an option currently being considered.
The deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, Rock Feilding-Mellen told BBC Radio London: "The compulsory purchase order process is an incredibly complicated legalistic system.
"In my view that's not right governments can just go round requisitioning people's homes without going through very thorough due process."
He later told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show it could take up to two years to relocate all the families from Grenfell Tower.
Mr Feilding-Mellen said the council's first priority was to get the families out of hotels and into temporary accommodation before trying to find them a more permanent home.


Sir Roger Moore will forever be remembered as the third actor to play secret agent James Bond on the big screen between 1973 and 1985.

Prior to that he starred as Simon Templar in TV series The Saint, as well as opposite Tony Curtis in The Persuaders!
These days the 86-year-old lives in Monaco, however he is returning to the UK for his An Evening With... tour, which sees him discuss his life and career, before taking questions from fans.
He spoke to the BBC about his upcoming run of shows, bringing back The Saint, silly questions and why he would have been an IT expert if he wasn't an actor.
The format depends entirely on what I can remember! I talk with Gareth Owen who is my assistant and biographer and we chat about various things that have happened.
I was talking with Joan Collins [who has also had An Audience With... tour] the other day and she has a whole production with songs and videos. But I've never thought it was necessary to do that, so I just get up and tell lies!
I'm warming them up for my new book that's going to come out next year! I haven't had full approval from all the publishers, but it's going to be called One Lucky Bastard.
It occurred to me when I was halfway through the book - which was going to be called something like Moore on Bond, or Moore or Less - it suddenly struck me I have been exceedingly lucky, so I think that's what I have to call myself.
Maybe for the BBC it can be called One Lucky Fellow!
Nothing really fazes me. There are the more direct ones about sex and the leading ladies, which I go completely red and blush at - and if I can't answer I burst into tears.
But I can certainly become awfully deaf and have a chat with Gareth about it [on stage] and say "what was that?".
It's always which leading lady did you like the most? Or what's the best Bond film you've made? What's your favourite Bond gadget? Or Bond girl? You always have to look surprised - as if you've never been asked that question before.
I won't give my phone number out!
I suppose so, but there's been a lot that's been left unsaid and I have to work around it when I'm asked a question that borders on that. It becomes a game, actually, but the more controversial the better, as it's more fun.
There's an old saying that actors don't retire until the phone stops ringing. It depends on what there is for an old gentlemen to do. I'm not about to run around and do acrobatics, so if I can find something witty to do, I'd love to do it.
From the last email I've had, it has had the go-ahead. I will make the odd appearance - I play a sort of rather mysterious man who is on the end of a telephone or will suddenly arrive where The Saint is and give him his opinion.
Oh no, I'll be there for people to say: "Oh God, isn't he old!"
It always depends on the writing and what it is. Doctor Who is not something I jump at and say: "Oh my Lord, I must do that", but then again the few number of times I've seen Doctor Who its always been a different Doctor and they've been rather fun.
I have to confess I get my office to take care of it and if there's anything in particular they feel requires a good answer from me, I answer it.
Moderately - I know there's a switch that's on and off! When people ask me what would I have done if I hadn't been an actor, I've now found out I'd like to be an IT expert as they make such a lot of money.
Well by the same token you might as well be an undertaker! My ex-wife Dorothy Squires had a theatre in Llanelli in Wales and there used be a car to meet her at the railway station after travelling up from London.
One day the taxi driver said: "I'm terribly sorry, Ms Squires, but I must apologise for the terrible smell of pitch and turpentine - my silly bloody brother-in-law has bought himself an undertaking business so I've been carrying coffins all day."
She couldn't think of anything to say except "how's business?" and he said, "oh, bloody smashing, every bugger is dying!".
An Evening With Roger Moore begins on 27 October at the Leeds Grand Theatre and will tour around the UK until 17 November.


Top gold panners from around the world are gathering in Moffat for their world championships.

