George Alagiah’s tribute to Dame Deborah James: Late presenter praised campaigner for bringing ‘joy and hope’ to cancer patients in a resurfaced clip
- BBC presenter paid tribute to the cancer campaigner on the Today programme
- READ MORE: The ‘amazing’ family by George Alagiah’s side: How wife Frances Robathan, his university sweetheart, and their sons Adam and Matthew supported the BBC presenter throughout his bowel cancer battle
George Alagiah said Dame Deborah James brought ‘joy’ to people living with cancer in a clip that has resurfaced following his death aged 67.
The BBC newsreader and foreign correspondent, who passed away from bowel cancer, told BBC Radio 4 last year that Dame Deborah’s journey with the same illness was just one way that people cope with cancer.
The clip, which was replayed on The Today Programme on Radio 4 this morning, was recorded last year following cancer campaigner Deborah’s death at the age of 40.
He speaks to fellow BBC star Amol Rajan, who presents the Today Programme twice a week, about the influence the cancer campaigner had on him as someone living with cancer.
The father-of-two also drew attention to the cancer journeys of people who care for those living with cancer – in particular his wife, Frances Robothan.
BBC newsreader and foreign correspondent George Alagiah, who died from bowel cancer at the age of 67, paid tribute to Dame Deborah James following her death from the same illness last June in a resurfaced clip
Speaking to Amol, George said: ‘I believe there are as many ways of dealing with cancer as there are people with cancer.
‘Deborah had her own way, her very public way, my god, she’s brought such joy and hope in equal measure to so many of us.’
Last year, in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, George revealed how he sought solace in Dame Deborah’s advice when he learnt the cancer had spread to his lungs.
He explained that she had learnt of the same development in her illness at the same time, and so a mutual friend put them in touch via a phone call.
‘When I called her, she was walking out of the Marsden, having had her own regular scan to see if the cancer was spreading. That day, it was okay,’ he recalled.
Despite telling her to end the call and tell her family immediately of the development, he said the campaigner insisted on chatting for another 30 minutes about living with bowel cancer.
However, as well as the people who are living with cancer, he added that people often forget the journeys of people who are caring for people with cancer.
Recalling an interview he once conducted with the wife of a cancer patient, he said: ‘Not enough is talked about these people because my wife Fran – she’s my wife, she’s my carer, she’s my lover, so many things.
‘But she’s got o move from one day when I’m saying, ‘Hey I feel absolutely great, what about that weekend trip to Amsterdam’?
‘And then the next day I get up and say, ‘I feel absolutely rubbish’ and she’s got to go into ‘maybe I’ll get the spare room ready and make some soup’.
In the clip, from BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, George praised Dame Deborah’s public cancer journey for bringing ‘such joy and hope’ to people
‘These things [carers] have to do at the flick of a switch and maintain their own emotional journey… watching the person they love.
‘So I think it’s really important to understand the role of carers.’
He concluded that both carers and the patients themselves had to be considered when it came to cancer journeys.
George revealed that, when he was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, it took him ‘three to six months’ to get his head around the fact he was now in ‘sort your affairs out’ territory.
Elsewhere in the interview, he spoke about his desire to continue working as a journalist while facing cancer and having treatment.
He praised the ‘amazing, bright, young, energetic team’ he worked with on BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten for ‘keeping me alive in my head’ – although he admitted he was often ‘knackered’ after a day in the studio.
Amol responded by telling George the team ‘adore’ him – to which he bashfully laughed.
His admiration for the BBC team was emphasised by his friend and fellow newsreader Sophie Raworth during last night’s BBC News at Six bulletin.
She revealed George’s final wish had been to come back on air and bid farewell to his faithful audience – but he never had the chance to.
Instead, an emotional pre-recorded message from the broadcaster, who died ‘peacefully’ surrounded by his family yesterday aged 67, was played to BBC viewers where the much-loved presenter said he had ‘gotten to a place to see life as a gift’.
It came moments after Sophie paid her own tribute, saying: ‘I saw him just a few weeks ago. He told me he had hoped to come back to work one last time to say thank you and goodbye, right here, live on air in the studio.
‘He didn’t get the chance, so we have done it for him. I will leave you now with in his own words.’
The presenter appeared to pinch her hand as she read off the autocue, in what seemed to be an attempt not to become emotional during the segment as a video montage of Alagiah began to play.
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