Tributes have been paid to the former BBC Breakfast host Bill Turnbull who has died at the age of 66, including Bees for Development Director, Nicola Bradbear.

Bill had been a patron of the charity, whose home is in Monmouth, as one of his great passion was bees.

Nicola was seen on a live broadcast from Monmouth on the BBC Breakfast programme dedicated to him, Louise Minchin, Susanna Reid and Sian Williams were among the names appearing on the programme on Friday morning, Sep 2, to pay tribute to the show’s former presenter.

Bill shared a stage at Monmouth’s Blake Theatre in 2020 with another patron of the charity, Monty Don and attracted a packed crowd for the unique event raising funds for the international charity Bees for Development,

The Classic FM presenter started keeping bees about 15 years ago, after a swarm turned up at the bottom of his garden. “I called the police, who called a beekeeper, who just came along and collected the swarm in a cardboard box,” he said in a 2017 interview.

He went on to write a book about his apicultural adventures, called The Bad Beekeepers Club.

Nicola Bradbear told the Beacon they were “so sad that our lovely Patron Bill Turnbull has died, five years after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

“Throughout all this time Bill continued being just as kind and supportive as always - he was patron for twenty years – during this time we discovered what a profoundly clever, witty, warm and generous man he was. Before his BBC Breakfast days, Bill worked as a journalist, reporting from many countries including all the places where we work today – he really understood our work and the huge benefits that beekeeping can bring.

“Bill would always somehow find time for our fundraising events and he raised a record-breaking amount for us when he broadcast the BBC Radio 4 Appeal for funds for our work in Ethiopia. Bill was uniquely warm, wise and generous – it has been our huge privilege to have had his marvellous support all these years. We will miss him very much.”