Dame Deborah James's mother reveals she thought 'invincible' daughter would survive

Dame Deborah James's mother has revealed how she was convinced her "invincible" daughter would survive right until the end.

The bowel cancer campaigner passed away last June, aged 40, after a five-year battle with the condition.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph ahead of an upcoming BBC documentary, Heather James revealed her heartbreak as her eldest child "deteriorated".

She said: "To me, Deborah was invincible. Until the minute she took her last breath, I still thought she would survive.

"We never thought she would die. If we'd have known she was going to die at the end of five years, we wouldn't have had such an enjoyable time.

"She deteriorated in front of our eyes, but I never prepared for the end."

Read more: Deborah James' husband opens up about the late campaigner's cancer battle

James recalled how last May, when her daughter came home from hospital to receive end-of-life care, she thought she would still make a full recovery.

She said: "She didn’t come home to die but to live. It was the best death because she encountered life. We had seven weeks altogether.

"She would say, ‘Right, we're having cocktails!' And we'd lay the bottles on the table. 'I want a Deliveroo!' It might be midnight. Chips or a McDonald's milkshake."

James added that she wanted her grandchildren, Hugo, 13, and Eloise, 15, to have a "full life" and "not be encroached with sadness".

Read more: What is bowel cancer? Signs and symptoms as Adele Roberts discusses her treatment

In her final months, the campaigner launched the Bowelbabe cancer research fund, which has so far raised £11.3 million, and wrote the book How To Live When You Could Be Dead.

The documentary Deborah James: Bowelbabe in Her Own Words is set to air on Monday at 9pm on BBC Two.

Watch: Deborah James's husband recalls campaigner's poignant words