Bill Turnbull reveals he is 'calm' about prospect of death after 2017 cancer diagnosis

Former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull has said he feels “calm” about death after living with prostate cancer since 2017.

The 64-year-old revealed his diagnosis back in 2018, and has said he knows the Grim Reaper is “waiting” which has helped him develop "healthy relationship with death".

Though currently healthy, Turnbull has been making preparations for death, including considering what music he wants playing at his funeral.

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Talking to The Mirror, the father of three said: “I’ve thought a great deal about death since I was diagnosed with cancer because he’s there, y’know – the fella with the hood over his head and the scythe.

"He’s waiting, and that’s fine. I’ve developed quite a healthy relationship with death."

He added: “I feel very, very calm about it because I’ve given it a lot of thought. There’s no way I’m going to imagine I can live forever, nor would I really want to.

“You’re talking to someone who has an incurable disease so sooner or later it is going to come and get me. Later rather than sooner, hopefully.”

The Classic FM DJ has said his condition has meant he has to give "serious consideration" to his funeral, including “what sort of music” he wants at his funeral if he wants “to be buried or cremated”.

Turnbull presented BBC Breakfast for 15 years from 2001, and is partly remembered for his presenting partnership with Susanna Reid.

The now Good Morning Britain host left the BBC for ITV in 2014 and has since struck up a popular partnership with Piers Morgan.

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Turnbull and Reid were emotionally reunited earlier this year when he filled in for Morgan while he was on holiday.

The pair embraced on air and Turnbull said: "I can't believe this is really happening, it's so exciting. I feel like I'm coming home."

In 2019 he fronted a documentary entitled Bill Turnbull: Staying Alive, which saw exploring potential treatments for prostate cancer.