Natasha Kaplinsky makes a rare public appearance as she attends the memorial for fellow BBC News At Six presenter George Alagiah in London following the tragic death of a journalist from cancer
Natasha Kaplinsky made a rare public appearance on Tuesday as she attended the memorial for her fellow News At Six presenter George Alagiah in London.
Newsreader George died in July at the age of 67 after a years-long battle with colon cancer.
The pair were close friends and co-hosted News At Six from 2005 to 2007, when Natasha left to relaunch Five and George presented the show solo.
Natasha, 51, joined other BBC stars, including Fiona Bruce, Sophie Raworth and Nick Robinson, to pay tribute to their beloved friend at the service at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square.
Ms Kaplinsky previously said it was a “privilege” to be friends with Mr Alagiah as she paid tribute to him after news of his death emerged four months ago.
Supportive: Natasha Kaplinsky made a rare public appearance on Tuesday as she attended the memorial for her fellow News At Six presenter George Alagiah in London
Co-hosts: Natasha and George were close friends and co-hosted News At Six from 2005 to 2007 (pictured on the set of the BBC Six O’Clock news in 2007)
‘Hello dearest George. I will miss you so much. It was such a privilege to be your friend,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a smiley selfie of the two.
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.
Natasha joined the BBC in 2001 and became presenter of Six O’Clock News in 2005. In 2007 she left to help relaunch Five, now known as Channel 5.
Natasha was the first ever winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004 with partner Brendan Cole.
She helped co-present the second series while Tess Daly was on maternity leave.
However, she now enjoys a life away from the spotlight and lives in rural Sussex with her husband Justin, who she married in 2005, and her two children.
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.
Out and about: Natasha is now rarely seen in public but joined her fellow BBC stars to pay tribute to George at St Martin In The Fields Church
Thoughtful: Natasha shared a sweet selfie of the couple when news of his death broke
Sad: BBC News at Six presenter George Alagiah died in London on July 24 aged 67
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 first started hosting the 6pm news bulletin in early 2003, but moved on to present it solo four years later following the departure of his co-host Natasha.
In October last year, Alagiah announced he was taking a break from presenting News At Six on the BBC after another scan.
Alagiah has spoken openly about the experience of living with cancer and in 2020 took part in a videocast for the charity Bowel Cancer UK, saying he sometimes felt like he had the ‘easy part’, living with bowel cancer while his loved ones had to watch.
He died on July 24 in London at the age of 67.
Stars: BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth is among those attending George Alagiah’s memorial service today
Audience: BBC presenters Fiona Bruce (left) and Mishal Husain speak outside the memorial today