William Robert Jolyon Turnbull was a television and radio presenter and journalist whose broadcasting career spanned over 4 decades.
29 Facts About Bill Turnbull
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Bill Turnbull began his career working for some radio stations including Radio Clyde and BBC Radio 4's Today.
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Bill Turnbull presented BBC News 24 and BBC Radio 5 Live before taking on his most notable role as one of the main presenters of BBC Breakfast, a position he held for 15 years between 2001 and 2016.
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Bill Turnbull was born in Guildford, Surrey, on 25 January 1956, the youngest of four siblings to William, a barrister of Scottish ancestry who worked in the City of London and Honor, a teacher.
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Bill Turnbull was educated at Eton College and the University of Edinburgh, where he edited the student newspaper.
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Bill Turnbull's career began at Scottish local station Radio Clyde in 1978; he later freelanced for a number of years in the US.
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Bill Turnbull joined the BBC as a reporter for the Today programme in 1986 and Breakfast Time as a reporter in 1988, before becoming a correspondent for BBC News in 1990.
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Bill Turnbull covered a wide range of domestic and international stories, reporting from more than 30 countries, including a four-year stint as Washington Correspondent, based in the US.
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In 1997, Bill Turnbull moved back to the UK and became one of the main presenters on BBC News 24, appearing alongside Valerie Sanderson.
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Bill Turnbull presented regular programmes on Radio 5 Live, including a stint as a presenter on Weekend Breakfast.
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Bill Turnbull joined the BBC Breakfast team in 2001 as a weekend presenter, presenting with Sian Williams initially and then later with Sarah Montague, Mishal Husain and Susanna Reid.
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Bill Turnbull regularly appeared as a relief presenter on the weekday programme, with Sophie Raworth, Natasha Kaplinsky, Kate Silverton and Louise Minchin.
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Bill Turnbull became the main weekday presenter of Breakfast in 2008, rejoining Williams and replacing Dermot Murnaghan.
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Bill Turnbull was an occasional relief presenter of News at Six and News at One.
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Bill Turnbull fronted the programme's coverage of the 2008 US presidential election live from Washington, DC and New York, and was in Washington for the 2012 US presidential election.
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Bill Turnbull joined the presenting team of the BBC's Songs of Praise in 2013.
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Bill Turnbull presented his last episode, with Louise Minchin, on 26 February 2016.
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In July 2016, Bill Turnbull narrated another CBBC mockumentary comedy series based on Paignton Zoo called The Zoo, broadcast on CBBC in 2017.
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Bill Turnbull was guest presenter of three episodes of The One Show during 2016, alongside Alex Jones.
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In November 2006, he appeared alongside fellow BBC News presenters in a performance for Children in Need that Jan Moir, writing for The Telegraph, described as "charisma-free", adding that although Bill Turnbull dressed up like James Bond, he looked like a "dodgy sommelier".
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Bill Turnbull appeared in an episode of the game show School's Out broadcast on BBC One on 11 August 2007.
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On 28 October 2007, Bill Turnbull made a guest appearance on the children's television show SMart.
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On 24,25, and 26 February 2020, Bill Turnbull presented Good Morning Britain with Susanna Reid.
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Bill Turnbull later returned to the programme in May 2021.
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Bill Turnbull married Sarah McCombie in March 1988 in the London Borough of Hackney.
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Bill Turnbull was a fan of Wycombe Wanderers FC, for which he commentated on home games for online listeners.
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On 8 September 2009, Bill Turnbull was awarded an honorary doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of his charity work within the Buckinghamshire community.
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In March 2018, Bill Turnbull revealed he had been diagnosed the previous November with prostate cancer.
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Bill Turnbull died at his home in Suffolk, on 31 August 2022, at the age of 66.