BBC Breakfast’s Bill Turnbull presented his final edition of the corporation’s popular morning programme after 15 years on the sofa.
William Robert Jolyon “Bill” Turnbull was born on January 25 1956 in Guildford, Surrey.
Educated at Eton College, he attended the University of Edinburgh where he worked as the editor of the student paper.
Bill Turnbull readies for his final BBC Breakfast show (Roscoe & Rutter/BBC)
Bill started his broadcast career at Scotland’s Radio Clyde in 1978. He joined the BBC as a reporter for the Today programme in 1986 before becoming a reporter for BBC’s Breakfast Time two years later.
Memorable stories filed included the Lockerbie disaster in 1988 and the Romanian Revolution of 1989.
In 1990, he became a correspondent for BBC News and he reported from over 30 countries.
Bill Turnbull (BBC)
During his four-year stint as BBC News’s Washington correspondent, he covered the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the OJ Simpson trial and there was also a rain-drenched appearance on Breakfast during a hurricane in Florida.
After moving back to the UK in 1997, Bill became one of the main presenters on BBC News 24 (as it was called back then). He also worked for BBC Radio 5 Live, including presenting Weekend Breakfast.
Bill joined BBC Breakfast in 2001 as a presenter alongside Sian Williams. They worked together until 2012 when Sian departed after the programme moved from London to Salford.
Former BBC breakfast host Bill Turnbull (Ian West/PA)
Over the last 15 years, the nation has woken up to Bill’s calm, reassuring manner. However, in July 2015 he made an embarrassing slip-up live on air.
The Guildford-born broadcaster appeared to have uttered the ultimate swear word instead of “client” while referring to reaction to a public health story.
In a statement, the BBC said he had “unintentionally stumbled” over his words. It was one of his most memorable moments on BBC Breakfast.
Bill Turnbull and Karen Hardy on Strictly Come Dancing (BBC)
A presenter on BBC One’s long-running Songs Of Praise, as a household name, Bill has made numerous television appearances outside of Breakfast.
In 2005, he competed as a contestant in the third series of Strictly Come Dancing. Partnered with Karen Hardy, he was the seventh celebrity voted off the show.
He also participated in ITV’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Through The Keyhole; BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind, Would I Lie To You?, Pointless Celebrities and Room 101, and he appeared in the dictionary corner for Channel 4′s Countdown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2xutm2o3uU&feature=oembed
Arguably his most famous role came in 2011 Doctor Who episode The Wedding Of River Song in which he played himself.
Bill’s passion for beekeeping led to the 2011 publication of his book The Bad Beekeepers Club, a humorous account of the ups and downs in beekeeping.
He married wife Sarah in March 1988 and they have three children. Bill says he will spend more time with his bees after leaving Breakfast.
