Deborah James tells children to 'take a chance' in poignant letter penned before death

Elon Musk’s verdict on Amazon’s massive budget drama series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? “Tolkien is turning in his grave”.

Dame Deborah James' mother has appeared on ITV Lorraine this morning (18 August) to promote her late daughter's new book, How To Live When You Could Be Dead, which is released today. In her first studio interview since the death of her daughter almost two months ago, Heather told Christine Lampard how Deborah spent the last two years writing the book and described the final chapters, which were penned in the last few weeks of Deborah’s life, as “emotional”.

Seven weeks after the sad passing of Dame Deborah James , her book How To Live When You Could be Dead is published tomorrow. The podcast host and journalist, who also went by the nickname 'bowel babe' died on 28 June aged 40, with her family announcing the news in a heartbreaking statement on social media . The mum of two and former teacher was diagnosed in 2016 aged 35.

Dame Deborah James, the much loved star better known to the world as Bowel Babe, has revealed how she was taken under the wing of her fellow long-term cancer patients ahead of her death. The late star, who passed away in June after a long battle with bowel cancer, revealed the kindness of her fellow patients in an extract from her, book How To Live When You Could Be Dead.

Dame Deborah James has said in her book, How To Live When You Could Be Dead, that she suffered from "severe allergic reactions" to chemotherapy that led to anxiety attacks. In an extract written in her own words, the late star said: "On one occasion, I had a particularly serious anxiety attack when I was undergoing chemo. Medically I was fine, but I was utterly sure I would die.

her death on June 28 2022, and now continues in her name, her memory, and here, in her own words. “At the age of 35, I was blindsided by incurable bowel cancer – I was given a less than 8 per cent chance of surviving five years. ” She did survive five years, during which time she lost too many close friends, but somehow maintained her radical optimism, her absolute love of life, and her belief that being human is always beautiful, even when it’s terrible.

Sharing words of wisdom. Prince William gave the children of late BBC presenter Deborah James advice on how to cope with losing a parent when he visited the family earlier this year.

Prince William had a kind ear for the children of the late BBC presenter, Deborah James. In a recent interview with, James’ husband, Sebastian Bowen, speaks about the Duke of Cambridge's visit to their home ahead of the journalist’s death in June.  Bowen shares that the royal came to their house and joined the family for champagne and to grant James damehood.

Dame Deborah James' mother has told how much the support of the public in her daughter’s final weeks meant to her, and has also spoken of her greatest heartbreak during Deborah's last days. Podcaster and campaigner Dame Deborah, known by her social media handle Bowelbabe, died on June 28 at the age of 40, after being diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 35. Appearing on BBC Breakfast this morning (16 August), Deborah's mum Heather James spoke of the hardest moment during the weeks leading up to her daughter's tragic death.

Prince William gave Dame Deborah James’ children advice on how to cope with the loss of their mother, it has been revealed.The Prince of Wales visited Dame Deborah this summer at her home, where she was receiving end-of-life care.The future king presented the broadcaster and campaigner – also known as BowelBabe – with a damehood, to recognise her incredible work raising money for, and awareness of, bowel cancer.Dame Deborah died in July, after raising over £7.4 million for cancer research – a number which shot up in the days after her death.Now, in a new interview, her husband Sebastien has revealed the kindness Prince William showed to their children after having lost his own mother, Princess Diana, when he was just 15 years old.The father-of-two, who shares Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, with Dame Deborah, said William ‘felt like a friend, but he was the future king.’He told The Times the prince was ‘so relaxed’ and instantly broke the ice with himself and his wife over a glass of champage.‘Deborah had a glass of champagne, a glass of wine and a glass of sherry in front of her,’ Sebastien recalled.‘She hadn’t been allowed a drink for months and the first thing William said was, “I’m glad to see you are triple parked.”‘There were, of course, serious moments, with Sebastien revealing the prince gave advice to Eloise and Hugo as they prepared to say goodbye to their mum.‘He’s obviously been through similar grief with the loss of his mother so he gave powerful advice to the children that will stay with them forever,’ he said.Princes William and Harry were 15 and 12 respectively when Diana, Princess of Wales, was tragically killed in a crash in Paris in August 1997.Both often speak about their continued love for their mother

