Bill Turnbull may not have been able to stop giggling as he tried cannabis but the moment was deadly serious.
The former BBC Breakfast presenter, 63, was filmed flouting the law during his quest to find new treatments for his advanced prostate cancer.
The cannabis oil concoction he sampled during Channel 4’s Bill Turnbull: Staying Alive contained the drug’s legal CBD compound – but also its illegal psychoactive element, THC.
Viewers will also see him giving up meat, going teetotal and smiling to boost feelings of positivity.
He says in the show: “I’m doing everything I can to learn how cancer can be staved off or, who knows, even cured.”
(Image: Channel 4)
And after his experiences, he is calling on the Government to fund proper medical research on cannabis.
Bill says: “I think it is time we all had a proper conversation about the potential benefits of legalising cannabis for medicinal purposes.
“It is legal in more than 20 other countries. So if they are doing it, why aren’t we examining it more?
“This is something that’s been around for thousands of years and has been illegal for just over a hundred years.
“We could be missing something very beneficial.”
(Image: Channel 4)
Bill was diagnosed in 2018 and has endured nine rounds of chemo. He is desperate to avoid more and says: “I refuse to believe I’m out of options.”
He was motivated to try cannabis by the experience of 14-year-old cancer patient Deryn Blackwell, who had a miraculous recovery after his mother gave him cannabis oil for pain relief.
He said: “I find Deryn’s story deeply inspiring. To come back from the brink of death like that is truly wonderful.”
Bill goes to visit Jeff Ditchfield, who has been growing cannabis, processing it for medicinal purposes and giving it to people who need it for the past 15 years.
Meeting Jeff – who has been arrested more than 20 times – in his garden workshop, Bill laughs: “This may look like an episode of Breaking Bad but Jeff is no Walter White, his drugs come free.”
(Image: Channel 4)
Before Bill tries the oil, Jeff warns him taking the concoction is an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act, saying: “I have to ask you, are you aware that you’re going to be breaking the law?”
Bill replies: “It’s for medicinal purposes, so let’s see what happens.”
Rubbing the mixture under his tongue, he says it tastes “like pesto, very planty”. Bill then tries vaping the drug and is soon laughing uncontrollably and telling the camera: “This is really unfair.”
Speaking through fits of giggles, he adds: “I cannot compose a sentence, I just can’t do it.” He says he felt so nauseous afterwards he feared he might throw up over the director.
Bill says the problem with the drug being illegal is no one knows the correct dose to take or how different dosages of the 5,000 different varieties might benefit different types of cancer.
(Image: Pete Dadds/ Channel 4)
“I feel a little conflicted by the vagueness of it all,” he says. “Imagine you had aspirin, or some other painkiller, unlicensed.
“And you were told, ‘Well, this could be really good for you but we do not know how much you should actually take’.
“You’d be completely in the dark. And that is the issue with cannabis at the moment.”
Bill has continued with the CBD but stopped taking THC. “I could not work out what was good for me and what wasn’t. So I just thought I will give it a give it a rest for the time being, until I can get some better guidance.”
However, while making the film, he was disappointed to learn levels of prostate-specific antigen in his blood are still rising, despite his various treatments and going meat-free.
But he continues to try new things – including laughter therapy and giving up alcohol. “A lot of people say I look better since giving up drinking,” he says.
“I say, you kind of have to be on top of it or it can be on top of you, you have to decide. And being on top of it is a much happier place to be.”
(Image: Getty)
His wife Sarah and three children all feature in the film and Bill says: “I’m fortunate to have the support I have and the family I have.
“It helps you stay positive and you can’t measure the effect of what positivity does for you.”
Bill also has tearful moments in the show and says: “It’s a very emotional business, one is because I am on a hormone treatment, which does make me spill over, to suppress the testosterone.
“It makes you more likely to cry and crying is a very important thing to do when under this kind of stress.”
(Image: BBC)
Bill’s consultant has told him he aims to get him to at least 80 – which the retired presenter is happy with.
“I think the thing is to live without fear, because fear is negative energy. So do not let it overshadow your life.”
Going forward, Bill insists he will keep on trying everything he can.
“I would love to be cured! But I like to think, if I have ambition, it would be to die with it rather than of it. So you have it but die of something else. That is a reasonable thing to ask for.”
- Bill Turnbull: Staying Alive airs on Channel 4 on Thursday, October 24.