It is only the second time in its 40-year history that the event has been held in Scotland.
Competitors from more than 20 countries are expected to take part in proceedings which run until Saturday.
Organiser Richard Deighton said he hoped the championships would have a significant economic impact for businesses in the area.
The World Gold Panning Championships were first held in Finland in 1977.
They have been held every year since in the likes of the USA, Italy, Canada and Australia but the only other time they have been in the UK was also in Scotland at Leadhills in 1992.
There are a range of different categories in which 30 competitors at a time each receive a bucket of sand and gravel containing a few flakes of gold.
They race against the clock to find as many pieces as they can with the quickest progressing to the next round.
The winner on finals day is then crowned world champion.
"Each competitor gets maybe 15 kilos of sand and gravel from the local area," Mr Deighton said.
"There is a sand supervisor who will place between five and 12 pieces of gold into the sand and gravel.
"It is the competitor's job to find it in as quick a time as possible and for each piece of gold that is lost there is a three-minute time penalty.
"So it is basically a speed competition."
Mr Deighton said he was sure the competition would have a positive impact on the town over the next few days.
"It is an absolutely amazing event for Moffat," he said, adding that the town was being "showcased on a world stage".
"Just about every accommodation in Moffat is fully booked for the week," he said.
"Local businesses are beaming, they are really happy to have this huge influx of tourists to the area."
He said an impact study would be carried out to assess the overall economic benefits of the championships.


England will host Ireland in a one-day international series for the first time in 2017.

The two sides will meet at Bristol on 5 May and again at Lord's on 7 May in the build-up to the Champions Trophy.
"This is a historic stepping stone in the development of Irish cricket," said England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison.
"This is a great opportunity for cricket matches between the two to enjoy even greater status and profile."
Ireland have played five ODIs against England on home soil and two in global tournaments, including a historic three-wicket win at the 2011 World Cup in India.
Ireland, ranked 11th in one-day international cricket and not part of next summer's Champions Trophy, have never played an ODI at Lord's.
Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom said: "It's a real chance for Irish cricket to prove itself a worthy addition to the sport's economy as well as its competitive elite."


A report from a government-run online security group in China claims that there has been a "massive increase" in cyber attacks from "foreign hackers".

It was released by China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team and Coordination Centre, state-run media said on Monday.
It said cyber attacks affected 8.9m computers in 2011, up from 5m in 2010.
China is often accused of cyber attacks on foreign government agencies and firms. Beijing routinely denies this.
A recent report from a US congressional panel said that China's cyber warfare skills could pose a threat to the United States military.
According to Monday's report from the CNCERT, 11,851 foreign internet protocol (IP) addresses had controlled 10,593 Chinese websites in 2011. It said Japan was the top source of attacks, followed by the US and South Korea.
Wang Minghua, deputy director of CNCERT's operations department, was quoted by the state-run China Daily as saying that foreign hackers changed the content of 1,116 Chinese websites, including 404 that were run by government agencies.
"This shows that Chinese websites still face a serious problem from being maliciously attacked by foreign hackers or IP addresses," he said.
He added that there could have been more instances of hacking, but it was difficult to trace.
The report also claims that the cyber attacks were aimed at online banking users.
Zhou Yonglin, a CNCERT director, added that in some cases, the hackers "had intended to access state networks and steal confidential information".


A washing powder thief failed in his bid to make a clean getaway when he was caught by police.

The man stole 11 bags and tubs of washing liquid tablets from a convenience store in Hampton, Peterborough, on Tuesday evening.
"#HopingToMakeACleanGetaway," officers, who chased him down on foot, joked on Twitter.
The man, in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of theft from a shop and remains in custody.
Officers from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire road policing unit - who are more used to catching criminals in cars - tweeted a photo of the washing powder stash recovered from the suspect.
More news from Cambridgeshire
Their Twitter account is awash with amusing laundry-related comments including "Sorry sir, but those excuses simply won't wash" and "Did they come clean in interview?".
Another asked: "They doing laundry for the local rugby club or something?"


Divers have found what they believe to be a very old, very smelly cheese in a jar stuck on the sea bed, near Sweden.

