Life after BBC News looks good! Natasha Kaplinsky and Sian Williams look radiant at George Alagiah’s memorial after quitting high-pressure presenter roles

The great and good of British news broadcasting – past and present – ​​were at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, central London, yesterday to honor the life of their former colleague George Alagiah, who died in July , after a long battle with colon cancer.

Among those in attendance – proving that a life away from the pressure of constant news suits them well – were former BBC News presenters Natasha Kaplinsky and Sian Williams.

Former Strictly star Kaplinsky, 51, cut a glamorous figure in a black velvet trouser suit, with her accentuated hair tousled and tumbling around her shoulders and a glint of sparkling jewelery on her wrist.

Meanwhile, Williams, 58, — officially known as Dr. Williams since qualifying to become a qualified Chartered NHS Psychologist – looking radiant in a vibrant ultra-marine suit and patent black platform loafers.

Kaplinsky, who co-presented News at Six with Alagiah before defecting to Channel 5 News in 2007, now works as a more general broadcaster and has been chairman of children’s charity Barnardo’s since July 2019.

The presenter, who is still involved in high-profile campaigns – but did not report on them – earlier this year, who has two teenage children with husband Justin Bower, called on the government to introduce stricter age checks to prevent children coming into contact with inappropriate material.

Williams, whose TV career spans more than 30 years and has seen her report on everything from Hillsborough to the Asian tsunami, was a presenter on BBC Breakfast for 11 years between 2001 and 2012.

In 2016 the broadcaster, who is married to fellow journalist Paul Woolwich, underwent a ‘brutal’ double mastectomy which left her ‘battered and broken’ after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

She retrained after becoming disillusioned with the broadcasting industry and obtained a PhD in counseling psychology from the City University of London at the age of 50.

Her late mother and grandmother were nurses, her brother works in hospital management and her son is an ER doctor – and she said the career change was partly inspired by the people around her.

She told De Telegraaf in 2020: ‘I look at my family and think. “They’re doing it, time for you to step up.”

‘I owe the NHS a huge debt for the help they gave me, for the help they gave to my family. I am so very grateful for it.’

Some of the BBC’s most respected stars attended yesterday’s church service at St Martin-in-the-Fields to commemorate Alagiah’s life, four months after his death at the age of 67 following a battle with bowel cancer.

Broadcasters in attendance included Nick Robinson, Mark Austin, Reeta Chakrabarti, Fiona Bruce, Fergus Walsh, Simon McCoy, Sophie Raworth and Matthew Amroliwala.

Mr Alagiah’s wife, Frances Robathan, with whom he had two children, and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence – Princess Anne’s husband – also attended the service led by the Reverend Dr. Sam Wells, with music by the London African Gospel Choir.

Attendees heard reflections on Mr Alagiah’s career as his final message to the world was read out by his former BBC Six O’Clock News co-presenter Sophie Raworth.

She told the congregation: “We end the program today with George in his own words. If you haven’t told the people you love that you love them yet, tell them. If you haven’t told them yet how vulnerable you feel sometimes, tell them.”

“If you want to tell them you want to stay with them until the front hall stairs feel like Everest, tell them. You never know what’s around the corner. And if, fortunately, there is nothing around the corner, at least you have your defense in first.’

Sri Lankan-born journalist Alagiah, the face of BBC One’s News At Six since 2007, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in April 2014, which had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.

He underwent two rounds of chemotherapy and several surgeries, including the removal of most of his liver.

In October 2015, he announced his treatment was over and returned to BBC News At Six on 10 November.

Alagiah joined the BBC in 1989 and spent many years as one of the corporation’s chief foreign correspondents before moving into presenting.

He started hosting the 6pm news bulletin in early 2003, but left four years later to present it solo after the departure of his co-host, Natasha Kaplinsky.

Previously he was a leading foreign correspondent, often as a specialist in Africa, reporting on civil wars in Somalia and Liberia and the genocide in Rwanda twenty years ago.

Throughout his career he interviewed central political figures, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and ex-Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe.

Before joining the BBC, Alagiah worked as a journalist and wrote a number of books, including A Home From Home, which looked at what it means to be British.

Throughout his illustrious career he also presented other shows such as Mixed Britannia, which looked at Britain’s mixed population.

He was awarded an OBE in the 2008 New Year Honours.