Dame Deborah James' daughter prepares for fourth Christmas without her as she shares touching memories - 'She's here with me'

When Dame Deborah James passed away from bowel cancer in 2022 at the age of 40, she left behind an enormous legacy.

Also known as Bowelbabe, Deborah raised large sums for cancer research campaigns and did so much to raise awareness for the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.

She had two children, Eloise and Hugo, who were aged 12 and 14 respectively, when their mother died. Now aged 15, Eloise recently appeared on Lorraine to talk about memories of her mother at Christmas, and how she is keeping her legacy alive.

Speaking about remembering her mum on special occasions such as the festive period, Eloise says, "Someone doesn't leave your life until you lose their memory.

"You always have her memory and over Christmas time, you always think about her," she adds.

Eloise continues, "She's there with me at Christmas because she loved holidays, that was her thing. As long as I keep that alive, she's always with me."

Appearing on the chat show with her grandmother, Heather, Eloise also spoke about continuing to raise awareness through the Bowelbabe fund for Cancer Research UK set up by Deborah.

Saying the campaign means "a lot" to her, Eloise shares, "It's good to raise awareness, everyone needs to know that [cancer] does affect everyone."

She even keeps the campaign going at school, explaining, "It's good to raise awareness in younger generations so they can keep it going down the line and get themselves checked out early."

The campaign has now raised £19 million and Eloise and Heather are hoping it can soon reach £20 million.

Eloise's brother, Hugo, takes on running challenges to help raise money for cancer research, and Eloise likes to continue in her mother's footsteps and dance to raise awareness - in the absence of her mum, she's been teaching grandmother Heather the dancing ropes.

"It's been teaching me patience," Eloise says with a smile when talking about showing her grandmother the required dance moves.

Deborah was working as a teacher when she was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in 2016, when she was just 35 years old.

She went on to become a journalist, documenting her cancer journey for The Sun, and hosting the You, Me and the Big C podcast on BBC Radio 5 Live.

In May 2022, Deborah announced that her treatments had stopped as they were "no longer working." She went on to receive palliative care at home with her family.

In a social media post announcing her death in 2022, it was revealed that Deborah wished to share some final words: "Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo – it could just save your life."