(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- The legendary Bill Turnbull passed away last week his family said, according to the Guardian. Turnbull was a former BBC Breakfast host for 15 years before stepping down in 2016 after the show moved to Salford. He subsequently began to host his own radio talk show on Classic FM, which he broadcasted until recently.
“Bill was diagnosed in 2017 and has had outstanding medical care from the Royal Marsden and Ipswich hospitals, St Elizabeth hospice and his GP. He was resolutely positive and was hugely buoyed by the support he received from friends, colleagues, and messages from people wishing him luck. It was a great comfort to Bill that so many more men are now testing earlier for this disease,” a statement from his family read.
He passed away on August 31 surrounded by friends and family.
The acclaimed and beloved broadcaster announced his diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2018 when the disease spread to his bones, around the same time that Stephen Fry had undergone surgery for prostate cancer. Turnbull informed us of the diagnosis during a celebrity edition of The Great British Bake Off—in aid of Cancer Research’s Stand Up to Cancer. He was also an ambassador for Prostate Cancer UK.
“Our friend and ambassador Bill Turnbull has died,” the charity wrote on Twitter. “Bill worked tirelessly to raise awareness of prostate cancer following his diagnosis in 2017, and it was our privilege to work alongside him. Our thoughts are with Bill’s loved ones today.”
Turnbull’s diagnosis reportedly prompted a rise in cancer screenings from men, according to NHS Chief Executive Simon Stephens.
Those who have been affected by Turnbull’s death have had nothing but kindness to say about the 66-year-old man. He was just as interesting as he was beloved. He told us that his justification for leaving BBC Breakfast was his love for bees, saying that he had been “neglecting my bees for too long.”
In his 2011 memoir, The Bad Beekeepers Club, he wrote about his time as a beekeeper, recounting the time he failed to zip up his bee suit properly and a bee got inside and stung him. “One half of my head swelled. Not a great look for a Breakfast TV presenter,” he said. “I had to take a day off for the Shrek-like symptoms to subside.”
