Dame Deborah James ' You, Me And The Big C podcast co-host Lauren Mahon has described her death as "surreal" – one week after the star's tragic passing.
Dame Deborah, known as Bowelbabe, died on June 28 aged 40, following a five-year battle against stage four bowel cancer.
She had co-hosted her BBC podcast with Lauren and Rachael Bland – who passed away in September 2018 aged 40 after treatment for breast cancer.
Opening up about her friend on BBC Breakfast, Lauren spoke on the show as that is where the trio first launched their podcast.
She said: "I kind of really felt that I wanted to be on the sofa as this is where we launched the pod with Rachael and Deb right here, so it felt very apt that I’d chat about our wonderful friend here with you.
"I don’t think it’s really hit, we have moments where it feels very real and a bit overwhelming, but I think it is all a bit surreal.
"She was the comeback kid, so it’s all been a bit surreal."
Lauren also recounted memories of the former head teacher for an episode of You, Me And The Big C alongside Rachel’s widow Steve Bland, and producers Mike Holt and Al Entwistle.
Speaking about the episode, she said: "Its about our Deb. We say quite explicitly that the world and the country are mourning the Dame, a fabulous force of nature who always looked dolled up to the nines, told it how it was, raised millions of pounds for life-saving cancer research, but the person we miss is the deviant, our Deb.
"The woman who had the most outrageous cackle, the woman who would show up to recordings dishevelled, and the twinkle in her eye.
"When we were doing the podcast it was lovely to recount the memories of our Deb. We’ve had her for so many more years than we thought we would.
"The thing is we are in one of the dark phases now, but there is so much light and there always has been. I am incredibly proud of us."
Lauren appeared on the breakfast show alongside podcast producer Mike, who joked that timing was never Dame Deborah's "strong point".
Mike shared: "There was lots of times when I got these phone calls 'I'm jumping out of a cab on a flyover in the middle of London' and the phone would go dead but also she was wonderful.
"In the middle of the night she would be up on steroids and pounding out ideas, you had the chaos but you also had this amazing creativity, drive and passion that the whole country has seen now and it was incredible to be apart of it and I am really going to miss her."
Wearing a T-shirt with the words 'you can’t always be in bloom', Rachel's husband told BBC presenters Sally Nugent and John Kay he felt "massive pride" with everything the three women have achieved.
He said: “Rachael set this podcast up four-and-a-half years ago now and recruited Deb and Lauren, and I don’t imagine that she in her wildest dreams thought it would have the kind of impact that it has, we are still seeing that now. What they have done has been extraordinary.”
Deborah's final fundraiser surpassed £7million earlier this week, as donations flooded in following the star's death being confirmed by her family.
In the weeks prior to her death, Deborah had promoted the Bowelbabe Fund, which she had established to raise money and awareness for charity.
The initiative – which was set-up in collaboration with Cancer Research UK – had an initial target of £250,000, though the campaign has now raised more than £7 million.
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