Deborah James; New Life In The Country

“Despite being largely compiled from public content, Bowelbabe in Her Own Words is a deeply intimate and frank portrait of how it feels to experience incurable cancer – an existence that is as physically gruelling, anxiety-ridden and grief-stricken as you could imagine.”
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian

“How to describe the phenomenon that was Dame Deborah James? ‘Force of nature’ feels underpowered. She was a human whirlwind, a bullet train in a sequinned dress and a chemo pump as Deborah James: Bowelbabe in Her Own Words reminded us in a film that was beautiful, inspiring, deeply sad and a masterclass in how to make life and death meaningful.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Deborah James: Bowelbabe In Her Own Words delivered an intravenous infusion of hope for everyone fighting serious illness. This collage of Deborah’s posts on social media, podcasts, TV interviews and family videos captured her exuberant personality and her determination to live life to the full for as long as possible.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Whether or not you were familiar with James’s illness, Sara Hardy’s documentary, Bowelbabe in Her Own Words, was a deeply touching tribute to a woman who never let her diagnosis get in the way of living. The film was created entirely from footage of James – from the news, from her social media accounts, from her podcast recordings and videos from her own phone – as well as being narrated by her (again, mostly from You, Me and the Big C and recorded diaries). It made for an intimate film that felt like it had been curated by James herself.”
Emily Baker, The i

“This documentary – told entirely of James’s own words – is a powerful reminder of what sparkly, sweary, taboo-busting fun she was.”
Helen Brown, The Telegraph

“Episode one appears to have been filmed before Beeny’s cancer diagnosis because no mention is made of it, but awareness of the idyll’s fragility did add a poignancy to the programme. Her zealous engagement with local wildlife was infectious too and it was funny watching her boys’ disgust as she crumbled owl pellets and extracted vole skulls.”
Helen Brown, The Telegraph

“It might be that this episode was filmed before she had her first inkling of the illness, but the absence of any acknowledgement made its presence more ominous, not less. The show seemed trivial as a consequence. Her teenage boys learned to whittle wood with penknives, and Sarah donated boxes of old books to charity. Such petty pleasures must seem blessings to her family, of course, but without the full context of her recent cancer treatment, we couldn’t really see them in their proper perspective.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail