The reverend who led Bill Turnbull’s funeral has said the private ceremony was similar to that of the Duke of Edinburgh in that it had 'that lovely rich language' looking back to 'centuries past'.
Trevor Stroud, Matt Bloomfield, Gareth Ainsworth, Andrew Howard, Alan Parry, John Gorman and Phil Catchpole will be amongst the guests at the funeral of the great Bill Turnbull in Suffolk this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/WI3eNJTcve
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) September 16, 2022
Rev Nic Stuchfield described Turnbull, a life-long Wycombe Wanderers fan who was best known as one of BBC Breakfast’s longest serving hosts, as a 'seeker after the truth' and a 'lovely person'.
TV presenter and journalist Turnbull died on August 31 at the age of 66 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2017.
BBC presenter Naga Munchetty arrives for the funeral of TV presenter and journalist Bill Turnbull at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk (PA)
READ MORE: Wycombe prepare to say goodbye to the great Bill Turnbull
Family and close friends, including fellow broadcasts Charlie Stayt and Susanna Reid, along with Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth and former club captain Matt Bloomfield, attended the service at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk.
Rev Stuchfield, who met Turnbull more than two years ago, told the PA news agency: “It is very similar to the service that the Duke of Edinburgh had for his funeral last year and so it’s got that lovely rich language that we look back to centuries past.”
A general view of Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk, before mourners arrive for the funeral of TV presenter and journalist Bill Turnbull (PA)
He added: “He was exactly as you expected to see him from the television persona – very sharp, kind even though his body was obviously not performing terribly well in the last couple of years.
“He was a journalist and he was very inquisitive.
READ MORE: Wycombe Wanderers' tribute to the late Bill Turnbull
A mourner carrying a bouquet of flowers with a Wycombe Wanderers football shirt arrives for the funeral of TV presenter and journalist Bill Turnbull at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk (PA)
“He was a seeker after the truth and he was just a lovely person and I’ve had countless people come and talk to me over the last couple of weeks about how much they loved him and how much they missed him, and he really was in real life the person that people knew from the Breakfast show and elsewhere in his media history.”
Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth arrives for the funeral of TV presenter and journalist Bill Turnbull at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk (PA)
Turnbull started his broadcast career at Radio Clyde in Scotland in 1978, joining the BBC as a reporter for the Today programme in 1986 before becoming a reporter for BBC’s Breakfast Time two years later, and then a correspondent for BBC News, reporting from more than 30 countries.
READ MORE: Wycombe rename its Adams Park gantry after Bill Turnbull
After moving back to the UK, he became one of the main presenters on BBC News 24, as it was then called, before joining BBC Breakfast in 2001.
He is survived by his wife Sesi, who he married in March 1988, and their three children.
Following his passing, Wanderers' gantry at Adams Park has been renamed in his honour.
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