The stinky discovery was made when the team were exploring the wreck of the Kronan, a warship that sank 340 years ago.
They didn't know it was cheese until the journey to the surface caused some of the contents to leak, releasing a very strong smell.
But in matters as important as the potential discovery of 340-year-old cheese, you can't just trust your nose.
So the team have sent their discovery to a laboratory so that they can know for sure what they have found.


A military court in Nigeria has sentenced a general to six months in jail for his involvement in one of the army's worst defeats by Boko Haram.

Gen Enitan Ransome-Kuti was convicted of failing in his duties when Islamist militants attacked the north-eastern town of Baga in January.
Scores of civilians were killed when Boko Haram overran the town and seized large quantities of weapons.
The general's lawyer told the BBC that he will appeal against the decision.
A separate accusation of cowardice was dropped.
The general comes from a celebrated Nigerian family. His uncle was the late Afrobreat legend Fela Kuti.
The exact number of those killed in the Baga attack remains unknown, but claims vary from the government's official figure of 150 to up to 2,000 reported by locals.
Gen Ransome-Kuti was also dismissed from the Nigerian armed forces as part of the court martial.
He was found guilty for "loss of equipment" in the attack on the headquarters of Nigeria's regional task force against Boko Haram.
"Boko Haram outnumbered his men. They had more superior weapons than the unserviceable equipment of the Nigerian Army,"  his lawyer Femi Falana told AFP news agency.
According to Nigerian media, among the military hardware lost in the attack were several armoured personnel carriers, 12 Toyota pick-up trucks, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, more than a dozen machine guns, and a large quantity of ammunition.
Analysis: Jimmy Saleh, BBC Hausa Service
The military court in the capital Abuja said Brigadier Gen Ransome-Kuti was right to have asked his troops to retreat in the face of overwhelming firepower, but he should have called for reinforcements and launched a counter-attack to reclaim the town.
Hundreds of people were massacred by Boko Haram in Baga in January 2015 when Gen Ransome-Kuti and his men ran away from the town.
This was one of the biggest defeats suffered by the Nigerian army at the hands of Boko Haram, given the number of people killed and the high-calibre weapons gained by the insurgents.
The militants also detained many women in Baga whom they used as sex slaves.
The army's reputation has been affected by a series of mutinies by troops who on several occasions abandoned their weapons and fled the insurgents.
Today's sentence is intended to help restore discipline, which many think has been lacking within the ranks of the troops.
Some of the troops complained they were not being given the equipment needed to fight Boko Haram but more weapons have now been supplied.
Islamic State ties broaden Boko Haram threat
Who are Boko Haram?
According to Amnesty International, at least 17,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its violent uprising to try to impose militant Islamist rule.
With the help of regional armies, the Nigerian military has this year retaken most areas Boko Haram had captured.


Championship club Wolves have confirmed that they have been bought by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International.

