Friends and family bid farewell to Dame Deborah James during funeral
Lorraine Kelly, Gaby Roslin and McFly star Tom Fletcher were among those who attended
Close friends and family have paid tribute to cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James at a private funeral in West London.
McFly star Tom Fletcher and wife Giovanna, Lorraine Kelly and Gaby Roslin were among the attendees at St Mary’s Church in Barnes on Wednesday afternoon.
The podcast host and mother of two, who became known as Bowelbabe, her social media handle, died last month aged 40 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016.
The service saw husband Sebastien deliver a eulogy while their children Hugo and Eloise both read poems. Family friend and classically trained jazz singer Natalie Rushdie, who is married to novelist Salman Rushdie’s son Zafar, sang Tell Me It’s Not True from the musical Blood Brothers.
Cellist Charles Watt played music from Gabriel Faure, while family friend Sarah Mountford read an extract from Ecclesiastes.
After the service, the family left the church with bowed heads for a private wake, while Dame Deborah’s coffin was carried away by car. The Rev David Cooke stood at the gates to wish the mourners farewell.
On Wednesday morning, Dame Deborah’s coffin had arrived in a vintage Rolls-Royce hearse with more than a dozen members of family walking in procession behind.
Her husband and son were among those who carried the wicker coffin, adorned with the rose that bears her name, into St Mary’s Church in Barnes on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier this year, Dame Deborah had a rose named in her honour, which went on display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Ahead of the service, family members also carried a wreath of white flowers into the church.
An attached note said: “Deborah, thank you to our extraordinary friend. You together with Seb, Eloise and Hugo are such an important part of our family, we will love and miss you forever.”
The church bells chimed at 12.30pm ahead of the service, which began at 1pm. Dame Deborah, a former deputy headteacher, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and subsequently kept her nearly one million Instagram followers up to date with her treatments.
Her candid posts about her progress and diagnosis, including videos of her dancing her way through treatment, won praise from the public and media alike.
Her 'tireless' work raising awareness made her a dame
Dame Deborah revealed in early May that she had stopped active treatment and was seeing out her final days at her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey. She received end-of-life care with her husband, Sebastien, and their two children, 14-year-old Hugo and 12-year-old Eloise, by her side.
In her final months, the presenter of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C raised almost £7 million for cancer research, with the amount climbing further following her death.
She was made a dame for her “tireless” work improving awareness of the disease, with the honour conferred by the Duke of Cambridge, who joined her family for afternoon tea and champagne at home.
Her death was announced on June 28 with a message saying she had died peacefully, surrounded by her family. William and Kate, charities, celebrities and many whose lives have been affected by cancer shared tributes.
Life of Dame Deborah James
Pictured here in 2020, Deborah James was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 at the age of 35. After the diagnosis she began detailing her cancer and treatment in a newspaper column.
Deborah James became the much-loved presenter of the podcast You, Me And The Big C in 2018 alongside fellow cancer patients Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland.
She's become a campaigner, raising awareness of cancer and raising money too. In 2019 she ran the Vitiality London 10000 in her underwear to promote body confidence.
In May 2022 she announced she was receiving hospice at home care saying "We have tried everything, but my body simply isn't playing ball."
The cancer campaigner was honoured with a damehood in May 2022 after announcing she had moved to hospice-at-home care.
The 40-year-old podcast host had at that point raised over £4million after setting up a fund to raise money for clinical trials, research, and raising awareness of bowel cancer.
Dame Deborah James dies
On the 28th June 2022 it was announced that Dame Deborah had sadly passed away at the age of 40, after losing her battle with terminal bowel cancer. Her campaigning work raised over £7 million for her Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.