Prince William says Deborah James would be 'so proud' of Lorraine cancer campaign

Prince William said the late Dame Deborah James would be "so proud" as he praised TV presenter Lorraine Kelly for the ongoing bowel cancer campaign in her memory.

Mum-of-two and cancer campaigner James died in June at the age of 40 after battling the illness, and it was recently revealed that she helped to raise more than £11m with her Bowelbabe fund.

The latest instalment of ITV's Lorraine saw the presenter – who was close to James – talking about the No Butts campaign, which aims to raise awareness signs and symptoms of the disease.

Read more: Lorraine Kelly celebrates life of Dame Deborah James

A special video message from the royal then aired.

"Hi Lorraine, I just want to say a big thank you to you and your team for all you’re doing to raise awareness around bowel cancer through your No Butts campaign," said the Prince.

“As you know I got to meet Dame Deborah, so I know how important this was to her. Forty-six thousand people each year get diagnosed with bowel cancer and yet many of us don’t know the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, particularly in us men.

“So if you’re watching this, please take a second to listen and learn about the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, it could save your life.”

The royal also tweeted the video, captioning the clip: "@lorraine. Dame Deborah James would be so proud of what you and the team are doing to raise awareness of bowel cancer. Keep up the great work #NoButts."

Prince William met James in the weeks before she died, when he visited her as she was officially made a Dame.

Writing on Instagram at the time, James said she was "utterly honoured" and that William was "so kind".

James was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and in 2018 launched the You, Me And The Big C podcast with fellow cancer patients Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland.

Bland died aged 40 in 2018 after battling breast cancer.

Watch: Dame Deborah James' Bowelbabe cancer research fund raises £11.3m