Following an emotional farewell service for the cancer activist with family, friends, and notables including Lorraine Kelly, Tom Fletcher, and Gaby Roslin, Dame Deborah James’ husband and two young children have departed the chapel.
Hugo Poland Bowen, 14, delivered a poem he had written while his sister Eloise, 12, also gave a reading. Hugo Poland Bowen carried his mother’s wicker coffin into the church.
Sebastien, the deceased’s husband, gave a eulogy, while Natalie Rushdie, a family friend and classically trained jazz singer who is married to the son of author Salmon Rushdie, Zafar, sang Tell Me It’s Not True.
Dame Deborah’s coffin was being driven out of the cathedral as the family exited in silence, bowing their heads and departing for a private wake.
Before the service, more than a dozen members of her family, including Sebastien, Hugo, and Eloise, arrived at the church in a classic Rolls-Royce hearse with the casket.
Before helping to carry the casket inside the church, which was decorated with a rose that was named in her honour, Sebastien and Hugo were welcomed by the rector of St. Mary’s Church in Barnes, south-west London.
Dame Deborah, a mother of two and podcast host known online as Bowelbabe, passed away last month at the age of 40 after being given the news of her colon cancer diagnosis in 2016.
A garland of white flowers was carried into the cathedral earlier today by TV presenters Kelly and Roslin, who were also close friends of Dame Deborah.
A note attached to the flowers said: ‘Deborah, thank you to our extraordinary friend. You, together with Seb, Eloise and Hugo [her husband and children] are such an important part of our family, we will love and miss you forever.’
They also carried a music sheet with an image of Dame Deborah for the Blood Brothers song Tell Me It’s Not True.
As they arrived, singer Tom Fletcher and his podcaster wife Giovanna were seen holding hands. At 12:30, the church bells rang to signal the start of the private service, which officially began at 1 with readings and music performed by family members.
Following her 2016 bowel cancer diagnosis, Dame Deborah, a former deputy headteacher, updated her almost one million Instagram followers on her treatments.
She received praise from the public and the media for her open posts about her treatment and success, which included footage of her dancing through it.
Early in May, Dame Deborah made known that she had stopped receiving active treatment and was spending her dying days at Woking, Surrey, at her parents’ house.
With her husband Sebastien and their two children, son Hugo, 14, and daughter Eloise, 12, by her side, she received end-of-life care.
The host of the BBC podcast You, Me, and the Big C raised nearly £7 million for cancer research during her final months, and the total increased after her passing.
The Duke of Cambridge joined Dame Deborah’s family for afternoon tea and champagne at their house before presenting her with the honour of becoming a dame for her “tireless” efforts to raise awareness of the disease.
On June 28, a note stating that she had passed away quietly while surrounded by her family was released.
Celebrities, charities, William and Kate, and many more whose lives have been impacted by cancer paid tribute.