Prince William and Dame Debs’ family lead tributes on first anniversary of her death

PRINCE William today led tributes to Dame Deborah James on the first anniversary of her death.

The bowel cancer campaigner passed away aged 40, more than five years after being diagnosed.

The Prince of Wales, 41, had been a huge supporter of the mum-of-two ever since he honoured her with a Damehood last May – after a Sun campaign to recognise her incredible fundraising achievements.

And on June 28, 2023, he once again hailed her an “inspiration”.

The royal said: “Dame Debs would be so proud.

“She inspired the nation. Her legacy will be countless lives saved from bowel cancer.”

To mark 12 months since her death, a song is being released to raise money for her Bowelbabe Fund.

The cover of Blood Brothers hit, Tell Me It’s Not True by jazz star Natalie Rushdie, is out next Monday.

Just a week before Dame Debs died, the cancer campaigner and Sun writer asked her close friend Natalie to sing the track at her funeral.

Now, to mark the first anniversary of her death, Dame Debs’ family and friends said it would be a “dream come true” if the single topped the charts.

Mum Heather and dad Alistair said: “Can you imagine if it got to number one? Deborah would’ve loved it.

“It is really very emotional for me to listen to, it was Deborah’s favourite song – and this version is simply beautiful.

“The lyrics, ‘Tell me it’s not true, say it’s just a story, something on the news… say it’s just a dream’, are as emotional now as they were a year ago when Natalie sang at the funeral.

“Deborah couldn’t really believe she was going to die – she had so much more living to do. I think that’s why the song really got to her.”

It was through her husband Seb, that Dame Debs met Natalie seven years ago.

Seb, who is dad to Deborah’s two children Hugo, 15 and Eloise, 13, and Zaf Rushdie have been pals for 25 years.

Thanking his close friends, Seb told The Celeb Report: “Deborah loved music and she loved to dance, she would be over the moon at the idea of starring in a music video.

“It is so touching to have Natalie pay such a beautiful tribute to her.

“She performed it beautifully at Deborah’s funeral, and this production is simply breathtaking.”

Not only does the single have Debs’ family’s backing, but it’s received the royal seal of approval.

Prince William said: “I’m wishing Natalie all the very best for her single release to raise money for such an important cause.”

‘SO MUCH TO LOVE ABOUT DEBS’

For Natalie the decision to record the song was an easy one – such was the closeness of her friendship with Debs.

“I’ll never forget when I first met Deborah for the first time, it was at a big charity ball and she was just a stunning vision of green sequins,” she said.

“We connected immediately, sharing a love of music, sparkles and fun.

“There was so much to love about Deborah, her spark and love of life, the fact she was utterly bonkers and so full of joy all the time.

“She was brave, forward thinking, obsessed with science, an incredible teacher and she never gave up.”

While the pair’s friendship was built on a shared love of life, it was cemented as they both faced parallel health battles.

Not long after they met, Natalie found herself undergoing tests for bowel cancer – after her nanna Mary died of the disease aged 71.

“Deborah was such a wonderful supportive friend, she sent me scientific studies, told me the questions I had to ask doctors, and always checked in on me,” said Natalie.

“When my nanna was diagnosed it was a time when no one talked about their bowels, and certainly didn’t speak about poo.

“She was embarrassed and she left it too late, and unfortunately she passed away.

“That’s just another reason why I loved Deborah so much, her message and relentless campaigning to raise awareness really resonated with me.”

Natalie wasn’t the only one.

NHS figures reveal that thanks to the ‘Dame Debs effect’, referrals for bowel cancer soared by a staggering 113 per cent in 2022/23 compared to the previous year.

Dame Cally Palmer, National Cancer Director for NHS England, said yesterday: “Deborah’s column in The Celeb Report, Things Cancer Made Me Say, represented such a powerful and candid look at what life with cancer was like – it may have been the first time that many had read such a personal account.

“It began so many vital conversations about health, the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer to look for.

“Deborah’s incredible sense of humour and positivity shone through so brightly.

“While there is still so much to do to continue Deborah’s legacy and ensure more people survive and live well with bowel cancer, her very personal account will undoubtedly have saved lives and offered comfort and support to so many who face similar experiences.”

It’s this legacy that leaves Debs’ husband Seb beaming with pride.

He told The Celeb Report: “Deborah was tireless in her drive to raise awareness of bowel cancer, its signs and symptoms.

“She did so with one goal in mind – to help save other people’s lives, and to spare people what she had to face.

“It is incredible to see that she continues to help people, and that her legacy is making a real difference.

“I am in awe of her everyday, and take comfort in knowing that her magic lives on.”

SHARED HEALTH BATTLES

Like everything Deborah touched, that magic is evident in the music video that accompanies the new single.

It features previously unseen footage of Debs dancing, including a beautiful clip of the 40-year-old dancing with her husband.

