Two prominent figures in British public life have died: David Willey, the BBC's veteran Vatican correspondent who reported on five popes, aged 93, and Theo Burrell, the Antiques Roadshow expert who became a campaigner against brain tumours, aged 39.
Willey, who served as a BBC foreign correspondent for more than half a century, reported from Algeria, Vietnam and China, but was best known for his decades in Rome covering the papacies of five popes. He was awarded an OBE for services to broadcast journalism and wrote a book on Pope Francis. Even in his nineties he was still working; last year, after the death of Pope Francis, he reflected on how the Vatican had changed under the late pontiff. Mark Lowen, BBC correspondent, said Willey was "an incredible authority on the Vatican, reporting and travelling with five Popes, and was so kind, giving me insight and encouragement when I started in Rome in 2019." Gillian Hazell, a news producer who worked closely with him, described him as "an esteemed friend and colleague with a mischievous sense of humour and endless fascinating stories." Willey began his career as a trainee for Reuters and covered the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. He later worked as a freelancer in Algeria before becoming the BBC's east Africa correspondent in 1964, then reported from Asia, including the Vietnam War, and China after the communist revolution. Among his most notable assignments was the assassination attempt on John Paul II in 1981. Last year, he met his fifth pope, the newly elected Pope Leo. In an article reflecting on changes within the Vatican, he wrote: "I have suddenly realised with something of shock that I am already not only four years older than the late Pope Francis, but that my own life now extends through no fewer than eight successive papal reigns."
“BBC Vatican correspondent David Willey dies aged 93; Antiques Roadshow expert Theo Burrell dies aged 39.”
In a separate loss, Antiques Roadshow specialist Theo Burrell has died aged 39 after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma, a highly aggressive form of brain tumour, in June 2022. Her family said she passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday afternoon, adding: "Neither she nor her medical team foresaw this happening quite so quickly." Burrell joined the BBC programme in 2018 and was among the team of specialists who examined and appraised objects brought in by members of the public. After her diagnosis, she underwent life-extending surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She had previously spoken about experiencing "dark thoughts" and feared she "wouldn't see my son's second birthday" but did—and later married her husband Alex earlier this year. She became a vocal advocate for brain tumour research, becoming a patron of Brain Tumour Research in 2023. Dan Knowles, the charity's chief executive, said: "We are heartbroken that we have lost the phenomenal, determined and truly inspiring Theo Burrell to this devastating disease." Around 3,200 people a year are diagnosed with glioblastoma in the UK, of whom around 160 will live for five years or more; there has been no advance in treatments for two decades.
Willey and Burrell both left lasting marks through their work and advocacy—Willey as a voice of authority on the Vatican spanning eight papacies, Burrell as a campaigner who gave hope to others facing the same cruel diagnosis.
