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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.
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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.”