Lorraine Kelly and Gaby Roslin are seen among mourners arriving for the funeral of heroic cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James who raised more than £7M with her Bowelbabe Fund before her death aged 40

• Private ceremony in London is being attended by family and close friends, including chat show host Lorraine
• Dame Deborah, who became known as Bowelbabe, her social media handle, inspired millions with her videos

Mourners are gathering today for the funeral of Dame Deborah James – who inspired millions with her social media campaign to raise awareness of bowel cancer while raising more than £7m for charity. 

The podcast host and mother of two, who became known as Bowelbabe – after her social media handle – died last month aged 40 after being diagnosed with the disease in 2016. 

The private ceremony at a church in London is being attended by family and close friends, including TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, and Salman Rushdie’s son Zafar and his wife Natalie. 

Gaby Roslin, who rose to fame co-presenting The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 in the 1990s, was also among the mourners. 

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly was among those attending the funeral service for Dame Deborah James in London today 

Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie’s son Zafar and his wife Natalie were also spotted among the mourners 

Gaby Roslin, who rose to fame co-presenting The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 in the 1990s, was also among the mourners

Dame Deborah’s funeral is taking place at a church in London and is only open to close friends and family 

Dame Deborah died last month aged 40 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016. She became known as Bowelbabe, after her social media channel 

The former deputy headteacher was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and subsequently kept her nearly one million Instagram followers up to date with her treatments.

Her candid posts about her progress and diagnosis, including videos of her dancing her way through treatment, won praise from the public and media alike.

Dame Deborah revealed in early May she had stopped active treatment and was seeing out her final days at her parents’ home in Woking.

She received end-of-life care with her husband, Sebastien, and their two children, by her side.  

In her final months, the presenter of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C raised almost £7 million for research, with the amount climbing further following her death.

She was made a dame for her “tireless” work improving awareness of the disease, with the honour conferred by the Duke of Cambridge, who joined her family for afternoon tea and champagne at home.

Her death was announced on June 28 with a message saying she had died peacefully, surrounded by her family.

William and Kate, charities, celebrities and many whose lives have been affected by cancer shared tributes. 

The podcast host and mother of two, who became known as Bowelbabe, her social media handle, died last month aged 40 after being diagnosed with the disease in 2016

She was made a dame by the Duke of Cambridge at her family home, with William praising her for ‘going above and beyond to make a very special memory’. Also pictured is her husband, Sebastien, and their children, Hugo and Eloise 

And her Bowelbabe Just Giving fund is STILL going – having soared past £7million 

 Deborah James’ Just Giving page is still going strong – with donations currently standing at just over £7.4million. 

The Bowelbabe fund saw a surge in donations, pushing past £6.8m, in the hours after it was revealed the 40-year-old mother-of-two had passed away. 

In her final weeks, the presenter of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C raised the huge amount of cash for research and was made a dame for her ‘tireless’ work improving awareness of the disease.

Dame Deborah became a patron for Bowel Cancer UK following her diagnosis and worked to raise money and awareness of the charity. 

All donations will be used to fund causes that were close to Deborah’s heart including funding clinical trials and raising awareness of bowel cancer with the help of Cancer Research UK.

Its chief executive Genevieve Edwards said her legacy would live on through her campaigning work and that she had a ‘special gift’ to connect with the public which showed with the sheer volume of donations from the public.

To donate click HERE. . 

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