Susanna Reid, a former co-presenter of Bill Turnbull’s, remembers him today after he passed away at age 66: “Bill Turnbull remarked after his prostate cancer diagnosis five years ago that he ‘couldn’t have any complaints’ if he were to die the next day.”
The former BBC Breakfast host stated in a March 2018 Radio Times interview that he had found out he had the cancer while shooting for The Great British Bake Off’s Stand Up to Cancer special the year before.
Reid, who was visibly moved as she spoke on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today, remembered Turnbull’s remarks at the time, adding that she was “so glad to have met him” and that his comments “truly touched home to me when I read them.”
The contract I believed I had with life has been significantly curtailed, according to Turnbull. You have to think positively, right? I’m realistic about the long-term chances since I know I won’t be healed, but they’re not too horrible.
Most significantly, I really believe that my life has been excellent, filled with incredible opportunities as a reporter and a presenter. And I wouldn’t have any problems if it all ended tomorrow. I’ve had an absolutely wonderful experience.
Reid also told GMB today: “I was totally knocked sideways yesterday by the death of Bill.” Reid initially collaborated with Turnbull more than 25 years ago as his producer when he was a journalist for BBC News in Washington.
He was such a delightful guy to be around, and I don’t want to seem depressing when I speak about him because he had such a great sense of humour, she added.
He was referred to as a “saucepot” when he first started hosting this show because of his propensity for using double entendres. He was fun to be around.
Reid also recalled today how Turnbull, who she compared to “the dog whisperer,” helped one of her children get over their dog-fear.
She explained to BBC Breakfast hosts Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty why Turnbull’s dogs were “such a vital part of his life.”
Reid stated, “He welcomed me and my family, my children, to his house to spend the day with Sesi and the dogs when we all moved up to Salford. At the time, my middle kid was utterly terrified of all animals.
We were unable to have a pet since the man was practically sitting in the kitchen and would get frightened if there was a cat in the yard. Bill took it in his hands and urged my kid to toss a ball for Bonnie, his adored black labrador, in a very kind manner.
My son’s phobia of dogs was entirely gone by the end of that day. We were allowed to bring a cat home with us. He was similar to Dr. Dolittle, the dog whisperer, or the kid whisperer.
He could talk to the animals, after all. He was incredible; they had such a special place in his heart, and he yearned for everyone to share in that feeling.
Reid said her former morning co-host was akin to the “founder of BBC Breakfast” earlier today.
She stated, when appearing with some of Turnbull’s other former coworkers, “He mentored everyone on the show, he was like the father of BBC Breakfast.”
He was kind, caring, smart, and a fantastic friend. I enjoyed every minute of being with him, and we are going to miss him dearly. He taught me everything, and he taught so many of us everything about journalism, television, and being a nice person in this field.
Louise Minchin, a former co-star who also paid homage today, thanked Turnbull for being “generous with his time” and revealed that he was one of the first people she spoke with when she made the decision to quit BBC Breakfast.
She was one of the people honoured on the show this morning in memory of the former host, who passed away on Wednesday after a “challenging and dedicated battle against prostate cancer.”
Minchin, who made her debut on the network’s premier morning news programme in 200l, bid goodbye to BBC Breakfast in September 2021, while Turnbull left the couch after 15 years in 2016.
Turnbull was included in an emotional farewell at Minchin’s last show, when he praised her for being “most of all a kind, cheery girl who will always be my friend.”
We’re still members of a lottery syndicate, which I’m still playing and will continue to play, so I think it was kindness and generosity with his time even when I was still in contact with him, she said on BBC Breakfast. But he was always considerate of others’ time.
As an example, when I decided to quit BBC Breakfast, Bill was one of the first people I spoke with about it. You see, he was unwell at the time, but he still took time out of his day to have a lengthy chat with me about it.
“And I believe we all really loved that, you know, he had a great stature and a very significant reputation, but he always would give back to all of us,” the speaker said.
