William Robert Jolyon Turnbull (25 January 1956 – 31 August 2022) was an English television and radio presenter and journalist, whose broadcasting career spanned over four decades. He began his career working for radio stations including
Radio Clyde and
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's
''Today''. He presented
BBC News 24
BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
and
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
before taking on his most notable role as one of the main presenters of ''
BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...
'', a position he held for fifteen years between 2001 and 2016. Later in his career, he presented the religious series ''
Songs of Praise
''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK.
The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
'' and game show ''
Think Tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
'', as well as being a presenter on the radio station
Classic FM.
Early life
Turnbull was born in
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
, Surrey, on 25 January 1956, to an English father of Scottish ancestry and an English mother.
He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, where he edited the student newspaper. He graduated from
Cardiff University
, latin_name =
, image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University
, motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord
, mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord
, established = 1 ...
in 1978.
Career
Turnbull's career began at Scottish local station
Radio Clyde in 1978; he later freelanced for a number of years in the US. Turnbull joined the BBC as a reporter for the
''Today'' programme in 1986 and ''
Breakfast Time'' as a reporter in 1988, before becoming a correspondent for
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
in 1990. He covered a wide range of domestic and international stories, reporting from more than 30 countries, including a four-year stint as Washington Correspondent, based in the US. His producer for a while was
Sian Williams
Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter best known for her work with the BBC, and psychologist.
From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of '' BBC Breakfast'' a ...
. In this role, he reported on a number of major American stories, including the
O. J. Simpson murder trial and the
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist and writer. President Bill Clinton admitted to having an affair with Lewinsky while she worked at the White House as an intern in 1995 and 1996. The affair, and its repercus ...
scandal that rocked
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
's presidency. In 1997, Turnbull moved back to the UK and became one of the main presenters on
BBC News 24
BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
, appearing alongside
Valerie Sanderson
Valerie Sanderson (born 1960 in Nottingham) is one of the main presenters of ''The Newsroom'' (and previously ''World Briefing'') on the BBC World Service. Sanderson was one of the original presenters on BBC News 24 when it launched in 1997.
Ear ...
. He also presented regular programmes on
Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcas ...
, including a stint as a presenter on ''Weekend Breakfast''.
Turnbull joined the ''BBC Breakfast'' team in 2001 as a weekend presenter, presenting with
Sian Williams
Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter best known for her work with the BBC, and psychologist.
From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of '' BBC Breakfast'' a ...
initially and then later with
Sarah Montague
Sarah Anne Louise Montague, Lady Brooke (born 8 February 1966),''Who's who'' is a British journalist and presenter of the BBC Radio 4 current affairs programme ''The World at One''. For 18 years, prior to April 2018, she was a regular presenter ...
,
Mishal Husain
Mishal Husain (born 11 February 1973) is a British newsreader and journalist for BBC Television and BBC Radio. She is the main Sunday presenter of the ''BBC News at Ten'' and ''BBC Weekend News'' and one of the main presenters of BBC Radio 4's ' ...
and
Susanna Reid
Susanna Reid (born 10 December 1970) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of ''BBC Breakfast'' from 2003 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. In 2013, she finished as a runner-up on the elev ...
. He also regularly appeared as a relief presenter on the weekday programme, with
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth () (born 15 May 1968) is an English journalist, newsreader and broadcaster working for the BBC. She is a senior newsreader and is one of the main presenters of BBC News (mainly ''BBC News at Six'' and ''BBC News at Ten''). S ...
,
Natasha Kaplinsky
Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...
,
Kate Silverton
Kate Silverton (born 4 August 1970) is an English journalist. She formerly worked as a broadcaster and newsreader for the BBC. Silverton was a regular presenter of ''BBC News at One'' and ''BBC Weekend News'', as well as making occasional appea ...
and
Louise Minchin
Louise Mary Minchin (born September 1968) is a British television presenter, journalist and former news presenter who currently works freelance within the BBC.
Beginning in 2012, Minchin was a regular anchor on the BBC One programme ''Breakfa ...
. He became the main weekday presenter of ''Breakfast'' in 2008, rejoining Williams and replacing
Dermot Murnaghan
Dermot John Murnaghan (; born 26 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. A presenter for Sky News, he was a news presenter at CNBC Europe, Independent Television News and BBC News. He has presented news programmes in a variety of time slots ...
. Turnbull was also an occasional relief presenter of ''
News at Six'' and ''
News at One''.