The takeover sees 100% of the club's shares and assets transferred from previous owner Steve Morgan to Fosun in a deal thought to be worth £45m.
In an open letter to supporters, Morgan said Fosun had "made a commitment to invest between £20-£30m over the next two years" into the club.
Chief executive Jez Moxey will also step down after 16 years at Molineux.
Wolves, who had been put up for sale by Morgan in September 2015, are the second Championship club to have Chinese owners after Midlands rivals Aston Villa were sold to Dr Tony Xia earlier this year.
The new-look board at Molineux will consist of four members, including Jeff Shi, who led the negotiations on behalf of Fosun and will become the club's representative, while local businessmen and Wolves supporters John Bowater and John Gough will also continue to serve as non-executive board members.
Moxey will remain as chief executive for the next three months as the club, which finished 14th in the Championship in 2015-16, search for a permanent replacement.
"We are delighted to have completed the deal to become the new owners of such a famous and historic club as Wolves," Shi told the club's official website.
"We owe a great debt of gratitude to Steve Morgan for taking such good care of the club and for placing his trust in us to become the new custodians of Wolves.
"During our conversations Steve's great passion and vision for the club and Wolverhampton was very clear and we feel privileged to pick up the baton from him.
"And also to Jez Moxey for his tremendous contribution to Wolves. We are sad to see him leave."
Shi continued: "We would also like to thank the hugely loyal and passionate Wolves supporters, and all of the club staff, for their patience whilst our discussions were ongoing. We hope they will be pleased with, and supportive of, our exciting plans for Wolves.
"Our goal is crystal clear: we will do our very best to help take Wolves back to the Premier League as soon as possible and to stay there.
"We believe the club and the fans belong at the top of English football and getting there is our first and top priority."
Under the chairmanship of billionaire businessman Guo Guangchang, Fosun are one of the largest investment groups in China.
They have stakes in various leisure and entertainment projects around the world, including Club Med and Cirque du Soleil, and currently have interests in several UK companies including Thomas Cook.
Fosun also has links with super-agent Jorge Mendes, who represents Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo among others.
Mendes sold a minority share of his agency Gestifute to a subsidiary of Fosun late in 2015 and is expected to play a part in recruitment at Wolves.
I don't think there's any significance in the West Midlands suddenly appearing to be the hotbed of Chinese interest as far as English football's concerned.
Two factors have combined - the Chinese government encouraging its big economic players to get involved in European football and the stagnant state of the top West Midlands clubs.
Since Aston Villa's League Cup win in 1996 only Birmingham City have won one of English football's major trophies, beating Arsenal to win the same competition in 2011.
Too many false dawns, too many disillusioned owners. A regional powerhouse stagnating.
Enter the Chinese on the wave of a massive interest in football, with their own Super League prospering, serious players being lured by fabulous contracts and TV coverage of English football soaring in scope.
The president has said he wants the World Cup staged in China within 20 years. The onward march into English football - and stakes in Atletico Madrid and AC Milan - is just one manifestation of that long-term aim.
The money is available to snap up these West Midlands clubs. Other bidders are just being blown out of the water by Chinese money.


Retail sales rose slightly in Scotland in the first three months of this year but still lagged the UK as a whole.

Official figures showed the value of sales rose by 0.1% north of the border between January and March, compared with 0.3% for the UK.
Sales volumes were up by 0.7% - compared with a UK figure of 0.8%.
The Scottish Retail Sales Index also showed that the volume of sales in Scotland went up by 2.7% over the year, while the value rose by just 0.1%.
Scottish Retail Consortium director David Lonsdale said the return to growth was encouraging, but added there was  a "continuing fragility" in consumer confidence which was affecting retailers.
He urged the next Scottish government to prioritise policies which encouraged investment and expansion in the sector.
Mr Lonsdale said: "The prospects for retailers are ultimately determined by the state of the economy and their own ability to adapt and seize on the opportunities that arise.
"Our new MSPs can help by channelling their collective energies into ensuring that the retail industry, Scotland's largest private-sector employer, is even better-placed to be able to invest, expand and create jobs."
Euan Murray, of Barclays Corporate Banking in Scotland, said the "measured increase" in the volume of sales in the first quarter had been mainly driven by food sales, in contrast with the previous three months.
He added: "We are continuing to see non-food retailers benefit from a strong online offering with more value-conscious consumers comparing prices online to secure the best bargains.
"We would expect to see the online retail space continue to become ever more important as we move forward."
Recent industry figures suggested Scotland's retailers experienced a mixed month in March.
The SRC-KPMG monitor found total sales for the five weeks to 2 April were 1.3% lower than the same period last year.
The non-food category saw household goods such as furniture and flooring doing well.
But fashion and footwear registered its worst decline since May last year.
The report said that fall was influenced by the early Easter.


A teenage boy suffocated when he was buried head first in sand dunes, an inquest has heard.

