DAME Deborah James' children Hugo, 15, and Eloise, 13, have spoken about their mum’s incredible fundraising achievements.
It was revealed yesterday that Sun columnist Debs has raised a colossal £11.3m through her BowelBabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, so far.
Her husband Sebastien exclusively told The Sun: “This money is going to have a huge impact, and will hopefully go on to save many lives.
“I know she would be incredibly proud of that. The kids and I are immensely proud.”
Sebastien, along with Hugo and Eloise spoke to the BBC about Debs’ staggering fundraising.
Spectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three years
In an interview aired this morning, proud son Hugo said: “It's unbelievable to be honest.
“It's just amazing to think, first of all the legacy that it is, and second of all, the amount that could be achieved with this £11 million is beyond what anybody could realise.”
Eloise called the amount “mind blowing”.
She said: “I remember a conversation, like, ‘Imagine if we hit £250k, that would be incredible, we'd be so overjoyed’ and then we hit a million and everyone was so shocked - how did we raise that money?!
“Now it's £11m, it's crazy, it's insane. Honestly, thank you to everyone.”
The interview is the first time Sebastien has spoken on film since Debs died of stage 4 bowel cancer in June 2022, aged 40, more than five years after her diagnosis.
He said: “I think she died in probably one of the best ways that you could've hoped to die with this terrible disease
“She died surrounded by her mother, her father, her sister, me, all of us holding her hand, being there for her.
“It was, as much as it can be - and it was the first time I've ever seen someone pass away - but there was I think a peace to it.
“I think she had done everything that she could have hoped to achieve, she was surrounded by everyone that loved her. What else can you hope for really?”
Robbie Williams poised to launch his own brand of energy drinks to rival Prime
PASSION FOR LIFE
In her last weeks Deborah launched the BowelBabe Fund, raising almost £7 million by her death, had a rose named after her, attended the Chelsea Flower Show, met Prince William and was made a Dame.
Throughout it all, she kept campaigning so that more people would know the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer and get themselves checked out.
Sebastien, Hugo, Eloise and the rest of Debs’ family are committed to continuing her incredible legacy, and to keep the BowelBabe Fund going.
Around £4 million of it has already been earmarked for five groundbreaking cancer research projects.
Sebastien said: “I'm not someone who is a particularly public person.
“I'm much more on the private side, but this is important, that we remind people to look after themselves, to check their poo, as Deborah would always say.
“And hopefully, all of us working together, all the charities working together with more public awareness, we'll be able to maybe not defeat bowel cancer, but at least change the odds that people will have.”
Deborah was determined that raising awareness and increasing funding would mean more people seeking treatment early, and more people with cancer living for longer.
But it was her passion for life, for making the most of every moment and never taking a second for granted, that struck such a chord with so many of us.
Sebastien said: “There's one picture that I have which is her at a restaurant we went to and her just looking out at the countryside with this look of pure joy and happiness on her face, that close to the end, which was amazing.”
He added: “She always used to say, if it ever rains, just go out and feel the rain on your face because you're so lucky and privileged to be alive at that moment in time, to be a functioning individual that you can walk up into your garden, or wherever it may be, just turn your face up to the sky and feel rain on your face.”
LOOKING FORWARD
It’s almost ten months since Deborah passed away, and on the day of her funeral, Sebastian recalled saying to his children: “If we can get through this together, I think we can get through anything, and that's kind of stuck with us.”
They are, he says “a pretty strong unit I like to think, and when we're together, we feel kind of a little bit, not invincible, but, we've definitely got each other's back”.
As a team and a family, they will continue to push forward with the BowelBabe Fund and Deborah’s mission to get everyone checking their poo.
Hugo said: “The same message she gave everyone was the same message she gave me, just: Rebellious Hope.
“It means, regardless of anything, there's always something that will keep you going.
“You always push through and there'll always be a rainbow on the other side.”
