Prince William thanks Lorraine Kelly for bowel cancer awareness campaign in memory of Dame Deborah James

Prince William sent a video message to Lorraine Kelly thanking her for raising awareness of bowel cancer.

The Prince of Wales, 40, thanked the Scottish presenter on behalf of Dame Deborah James, a journalist and BBC podcast host who died in 2022 after being diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer.

The video, which Lorraine has posted on her Instagram page, features Prince William thanking Lorraine for her hard work, and also encouraging people to learn about the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.

Prince William said: “Hi Lorraine, just want to say a big thank you to you and your team for all you’re doing to raise awareness around bowel cancer through your No Butts campaign.

“As you know, I got to meet Dame Deborah, so I know how important this was to her.

“46,000 people in the UK get diagnosed each year with bowel cancer and yet many of us don’t know the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, particularly in us men.

“So if you’re watching this, please take a second to listen and learn about the symptoms of bowel cancer; it could save your life.”

His message was followed by a short clip of Lorraine on her ITV daytime show, seemingly surprised.

She said: “Oh thank you Prince William; that was incredible,” Lorraine said.

Lorraine’s ‘No Butt’s’ campaign was created to honour Dame Deborah James, known on social media as Bowelbabe, who was a journalist and BBC podcast host. Deborah was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer and died in 2022, but her legacy has lived on.

This is Lorraine’s third year running the campaign, and as part of it, the ‘Lorraine’ Instagram account also posted an infographic detailing five potential signs of bowel cancer:

• Blood in your poo or from your bottom
• Obvious change in your bowel habit
• Weight loss you can’t explain
• Extreme tiredness for no apparent reason
• Lump and/or pain in your tummy 

In addition to the video from Prince William, Lorraine has spoken to guests about the importance of checking for symptoms of bowel cancer and even paired up with Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell to create a dance that fans have been recreating on social media.

The campaign will continue over the next two weeks, weekdays at 9am on ITV1.