Deborah James’ mum Heather says first Christmas without daughter will be ‘very hard’

‘We’re going to celebrate Deborah,’ said the late activist’s mum in an interview with Lorraine Kelly

The mother of Dame Deborah James, Heather James, said the first Christmas without her daughter will be “very hard”.

James, known by her social media handle Bowelbabe and for raising over £6 million for cancer research, died in June aged 40 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer five years prior.

Her mother said she would rather “hide” then partake in festivities this year, but she will still celebrate in James’ memory.

In an interview for ITV’s Lorraine, she said: “It’s very hard. I think it’s hard for anybody who has lost anybody, but Deborah loved Christmas. She was so into it.

“The build up to it, the enthusiasm, the sparkles and have I got that energy? I try, for her. Part of me would like to not do it, but that’s not what she wanted,” she continued.

Speaking about continuing Deborah’s favourite Christmas traditions, Heather added: “We tried to make table decorations last week and I did it with my other daughter and my future daughter-in-law.

“We cracked open the champagne, I drank most of it,” she joked.

"I knew Deborah would say, ‘Mum, that’s great that you’re doing this’. But it’s putting the effort into [this]... part of me would look like to just hide and not do it. That’s not what we’re going to do, we’re going to celebrate Deborah,” she added.

During the conversation, host Lorraine Kelly became tearful and said: “The amount she achieved was astonishing.”

Dame Deborah James helped in raising money and awareness for cancer research (Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

James, a mother-of-two, activist and TV presenter, raised almost £7 million for cancer research and raised awareness for bowel cancer through candid social media posts to her one million Instagram followers.

Her campaigning also resulted in over 170,000 people being referred for bowel cancer checks between May and July this year, up over 80,000 compared to the same period two years before. According to the NHS, more than 23,000 people visited its webpages for bowel cancer following her death.

Heather opened up about celebrating the family’s first Christmas without James in an Instagram post last month and said her “enthusiasm and zest for life” will be missed.

James’ mother is now championing the No Butts campaign, which aims to raise awareness for bowel cancer through writing symptoms of the illness on Serious Tissues’ toilet paper.