Eoin Corcoran, aged 14 from Jersey, died on 5 February after receiving injuries while playing at the sand dunes in St Brelade, Jersey.
The inquest heard on Wednesday that he was digging a tunnel with a friend when it collapsed on him, burying his upper body.
The coroner said it was a "very tragic accidental death of a young man".
Deputy Viscount Mark Harris said the cause of death was sand inhalation and asphyxiation caused by the weight of the sand on his body.
Eoin's father, Michael Corcoran, said: "He was a beautiful boy, very special."
The inquest heard Eoin and his friend, who cannot be named, walked Eoin's dog on the sand dunes after school before deciding to burrow into the sand with their hands.
After the tunnel collapsed, Eoin's friend called for help and tried but failed to dig him out.
The inquest heard one passing dog walker came within 50 yards (46m) of the two boys and saw Eoin's legs sticking out of the sand, but walked past assuming it was children playing.
Paramedics were called by another passer-by who pulled Eoin's body out of the sand and performed CPR on him for nearly half an hour.
Eoin was taken to Jersey's General Hospital, where resuscitation attempts continued, but he was pronounced dead shortly after 20:00 BST.
Mr Harris said: "Everyone did what they could, and should be commended for doing so."
Jersey's Environment Department said it was looking into improving the signs around the sand dunes.


Police Scotland want the organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations to help pay towards the cost of policing the event for the first time, it has emerged.

The move to start charging follows the introduction of a new national policy on policing commercial events.
The cost has still to be worked out but Police Scotland deny claims it will be as much as £250,000.
Edinburgh city council wants the charges delayed until after 2015.
Singer Lily Allen is to headline this year's Edinburgh's Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens.
The 29-year-old will play West Princes Street Gardens.
The Hogmanay celebrations are produced by two companies - Unique Events and Underbelly.
When Edinburgh council set the current budget in 2012, policing costs were not factored in.
Last year, more than 300 officers from across the east of Scotland policed the Princes Street event.
Chief Supt Mark Williams, this year's Police Gold Commander, said "We have been working with the City of Edinburgh Council and event organisers for some months to plan and deliver this year's Hogmanay celebrations.
"Part of that dialogue includes the charging arrangements.
"Planning is at an advanced stage and I am certain that all the agencies involved will work together to deliver a fantastic event."
The force told BBC Scotland the bill would be "far less" than the £250,000 figure being quoted by critics, but that the total had still to be worked out.
The new national force, Police Scotland, has introduced a single policy on charging for policing commercial events.
Previously, the old regional police forces had different approaches.
Police Scotland say they cannot absorb the costs of policing commercial events at the expense of the public purse.
In general, organisers should expect to be charged for the full policing costs.
Police say they will work with event organisers to find ways of minimising the costs - for instance, where private security firms are also being used by the organisers.
The number of officers deployed to the Princes Street party has reduced over time.
But with 85,000 party-goers likely to turn out, a considerable number would still be required to police the event.
Councillor Steve Cardownie, Edinburgh's festivals and events champion, said the council was working "hand in hand with both the local police and the event organisers".
He added: "Any decision on charging is for the Scottish Police Authority to take."
"I advise everyone to make sure they buy their tickets for this year's Hogmanay celebrations before the discount for residents runs out on 28 November.
"It is going to be the place to bring in the bells for 2015."


A 16-year-old French girl has been placed under investigation, accused of planning a jihadist attack using the Telegram messaging app, judicial officials say.

