Documentary to show Deborah James’s final days
THE BBC is to broadcast a documentary about Deborah James, the cancer campaigner, that will feature intimate footage of the final weeks of her life.
The 80-minute film, Bowelbabe: In Her Own Words, will draw on previously unseen mobile phone footage, her collection of Tiktok videos and voice notes, Instagram posts, podcast audio and family videos.
It will air on BBC Two and iplayer as part of the broadcaster’s Storyville documentary series.
James, known by her social media handle Bowelbabe and a presenter of the You, Me and the Big C podcast, died last June aged 40 after having been diagnosed with bowel cancer five years previously.
The BBC said the documentary was “filmed with Deborah in the last months of her life” and features her talking “frankly” about her diagnosis.
Lucie Kon, commissioning editor of Storyville, added: “Deborah worked with us on this film right up until the last few weeks of her life and was adamant that it was finished even though she wouldn’t be around to see it through. It’s an incredibly powerful and beautiful piece – emotional, intimate and unique.”