Denise Robertson will be laid to rest in her hometown of Sunderland on Wednesday 13 April. The 83-year-old, who passed away on 31 March following a short battle with pancreatic cancer, is to be remembered at a funeral service at Sunderland Minster at 1pm, followed by a private burial at Grangetown Cemetery.Her family have requested family flowers only, with any donations to be made to The Bubble Foundation, a charity which works to save the lives of babies and children born without an immune system, and of which Denise was president for the past 23 years.
© Photo: Getty ImagesDenise Robertson will be laid to rest in her hometown of Sunderland
Among those attending Wednesday's funeral service will be Denise's former colleague Phillip Schofield. He arrived in the city on Tuesday night, and tweeted to his followers: "Hello Sunderland, what a shame to be here under such sad circumstances, but I'm sure we'll give our Denise a fitting send off."The following morning, he uploaded a photo of a black tie, writing: "I hate this tie, every time I put it on I'm sad."
© Photo: TwitterPhillip Schofield will be among the mourners
Denise had appeared on This Morning since the show's very first episode in 1988 as the resident agony aunt.She revealed her cancer diagnosis in February, and her death was announced the following month on the ITV show's Twitter page. "Such sad news – our friend and colleague Denise Robertson has lost her short but determined battle against cancer," the message read.
© Photo: Getty ImagesDenise pictured with the This Morning team in January
Phillip was among the first to pay tribute to Denise following the news of her death. "I'm heartbroken at the passing of our @itvthismorning icon Denise Robertson. Kind, thoughtful, caring and wonderful," he wrote.His co-host Holly Willoughby shared a photo of herself with Denise on Instagram, which she captioned: "Yesterday we lost this gorgeous lady after her brave fight with cancer... We will miss her deeply... Denise you were quite simply one of life's good ones Xxx."