Dame Deborah James’ husband Sebastien Bowen has opened up about his wife’s final days in a heartbreaking new interview. Deborah raised over £7million for bowel cancer research before passing away in June at the age of 40. In a touching interview with The Times, Sebastien has described his wife’s struggles and the magical days they spent together with children Hugo, 14 and 12-year-old Eloise.

Sebastien Bowen, the widower of the late Dame Deborah James, has discussed their final months together in a moving tribute.The London banker discussed how even the doctors “were in tears” when Deborah was moved on to end of life care. Sebastien’s late wife Deborah died two months ago after a five-year-long battle with incurable bowel cancer. On June 28, Deborah died at the age of 40 surrounded by her friends and family, after raising millions for cancer charities. Deborah used her voice on the BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C, as well as on her Instagram @Bowelbabe to raise awareness for the disease. The presenter and Sebastien are parents to 14-year-old son Hugo and a daughter called Eloise, 12.In Deborah’s final few weeks, she returned to her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey, to spend time with her family before her death. Sebastien recalled the heartbreaking moment it was decided Deborah had to be placed on end-of-life care after bravely fighting for five years. “She came home from the Royal Marsden when they couldn’t do any more, and even the doctors who had been looking after her for the past five years and were cut from steel were in tears,” he explained.“We were told she might not make it to the weekend but, somehow, she found this inner strength and managed another eight weeks. “They were some of the most mind-blowing, magical days of both our lives.”Later on in his interview with The Times, he went on to speak about how full of life Deborah was.“She was making the most of every last moment. But that was her,” he reflected.

The late Dame Deborah James revealed in her posthumous book that she suffered "periods of frequent, crippling panic attacks" that stopped following her cancer diagnosis. The 40 year old mother of two passed away on June 28 after a valiant five-year battle with bowel cancer, during which time she raised awareness about the disease, as well as a jaw-dropping £7million for cancer research.

bowel cancer. In the letter, published by The Sun, Dame Deborah tells her son Hugo and daughter Eloise that they are “my world”. She writes: “I believe in self-fulfilling prophecies, I believe in rebellious hope and I believe my children will be OK when I die.

The final letter written by the late Dame Deborah James, which she sent to her family, has been revealed for the first time since her passing on 28 June 2022.The author, journalist, podcast host and cancer campaigner who lost her battle with the disease, wrote the book How To Live When You Could Be Dead whilst she was terminally ill. In an extract of a letter she wrote to her family in the book, which was obtained by The Sun, the dame shared her experience of her four year fight with cancer, and how to stay strong in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Deborah James’ husband Sebastien has shared the final words he said to her before she “slipped away”. The campaigner, who became known as bowelbabe, passed away aged 40 in June after battling bowel cancer for five years. Speaking to The Sun, her beloved husband Sebastien said that he told her how proud he was of her in her final moments.

The husband of the late Dame Deborah James has recalled his last moments with his wife in his first interview since she passed away on 28 June at the age of 40. The podcast host and mother-of-two, who had the nickname Bowelbabe, lost her fight with cancer earlier this year after being diagnosed with bowel cancer back in 2016. Deborah’s husband Sebastien, 42, has now opened up about his last moments with her in his first interview following her death.