Following his own diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2017, Minchin also remembered how Turnbull had been a “stickler for grammar” and complimented the effort he had done to promote awareness of the disease.
And Minchin gushed about how much fun it had been to host BBC Breakfast with Bill Turnbull.
She added to Munchetty and Stayt on the morning show, “I liked working with Bill, and I love what we’ve all said about him.
He was just hilarious. He had that filthy, wicked sense of humour that was so devilish. And sometimes you’d get a glimpse of the twinkle in his eye and think, “Oh no, I’m leaving,” and once you’d left, there was no turning back.
The first rule he gave me when I began working with him was that I had to constantly laugh at his jokes. Even if they weren’t always humorous, I always found something to giggle about.
And the best part of hearing us all chat about dad and seeing my old images is that those are the memories I’ll never lose. They are just tiny chuckles that we often experience.
Minchin said that if it weren’t for Turnbull, she may not be such a skilled journalist.
He wasn’t just a team for me, she said, adding that he was a team for the whole production crew. I am aware of how much we all cherished him.
And that’s not to say that he wasn’t sometimes strict with us and me; if he believed that your journalism wasn’t rigorous or that you were using phrases that were on that unofficial blacklist, he would always approach you and have a sort of quiet talk.
But the programme was always at the centre of how that was done.
If it weren’t for him and that type of attention to detail, she said, “I wouldn’t be such a terrific journalist.”
Turnbull received his prostate cancer diagnosis in November 2017 and subsequently discussed his treatment in the Staying Alive series on Channel 4. At his Suffolk house, he passed away.
Karen Hardy, a past partner of Turnbull on Strictly Come Dancing, also paid tribute to him on BBC Breakfast.
She said: “I applaud him for truly being a significant part of where Strictly is now,” speaking from New Zealand. He provided entertainment for the gathering and was always gushing about his amazing family.
Adding that he was a “amazing gentleman,” Hardy, who costarred with Turnbull on the BBC One series in 2005, told Munchetty and Stayt: “And we’re commemorating him which is fantastic.”
Sian Williams, Turnbull’s former co-host, also reminisced about their time spent together on the red couch of BBC Breakfast.
She described the experience in a piece for The Daily Telegraph. “When we were interviewing a celebrity and it had gone on too long and one of us was stymied for questions, we devised a code word to encourage the other to step in: “So, what next for you? “,” she wrote.
We knew not to look at one another if we reported an extremely sad tale or we’d both leave, and we had code phrases for when we wanted to laugh but were not permitted to.
We supported one another. We never had a disagreement or a fight in three decades. Because he appeared on film as who we all knew him to be in real life, the fans adored him.
Turnbull’s family complimented the care he had from his GP, the St. Elizabeth Hospice, the Royal Marsden, and the Ipswich hospitals.
‘He was steadfastly optimistic and was enormously boosted by the love he got from friends, colleagues, and letters from people wishing him well,’ his family said in a statement released Tuesday morning.
Bill found tremendous solace in the fact that so many more guys are now being tested for this cancer sooner.
Bill will be remembered by many as a brilliant broadcaster who, on BBC Breakfast and Classic FM, brought joy and warmth into people’s homes.
Turnbull joined BBC News as a reporter in 1990, covering important topics including the OJ Simpson trial and the Monica Lewinsky affair from more than 30 different nations.
Together, they worked as presenters for BBC Breakfast from 2001 until 2012, when Sian Williams left the show after it moved from London to Salford.
He appeared on television in a variety of other places than BBC Breakfast, such as as the host of BBC One’s Songs Of Praise.
He has made cameos on Countdown’s dictionary corner and other TV shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Through The Keyhole, Celebrity Mastermind, Would I Lie To You?, Pointless Celebrities, and Room 101.
In the Doctor Who episode The Wedding Of River Song from 2011, he portrayed himself. He is survived by his three children, Henry, Will, and Flora, as well as his wife Sesi, whom he wed in March 1988.