The girl, who has no criminal record, was detained at her home on Thursday, after an anti-terror raid near Paris.
She was an administrator of a group on the encrypted app, and is alleged to have been calling for attacks.
The app had been used by the men who killed a priest in Normandy last month.
Thursday's raid was the result of monitoring by security services of suspicious behaviour on social networks, Le Parisien newspaper reports.
They noticed the thread where a few dozen members discussed so-called Islamic State (IS) propaganda, including calls to carry out attacks and videos, the newspaper said.
Investigations revealed the group administrator to be a 16-year-old secondary-school pupil.
"She relayed numerous Islamic State group propaganda messages calling for attacks, and she also expressed her own intention of taking action," a source close to the investigation told AFP news agency.
The security forces raided her family home in Melun, south-east of Paris, but found no explosives or firearms there, and took her into custody.
The investigators said the girl was "extremely radicalised" and was the administrator of the chat group dedicated to so-called Islamic State  propaganda on the app, deputy prosecutor Laure Vermeersch said late on Monday.
The girl - whose name has not been released - did not mention any specific targets,  Ms Vermeersch said.
She is being investigated for "criminal terrorist enterprise" and "provocation to commit terrorist acts using online communication".
On 26 July, two 19-year-olds stormed a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen, during Mass and slit the throat of an elderly priest before being killed by police.
One of them is said to have sent out encrypted audio messages on Telegram, proclaiming his intention of carrying out an attack, days before the pair struck.
France has lived under a state of emergency since jihadist attackers killed 130 people last November in Paris.
Parliament extended the measure for an additional six months after the lorry attack in the southern city of Nice that killed 85 people on Bastille Day last month.
Separately, Mourad Hamyd, the brother-in-law of Cherif Kouachi, one of the perpetrators of the attack against Charlie Hebdo in Paris in 2015, has said he agrees to be extradited to France from Bulgaria, AFP reports.
Mr Hamyd was arrested by the Bulgarian authorities on 28 July after being stopped from entering Turkey; he is believed to have wanted to join IS in Syria, reports say.


First quarter profits at Lloyds Banking Group have nearly halved after the bank was hit by the cost of buying back high income bonds.

Pre-tax profits for the three months to March fell to £654m, mainly due to a £790m charge for redeeming the bonds, called "enhanced capital notes".
However, chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said Lloyds' performance in the quarter had been "robust".
Underlying profits dipped 6% to £2.05bn for quarter.
Mr Horta-Osorio said the bank had "continued to make good progress".
No further provisions were made for PPI compensation, where complaint levels were running at an average of 8,500 a week, broadly in line with expectations.
The enhanced capital notes were issued in 2009 to raise capital in the wake of the financial crisis.
Lloyds redeemed the remaining £3bn of the bonds in the first quarter of the year in a move that could save the bank about £1bn over the next four years.
Shares in Lloyds were down 2.6% at 67.3p in afternoon trading.
Lloyds was rescued by the government during the financial crisis, which left the state holding a 43% stake in the bank.
The government has been steadily reducing its stake and now holds less than 10%.
In January, the chancellor postponed the sale of the government's final stake in Lloyds, blaming the  turmoil in financial markets.
Mr Horta-Osorio has cut thousands of jobs and said Thursday's results reflected the bank's "simple, low risk business model."
Lloyds, which is the largest retail bank in Britain, said total income fell 1% to £4.38bn as higher revenue from its retail bank was offset by lower income from its insurance division.
On Wednesday, Barclays reported a 25% drop in profits for the first quarter of the year.
It had set expectations low, warning it had been hit by the same headwinds that have hit profits across most of the world's biggest banks.


Ireland have announced that they are applying to the International Cricket Council for Test match status.

The Irish, who have set 2020 as their target entry date, are currently ICC associate members, which means they play one-day internationals and T20 games but not Test matches.
They have earned wins over Pakistan and England at the last two World Cups.
Central contracts are to be given to 23 Ireland players while coach Phil Simmons has signed a new two-year deal.
Simmons's contract extension will keep him in charge until the completion of the qualifying campaign for the next World Cup.
Cricket Ireland published a strategic plan on Tuesday which, it maintains, outlines a road map that will take the country to the Test arena by 2020.
The plan outlines proposals to establish a domestic first-class cricket structure in Ireland and to increase the numbers playing the game to 50,000.
Cricket Ireland chiefs also believe the country can improve its one-day world ranking from its current position of 11th to eighth and that the sport can become firmly established as the country's fourth most popular team sport behind Gaelic games, football and rugby.
"We have set ourselves a very clear long-term ambition - to become a full Test nation by 2020, nothing less," said chief executive Warren Deutrom.
"This is not a dreamy aspiration but a real ambition founded on the playing talent being developed on this island, the growing passion and profile of the game here, a sustained and proven track record of achievement on and off the field, and a clear roadmap set out by us for how to get there."
Cricket Ireland also confirmed that several new commercial funding deals are in place, while principal sponsors RSA Insurance are understood to have extended their deal until 2015.
Ireland's application for Test status aims to build on the momentum created by last year's memorable World Cup victory over England.
Irish cricket was stunned a month later when the International Cricket Council appeared to close the door on qualification for the 2015 World Cup by announcing plans to restrict places at the tournament to its 10 full member nations.
But after an outcry, the world governing body's executive board said in June that it was retaining the 14-team format and Ireland are already in a qualifying campaign for the 2015 tournament.
The win over England came four years after the heroic performance at their first World Cup appearance in 2007 when they shocked Pakistan to qualify for the second round of the competition.
But while Ireland have claimed notable scalps in the one-day game, the lack of Test cricket has led to players such as Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan declaring for England - albeit Joyce later resumed his Ireland career.
Irish fast bowler Boyd Rankin has also spoken of his desire to represent England at Test level and has already represented the England Lions side.