Dame Deborah James’ husband has spoken for the first time of his grief and recalled her ‘peaceful’ death.Sebastian Bowen married Dame Deborah in 2008 and the pair enjoyed 14 happy years together before the beloved campaigner died of bowel cancer this year.The banker, who shares two children with the former broadcaster, has spoken out for the first time since her death, saying he remains ‘so proud’ of his wife.Father-of-two Bowen said that, after all her fighting, Dame Deborah had an ‘incredibly peaceful death’ and was surrounded by those who loved her.He told The Sun that he held her hand as she died and reminded her of her how proud he was of her, after her efforts to raise awareness of the disease and raising millions for charity.Recalling the moment of her death, he said: ‘I kissed her on the head, I told her how much I loved her, that I would look after the kids and the last thing I said to her was that I was so proud of her. ‘Then she slipped away,’ he said, adding that in the end, ‘it was quite spiritual.’Bowen, 42, who had children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, with Dame Deborah, says he remains in ‘total awe’ of his wife and all she achieved.Asked what he would miss most about her, he instantly replied ‘her magic.’‘Her way of finding joy in every moment – even in the darkest of times.’Bowen added it was a ‘rare thing’ and part of ‘what made her unique.’In the last seven weeks of her life alone Deborah was made a Dame and had the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, over for tea at her parents’ home to accept the honour.On top of raising £7.4 million for cancer research, Dame Deborah also launched a clothing line, designing charity T-shirts to raise another £1 million for her BowelBabe Fund.

Dame Deborah James’ husband Sebastien has shared the emotional last words he said to his loving wife as she “slipped away.”The brave campaigner for bowel cancer sadly passed away at the age of 40 back in June following her five-year battle with bowel cancer.She was later laid to rest in a funeral attended by her close friends and family in July, as a swarm of her loyal legion of fans took to social media to pay tribute to the former headteacher.READ MORE: Deborah James' first warning signs of bowel cancer 5 years before tragic deathNow, just one month after her death, Dame Deborah’s beloved husband Sebastien has opened up about his final words to his wife as she took her last breath.The doting dad revealed how he told the activist how proud he was of all that she had achieved and vowed to look after their two children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12.He recalled his final moment with his wife to The Sun, confessing: “I kissed her on the head.

Deborah James’ mother Heather has said she will miss the late podcast star ‘forever’.Heather took to Instagram to make a touching tribute to her beloved daughter who passed away from bowel cancer aged 40 on June 28.She shared a picture of Dame Deborah, known as BowelBabe, on holiday, posing in a floral maxi dress with pink bow shoulder straps paired with a pink headband and bangles on her wrist.Heather, who goes by the name Bowelgran on Instagram, captioned the image: ‘A year ago we were on holiday with you- miss you forever.’ Dame Deborah who became an avid cancer campaigner and fundraised following her diagnosis in 2016, was laid to rest on July 20 in a private ceremony attended by close friends, family and a host of celebrities including presenters Lorraine Kelly, Gaby Roslin and McFly singer Tom Fletcher.The former deputy headteacher had gained an army of fans for her candid posts about how she navigated through her illness, including videos of her dancing as she underwent treatment.She launched the You, Me And The Big C podcast in 2018 along with friends Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland, and went on to raise more than £6million for her Bowelbabe Fund.The author also launched a hugely-popular Rebellious Hope charity T-shirt, and was presented with a Damehood by Prince William – all while spending her final weeks at home, in hospice care, with her family by her side.In early May, she revealed that she had stopped active treatment and was receiving end-of-life care at her parents’ Woking home.Speaking of her grief on Sunday her co-host Lauren told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘It’s really weird, because it’s almost like I can compartmentalise so I can come and talk to you guys about the podcast and my wonderful wonderful

Dame Deborah James' mum said she will miss her late daughter "forever" in a heartbreaking tribute.The much-loved campaigner, podcast host and fundraiser lost her fight against bowel cancer on June 28 aged 40 following a diagnosis in 2016. A funeral was held on July 20 in a private ceremony which saw friends and family lay the star known as BowelBabe to rest. Among the mourners were a host of celebrities including Lorraine Kelly, Gaby Roslin and McFly singer Tom Fletcher.