Bill Turnbull’s death aged 66 from prostate cancer has led many to reflect on his best broadcasting moments – but the radio and TV presenter had another great love: bees.
The former BBC Breakfast host 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,” Turnbull said in a 2017 interview with outdoorist Lynne Allbutt. “I was so inspired and wanted to see if I had that zen-like ability to do the same.”
He added: “As well as my bees, I keep chickens and have two black labs, Nina and Bonny. Nina is bee-phobic. She got stung once and now prefers to wait by the car whilst I check my bees.”
Turnbull was no stranger to bee stings himself. “I’ve been stung more times than I can remember,” he said, “though over the years I am actually being stung less. I don’t inspect the bees quite so often now, although recently I did do something quite stupid even by my standards.
“When returning from holiday I thought I’d just take the roof off one of the hives to see what was going on and a bee flew straight up and stung me on the nose. It wasn’t pretty and the swelling is a bit awkward for my TV work.”
The broadcaster said he found bees “intricate and beautiful”, adding: “Each hive is a little city, with its own issues and problems. Every time you open the hive, you have a series of questions to ask, it’s like solving a puzzle every time. I find it clears my mind of other things.”
In 2008, Turnbull appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, and his specialist subject was beekeeping. Two years later, Turnbull released a book, The Bad Beekeepers Club: How I stumbled into the Curious World of Bees – and became (perhaps) a Better Person.
The book is a humorous account of Turnbull’s love of beekeeping and what the hobby taught him about himself and the world around him. It also highlights the threats to Britain’s bee population.
Turnbull was a patron for Bees for Development, a charity that helps some of the world’s poorest people become self-sufficient through beekeeping. He once ran the London Marathon dressed as a beekeeper to raise money for the charity.
He said of his work with the organisation: “Bees take nothing, yet give so much. I can think of no better way than beekeeping to help people in a world where it is crucial that we take care of our fragile environment.”
