Bill Turnbull has been laid to rest as his family, friends and BBC colleagues attended his funeral today. It comes after the celebrated TV broadcaster heartbreakingly lost his battle with prostate cancer at the end of August.
The star’s funeral saw his BBC co-stars in attendance, including former BBC Breakfast Host Louise Minchin, Charlotte Hawkins and Susanna Reid.
Sian Williams and Naga Munchetty also attended the service which was held at Holy Trinity church in Blythburgh, Suffolk, this afternoon.
The BBC broadcaster’s family confirmed Bill had died at the age of 66 following a five-year battle with prostate cancer.
Today, his oak coffin was carried by six pallbearers into the church and was adorned with a red and purple bouquet of flowers.
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His two sons, Henry and Will, and his son-in-law are believed to be carrying his coffin.
Sian, who hosted BBC Breakfast next to Bill for over 10 years, branded him a “great bloke”.
She said: “I think it is a day of sadness and reflection, and I hope sometime today there will also be time to celebrate his life because he was a great friend and a great man.
“And he has so many different connections to so many different people who cherish him that I hope we can have that time together where we can share those memories.
“I wish he were able to understand how much he was valued, and I think it is incredible the number of people here who just wanted to come and celebrate and pay their respects to him.”
She went on: “Bill made a lot of friends and he was a very loyal friend and he was great to work with as a professional, but when you’re sitting alongside someone like that there is a lot of trust that goes with that.
“I think the reason that so many people have turned out today to pay their respects – to think about him and share memories of him and to celebrate him – is because he was a good man.
“He was a great bloke, he was great to work with, he was a great friend and you see that here with the number of people who wanted to express that,” she told PA news agency.
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Naga also paid tribute to her friend and co-star, saying: “Bill was the grammar hammer; he was so on top of his grammar plurals, singulars… He was all over it.
“He was passionate about the job and passionate about the journalism and passionate about the audience.
“The audience was all that mattered and all that does matter and Bill never forgot that – he was a joy to sit beside.
She continued: “To sit next to Bill was always an experience, it was always fun, it was always focused but it was also about the audience.
“It was telling the story, being part of the story, which is always a privilege, and hearing people’s experiences and helping to relay those to our audience.
“It was the audience – that’s what Bill was about,” she said to PA.
Bill’s family released a candid statement following his cancer diagnosis as they confirmed he died on August 31.
The Classic FM host was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017 and had shared insight with fans about his health woes on-screen and in various documentaries.