As well as anchoring programmes in the studio, Turnbull regularly presented on location. In the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, he was sent to
to report for BBC News, presenting both ''Breakfast'' and the ''News at Six'' live from
Biloxi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
and
Gulfport, Mississippi. In the aftermath of the
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...
, Turnbull anchored ''Breakfast''s coverage live from
King's Cross railway station. He fronted the programme's coverage of the
2008 US presidential election live from Washington, D.C. and New York, and was in Washington once again for the
2012 US presidential election.
In 2005, he was a contestant in the
third series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', partnered with
Karen Hardy
Karen Hardy (born 14 July 1970) is a British professional ballroom dancer, coach, teacher and adjudicator. In 1998 she won the professional International Latin American Dance Championship with Bryan Watson. She also won the United Kingdom Open ...
. In spite of a serious ankle injury in the second week (which then flared up at various points in the series), he stayed in the competition for seven weeks, finishing sixth out of twelve contestants.
In April and May 2010, Turnbull travelled around the UK presenting and reporting for ''Breakfast'' on the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
campaign trail. In June 2010 he presented ''Breakfast'' live from Whitehaven in the aftermath of the
Cumbria shootings
The Cumbria shootings was a shooting spree which occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, taxi driver Derrick Bird, killed twelve people and injured eleven others in Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. Along with the 1987 Hungerford massacre ...
.
He joined the presenting team of the BBC's ''
Songs of Praise
''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK.
The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
'' in 2013.
In 2015, he began narrating the
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
sketch comedy series ''
Class Dismissed'', also appearing in a cameo as himself in episode 12. It was announced on 2 September 2015 that Turnbull would be leaving ''Breakfast'' early the following year, after fifteen years. He presented his last episode, with
Louise Minchin
Louise Mary Minchin (born September 1968) is a British television presenter, journalist and former news presenter who currently works freelance within the BBC.
Beginning in 2012, Minchin was a regular anchor on the BBC One programme ''Breakfa ...
, on 26 February 2016.
In March 2016, he began presenting the daytime
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
quiz show ''
Think Tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
''. Beginning in April 2016, he presented his own radio show on
Classic FM. The show aired from 10:00am until 1:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. In July 2016, Turnbull narrated another CBBC
mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
comedy series based on
Paignton Zoo
Paignton Zoo is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo is part of South West Environmental Parks Ltd which is owned by the charity Wild Planet Trust, formerly known as the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust. The charity also runs Newquay ...
called ''The Zoo'', broadcast on CBBC in 2017.
Turnbull was guest presenter of three episodes of ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' during 2016, alongside
Alex Jones
Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...
. In March 2018, just as his cancer diagnosis was made public, BBC One aired 10 episodes of ''Holding Back the Years'', featuring Turnbull with
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips (born 1 January 1961) is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter. She is best known for her presenting roles with the ITV Breakfast programme ''GMTV Today''.
Early life
Phillips was born in Canterbury Hospit ...
offering information on living well in later life.
Other TV appearances
In August 2006, Turnbull agreed to take part in a
polyphasic sleep
Biphasic sleep (or ''diphasic'', ''bifurcated'', or bimodal sleep) is the practice of sleeping during two periods over the course of 24 hours, while polyphasic sleep refers to sleeping multiple times—usually more than two. Each of these is in ...
experiment presented on BBC One's ''The One Show''. In this experiment, he slept for a total of three hours per day, in six 30-minute bursts, for ten consecutive days. The effect of this sleep pattern on his health was visible, as he presented ''Breakfast'' almost every weekday during the duration of the exercise and became increasingly sleep-deprived. In November 2006, he appeared alongside fellow
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
presenters in a performance for
Children in Need that Jan Moir, writing for ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'', described as "charisma-free", adding that although Turnbull dressed up like James Bond, he looked like a "dodgy
sommelier
A sommelier ( or or ; ), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the wine steward in hau ...
".
Turnbull also appeared in an episode of the game show ''
School's Out'' broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 11 August 2007. In September 2007, he appeared on the celebrity version of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
'' with his ''BBC Breakfast'' co-presenter Sian Williams to raise money for
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie is a registered charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides care and support to people living with a terminal illness and those close to them, and campaigns for better support for dying people. It was established in 19 ...
. On 28 October 2007, Turnbull made a guest appearance on the children's television show ''
SMart
Smart or SMART may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014
* Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com
* ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper
* ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...
''. In January 2008, he appeared on ''
Celebrity Mastermind''. His specialist subject was
beekeeping
Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...
.