The Kansas City Royals came from behind to secure a 5-4 victory over the New York Mets in a dramatic opening game of the seven-match World Series.

The Mets were set for a 4-3 win when, at the bottom of the ninth, Alex Gordon hit a home run to bring the Royals level and force extra innings.
Eric Hosmer then hit long for Alcides Escobar to run in a 14th-inning winner.
Played over five hours and nine minutes, the match was the longest ever World Series game one.
It was also the joint longest ever World Series match by inning, tying with Boston's victory over Brooklyn in game two of the 1916 edition and the Chicago White Sox's triumph at Houston in game three in 2005.
Game two will be played on Wednesday, again in Kansas City, before the series shifts to New York for game three on Friday.
The Royals are appearing in their second consecutive Fall Classic, having lost out in the deciding seventh game to the San Francisco Giants last year.
For the Mets, this is a first World Series appearance since 2000, when they lost to city rivals the New York Yankees.


Welding work has begun to fix a fault on the Forth Road Bridge.

Officials released a picture of the latest works with workers accessing the shear fault on scaffolding erected around the northeast main tower leg.
The bridge has been closed to all traffic since 4 December after a crack was discovered in a truss under the carriageway.
Engineers are working towards having the Forth Road Bridge open to traffic by the first Monday in January.
Amey is also taking preventative action on another seven similar locations on the bridge to prevent issues from arising there, and installing structural monitoring systems.
It is estimated the work will cost about Â£2m to complete.
Other maintenance is also being carried out while the bridge is closed, including line painting and decking work, which authorities said would reduce the need for future closures and restrictions.


Officials are investigating a possible link between seeds sold by a UK firm and an E. coli outbreak in France.

News agency AFP said 10 people have been affected by E. coli in Bordeaux.
It is thought a number of them had eaten rocket and mustard vegetable sprouts, believed to have been grown from seeds sold by Thompson and Morgan.
The Ipswich-based company told the BBC it had no evidence of a link. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said no E. coli cases had been reported in the UK.
However, it has revised its guidance and is advising people not to eat raw sprouted seeds, including alfalfa, mung beans (or beansprouts) and fenugreek.
The agency said these should only be eaten if cooked until steaming hot throughout.
A spokeswoman for Thompson and Morgan said the company sold "hundreds of thousands of packets of these seeds" throughout France, the UK and other parts of Europe every year.
"We are very confident the problem is not with our seeds. People can still grow these seeds and use these seeds with absolute confidence," she said.
"For such a small number of people to have been affected, it does suggest that the problem is perhaps in the local area, how the seeds have been handled or how they have been grown, rather than the actual seeds themselves."
The company was co-operating fully with investigations, she added.
Paul Hansord, the company's managing director, said: "We make sure that everything we do is to a high standard."
He said the firm bought its seeds in bulk from suppliers around the world. The affected seeds may have been sourced from Italy.
Thompson and Morgan also said they did not raise any seeds, instead selling packets via mail order to gardeners.
Seven of those affected by the E. coli outbreak, who ate the sprouts at a country fair at Begres near Bordeaux, needed hospital treatment.
Close contact
The FSA says it is asking the company for more information about the seeds.
There is no suggestion of a link to the German E. coli outbreak, which came from bean sprouts grown on an organic farm, but two people are said to be infected with a similar strain.
Frederic Lefebvre, France's secretary of state for consumer affairs, was quoted by AFP recommending "consumers who bought these same products not use them".
Mr Lefebvre added: "The link between the symptoms and eating of the sprouts so far has not been definitively established."
The sale of the three seed types - mustard, rocket and fenugreek - has been halted in France.
Thompson and Morgan have provided samples of these seeds to investigators in the UK.
An FSA spokesman told the BBC: "We have been in contact with the French authorities about this outbreak and are aware that a UK business has been named in connection with it.
"No cases of food poisoning have been reported in the UK linked with the outbreak in France but we are in close contact with the Health Protection Agency.
"We have asked for further information from the French authorities with regard to the three named type of seeds to help us carry out investigations in the UK."


