Fiona Phillips doesn't feel 'the same' after death of 'brother' Bill Turnbull

Fiona Phillips has said she hasn't "felt the same" since the death of her "brother" Bill Turnbull.

The two journalists were close and Phillips has been left reeling after Turnbull passed away last week aged 66, following a battle with prostate cancer.

She told the Mirror that the late BBC Breakfast star was "one in a million".

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"I just haven’t felt the same since hearing the awful news," she said.

Phillips, 61, worked with Turnbull on the BBC show Holding Back The Years five years ago.

The pair already knew each other but the programme – which ran from 2017 to 2018 – was the first time that they'd ever worked together closely and she said they really hit it off.

“He didn’t have an ego, unlike a lot of people in the business," she said.

"He was just so lovely, so caring and a gentleman," Phillips added. "By the end of filming I just felt like he was my brother.”

Turnbull announced in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Last week, a spokesperson said that he had passed away peacefully at his home in Suffolk on 31 August surrounded by his family.

The statement said: “Bill will be remembered by many as a remarkable broadcaster who brought warmth and humour into people’s homes on BBC Breakfast and Classic FM. He was also a devoted Wycombe Wanderers fan and an ever-aspiring beekeeper.

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“Bill was a wonderful husband and father to his three children; his family and friends will miss how he always made them laugh, and the generosity and love he shared with those around him.”

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