In 2009, he took part in the BBC series ''Around the World in 80 Days'' with ''Breakfast'' colleague
Louise Minchin
Louise Mary Minchin (born September 1968) is a British television presenter, journalist and former news presenter who currently works freelance within the BBC.
Beginning in 2012, Minchin was a regular anchor on the BBC One programme ''Breakfa ...
for
Children in Need, travelling from Mongolia, through Russia and South Korea, before crossing the Pacific on a container ship and landing in California. In 2011, he also made an appearance on the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
game show ''
Pointless Celebrities
''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...
'' alongside
Sian Williams
Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter best known for her work with the BBC, and psychologist.
From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of '' BBC Breakfast'' a ...
, which they won. He also appeared alongside
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom ''Not Going Out'', being a team captain on the ...
and
Louie Spence
Louie Spence (born 6 April 1969) is an English dancer, choreographer and television personality, best known for the TV show '' Pineapple Dance Studios''. He was a professional dancer in his youth, performing in West End musicals including ''Mi ...
on ''
Would I Lie To You?'' and made a guest appearance as himself in "
The Wedding of River Song
"The Wedding of River Song" is the thirteenth and final episode in the sixth series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', and was first broadcast on BBC One on 1 October 2011. It was written by lead writer and executiv ...
", the sixth series finale of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', with his then ''Breakfast'' co-presenter Sian Williams.
In 2012, he appeared in
Professor Green
Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London.
Growing up on ...
's music video for "
Remedy". In 2013, he appeared in an episode of ''
Room 101
The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell.
The use of contradictory ...
'' and in 2016, he was a contestant in a celebrity episode of ''
The Chase''.
On 24, 25, and 26 February 2020, Turnbull presented ''
Good Morning Britain'' with
Susanna Reid
Susanna Reid (born 10 December 1970) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of ''BBC Breakfast'' from 2003 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. In 2013, she finished as a runner-up on the elev ...
. He later returned to the programme in May 2021. In October 2021, he was a contestant on ''
Richard Osman's House of Games
''Richard Osman's House of Games'' is a British quiz show produced by Banijay (owners of Endemol Shine UK), a branch of Remarkable Television for the BBC. The show is hosted by Richard Osman. It is played on a weekly basis, with four "celebri ...
''.
Personal life and death
Turnbull married Sarah McCombie in March 1988 in the
London Borough of Hackney
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
The marriage produced three children, Henry (born October 1988), Will (born October 1989) and Flora (born August 1991). Turnbull and his wife previously lived in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
but relocated to
Rainow
Rainow is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, in the valley of the River Dean and next to the B5470 road between Macclesfield and Kettleshulme. It straddles the eastern side of the Peak District border of Derbyshire and Cheshire, an ...
, Cheshire, in 2012, following the move of ''BBC Breakfast'' to
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
. Subsequently, he moved to
Theberton
Theberton is a village in Suffolk, England. It is located north-east of Saxmundham, and miles north of Leiston, its post town.
History
During the First World War, a German Zeppelin airship, L48, was shot down near Theberton at 02:00 on the ...
, Suffolk.
Turnbull was a fan of
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...
,
Bill Turnbull biography
, 19 February 2011 for which he commentated on home games for online listeners. His hobbies included beekeeping, chickens and dancing. In addition, Turnbull enjoyed long-distance running, having competed in the London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...
on a number of occasions, and the Great North Run
The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South ...
on 5 October 2008. On 8 September 2009, Turnbull was awarded an honorary doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University
, mottoeng = By Art and Industry
, established = 2007 – gained university status 1891 – Science and Art School
, type = Public
, staff =
, chancellor = Jay Blades
, vice_chancellor = Nick Braisby
, st ...
in recognition of his charity work within the Buckinghamshire community.
In May 2010, he published ''The Bad Beekeepers Club'', a comedy book about the ups and downs of beekeeping
Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...
.
In March 2018, Turnbull revealed he had been diagnosed the previous November with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
. He died at his home in Suffolk, on 31 August 2022, at the age of 66. Following his death, the commentary gantry at Wycombe Wanderers' Adams Park was renamed after Turnbull in his honour.
References
External links
*
Bill Turnbull
on Twitter
Bill Turnbull
on Classic FM
Profile of Bill Turnbull
''BBC Breakfast''
BBC News
''The Independent'', 14 January 2008
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Bill
1956 births
2022 deaths
20th-century British journalists
Alumni of Cardiff University
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
BBC newsreaders and journalists
Deaths from cancer in England
Deaths from prostate cancer
English people of Scottish descent
People educated at Eton College
People from Buckinghamshire
People from Guildford