DAME Deborah James’ brother and sister have spoken about their lasting memories of her in a live recording of Debs’ podcast, You, Me and the Big C.
Younger siblings of Sun Columnist Debs, Sarah Wieczorek and Benjamin James were guests on the special episode hosted by Deborah’s co-hosts Steve Bland and Lauren Mahon.
Deborah James attended Royal Ascot with her brother Benjamin James in 2022Getty
Refer to CaptionDeborah James with her sister Sarah – the pair were very different but had lots of adventures together[/caption]
Deborah died of Stage 4 bowel cancer in 2022 after campaigning tirelessly to raise awareness of the deadly disease.
Sarah and Ben paid tribute, admitting Deborah could be a “nightmare” older sister and recalling how Sarah and Debs would push James, around a decade their junior, down the stairs in a cardboard box as a child.
When it comes to their most enduring memories of Debs though, Ben said it’s not the cancer years that stick in his mind.
Instead, it’s “just the annoying but very caring big sister, who makes sure you live everything really well but keeps you on the right track and makes sure you’re swerving either way and forcing us into new experiences.”
Sarah said: “Her and I were so different. I always remember when I was driving to Bicester and our ways of shopping are so different she’d be like, ‘I just don’t know how we’re related’.
“We did lots of running together [and] just go on random ad hoc adventures.
“I think the spontaneity of her is how I remember her – and just her laugh.”
They explained that what we saw of Deborah – on her podcast, her bowelbabe Instagram page, in her Things Cancer Made Me Say column and on This Morning – was just the Deborah they loved too.
“I don’t think cancer changed her,” said Sarah. “She’s always got to go and do something more, she never settles; singing, dancing, legs up to here!”
Ben added: “She’d always set the bar here, and then set us the challenge to try to beat it.”
Sarah said it was Debs’ foresight and desire to always do more that meant she had such an impact on the nation: “She always had that vision of the next, it wasn’t just settling with the now.
“It’s always, ‘What can we do better? She always wants the best.”
Which is why Bowelbabe was such a success.
Ben puts it down to Debs’ “relentless acceptance of talking about things so frankly.
“I think she just did what she wanted and didn’t really listen to anyone who told her not to and just went about things her way.”
Sarah said she always had a charm about her too: “She’s got the fun, the entertainment, that thing that people find interesting, but then the teaching, the educating, it kind of just blends together.
“And she had a story to tell but – I might be wrong – I don’t think she ever started with what’s happened as the plan, although she wouldn’t die until that fund was set up!”
Ben said: “I remember her saying in many things that it wasn’t her plan to go quietly and she told us, let’s get home, let’s chat through this. All she had on her mind for 72 hours was, ‘Where’s this bloody fund?’”
He added: “She just had this vision of wanting to do something good and raising as much money, as much engagement and awareness as she could.”
And that’s exactly what she did.
Dame Debs’ bowelbabe fund for cancer research has raised more than £7 million and will make a huge difference to those with the disease, and those who will benefit from future treatment and research.
Asked about Deborah’s passion for finding out about new treatments and sharing what she learnt, Ben paid tribute to the teacher in her too.
He said: “It was the teacher aspect that would make her want to dig into more, learn more and make sure everyone was coming along on the journey with her.”
The special episode of You, Me and the Big C has been released to celebrate five years of the podcast’s achievements, and the fact hosts Lauren and Steve are stepping down from the show.
Listen to it now on BBC Sounds.
@bowelbabe / InstagramDeborah James with You, Me and the Big C co-hosts Steve Bland and Lauren Mahon[/caption]
Stewart WilliamsDame Debs was passionate about educating people and raising funds for cancer research[/caption] Read More