The Labour Party has suspended its Brighton and Hove branch amid claims of bullying and intimidation at its annual general meeting (AGM).

The election of a new executive committee (EC), which saw supporters of party leader Jeremy Corbyn voted into five top positions, was also annulled.
Labour's national executive committee said the suspension followed "alleged abusive behaviour" at Saturday's AGM.
New branch secretary Greg Hadfield said they were "fabricated smears".
A letter sent by Katherine Buckingham, the national party's head of disputes and discipline, said Labour had received "many complaints and reports of concern" following the meeting.
She wrote: "These allege abusive behaviour by some attendees, as well as reports that the ballot results were not properly reached.
"We are particularly concerned that the safety of members at the meeting was compromised."
The Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party will not be able to hold any meetings or leadership hustings until after the result of the national leadership election is known.
The letter states that any further meetings "may put the safety of members at risk".
Last weekend's vote was a distinct shift to the left for the branch, which has seen its membership treble in the past year.
More than 600 people attended the meeting at City College to vote in the senior members of the group following a rally by the pro-Corbyn grassroots group, Momentum.
Claire Wadey, who was one of the five people elected to the EC on Saturday, described the meeting as "incredibly tolerant, incredibly kind, very patient and respectful to all candidates".
"I really don't understand where this is coming from," she said.
Mr Hadfield said it was elected with more than 60% of votes cast, and it still intended to go ahead with its inaugural meeting next Tuesday.
He has asked for those who attended the AGM to "email their experiences" to the local party.


Scientists in China have described a new species of early bird, from two fossils with intact plumage dating to 130 million years ago.

Based on the age of the surrounding rocks, this is the earliest known member of the clade that produced today's birds: Ornithuromorpha.
It pushes back the branching-out of this evolutionary group by at least five million years.
The little bird appears to have been a wader, capable of nimble flight.
The discovery is reported in the journal Nature Communications.
Birds began to evolve from the dinosaurs some 150 million years ago at the tail end of the Jurassic period. This is the age of the famous but hotly contested "first bird" Archaeopteryx - now considered by many to be a feathered dinosaur.
Some 20 million years later, when the newfound species was wading and flitting through what would become north-eastern China, palaeontologists believe there was quite a variety of bird life.
About half of those species were Enantiornithes, a group of early birds with teeth and clawed wings that eventually all died out.
The other half, including the new find, were Ornithuromorpha - a group that eventually gave rise to modern birds and looked much more like them.
The branching event behind that forked diversity is what the new discovery pushes back in time; previously the earliest known Ornithuromorph was 125 million years old.
The pair of skeletons that define the new species, christened Archaeornithura meemannae, were dug up from the Sichakou basin in Hebei province.
"The new fossil represents the oldest record of Ornithuropmorpha," said first author Wang Min, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. "It pushes back the origination date... by at least five million years."
The specimens were well preserved, revealing a number of details about A. meemannae. The bird stood about 15cm tall and its legs, even on the upper regions, had no feathers, which suggests a wading lifestyle.
The size and shape of its bones also suggest good manoeuvrability in the air.