Natalie said: “I like to think that Deborah is dancing along somewhere now to the song, with a big glass of rose in hand.”

Natalie admitted singing the track at Deborah’s funeral was the “hardest thing” she’s had to do.

“I sobbed, and I never do this but I had to close my eyes as I sang,” she told The Celeb Report.

It was a second shared health battle that led to Natalie singing at her friend’s funeral.

In the summer of 2021 both Natalie and Deborah were admitted to hospital suffering sepsis.

For Natalie, a bout of Covid left her with the deadly side effect, just seven months after her daughter Rose was born.

And despite also facing the killer infection, Deborah was on hand to support her pal.

“We made a promise to each other while we were in hospital that we would go to Ascot together the next summer,” Natalie recalled.

“I didn’t know if she would make it last year, she was so poorly and it was so close to the end.”

Deborah did make it, and it proved to be the last time the friends would see each other.

“Her magic and sparkle was still there and we had so much fun together, laughing and drinking Champagne,” said Natalie.

“She spoke a lot about her funeral and what she wanted for it.

“The hardest thing was when she turned to me and said, ‘I don’t want to die’.

“There was nothing I could or say to make it better, but I told her if there was anything, to just say the word.

“That’s when she asked me to sing at her funeral. I said of course, not even knowing what the song was.

“When she asked me to sing Tell Me It’s Not True it just felt right – the lyrics are perfect.”

Months later, at an awards ceremony, Deborah’s parents asked Natalie if she would consider recording their daughter’s favourite song.

“Once I knew that Seb was happy and the whole family was behind it, I didn’t hesitate, I told them all I would love to,” she said.

Natalie and her husband Zaf spearheaded the project, which culminated with Heather and Alistair joining them at the iconic Abbey Road studios in North London to record the single – Natalie wearing a green sequined gown in touching tribute to her friend.

“Recording the single has been a lot of hard work, but while I was captain of the ship, Deborah’s spirit has been the wind in our sails,” Natalie said.

“I know she’d love it and I’m honoured to do it for her.”

Reflecting on this time last year, Heather said the song captures how her family felt in the last weeks of Deborah’s life.

When she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in December 2016, Debs didn’t expect to live to see Christmas 2017.

Medics told her the chance of her living five years or more was just eight per cent – yet time and again Debs proved the odds wrong.

It was that fierce spirit and her sheer determination to live that her loved ones clung to.

So much so, that when Deborah’s husband Seb called Heather to tell her her eldest child was coming home to die last May, she didn’t believe it.

“When Seb said she was coming home, I said ‘great’, thinking she was coming back so I could look after her,” Heather said.

“Then he told me she was coming home to die.”

At that stage, medics gave Dame Debs just days to live – she lived another seven weeks.

Taking the decision to come off all antibiotics and painkillers, Deborah surprised her family by starting to look and feel better.

“It did give us all hope, rebellious hope” Heather said.

“We could see with our own eyes that she felt so much better, and we had all seen her cheat death so many times before.

“She put so much effort into living, she didn’t have time to die.”

‘MAGICAL SPIRIT’

In those final weeks, Deborah launched her Bowelbabe Fund, raising millions to fund research, finished her second book, was honoured with a Damehood by Prince William, had a rose named after her, launched a charity fashion collection with In The Style and convinced supermarket giant Tesco to print the symptoms of bowel cancer on all their toilet rolls.

“I really thought she was going to pull it off again, I thought I was going to keep her here at home, nursing her for at least another six months, maybe even a year,” said Heather.

“It wasn’t really until the Friday before she died that it all became real.

“The hospice nurse asked Deborah how she thought she was doing and she replied, ‘I haven’t got long now, have I?’. The nurse said, ‘no’.

“At that point the nurse told us that she was unlikely to live to see the end of the weekend, but of course Deborah did.

“She lived to see her children, and we had one special last weekend together.”

Turning her attention to the anniversary, Heather added: “This single is the perfect way to mark this milestone, I know she would love it.”

Deborah’s brother Ben said on behalf of the whole family a “huge thank you” to Natalie, Zaf, all the musicians and everyone who made the single a reality.

“It’s incredible how many people got involved who had been touched by Deborah’s story, it was amazing to see it filmed at Abbey Road.

“And knowing Deborah, she would be obsessed with getting it to number one.”

The single marks the latest fundraiser for Deborah’s Bowelbabe Fund, which has so far allocated around £4million to five new projects, close to her heart.

It’s this that keeps the family going, and helps them see the light in their darkness.

“Raising awareness and funds was a passion of Deborah’s,” said sister Sarah.

“And it’s a privilege to be able to help continue her legacy in many different ways as we walk this journey without her – but never without her magical spirit.”

• ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’ by Natalie Rushdie will be available on Monday, July 3 from all major streaming and download platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon Music, TikTok, Deezer, YouTube and more. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.