Beloved Newscaster Dies of Abdominal Cancer: Beccy Barr Was 46

Former BBC presenter Becky Barr, who gave up her TV career to become a firefighter, has died. Barr passed “peacefully” away on the morning of Monday, July 22 following a battle with incurable abdominal cancer, her family confirmed. She was 46.

“This morning Beccy passed away peacefully at St John’s Hospice in Lancaster. They offered the most dignified and compassionate care for the last few days of her life,” a statement shared to Barr’s Instagram read. “Beccy led an incredible life that I will post about on her account in the near future along with details of her funeral. For now, I just want to say that I was incredibly blessed to have such an amazing sister. She was a very loved daughter, granddaughter and niece. More than anything she was a wonderful mother to Hannah.”

Barr first revealed her diagnosis in a social media post on Christmas Eve 2023, writing, “Two lessons I’ve learned from this distinctly sub-optimal experience: 1) Life is wild. 2) People have an utterly astounding and boundless capacity for love, care and friendship,” she wrote at the time. Further opening up about her diagnosis in a January LinkedIn post, she said, “earlier this year I was diagnosed with incurable and (to some extent) treatable cancer. Practically, this means I feel well and I’m on an immunotherapy regime that may keep well for a period of time.”

Barr was best known to British TV viewers as the face of BBC North West Tonight. After beginning her journalism career at the Blackpool Citizen in her early 20s and then moving onto Bloomberg News and CNBC in New York, the beloved presenter returned to Lancashire and joined the BBC in 2013, per the BBC. She left her TV career in 2019 to follow in her father’s footsteps by joining Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, telling BBC at the time, “I still really love being a journalist but it has been nearly 20 years and I’m ready for a change and a different challenge.”

Speaking with the BBC, Lancashire’s chief fire officer, Justin Johnston, remembered Barr as an “amazing professional, wise and warm” who “made a really big impact in her short time – five years – with us… Our hearts go out to her family, her friends and her work colleagues here at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.” Chris Brindley, editor of BBC North West, called Barr a “much-loved part of the team,” adding that “those who worked with Beccy will remember her as an inspiration and those who watched her will remember her as a really talented journalist and presenter.”

Barr is survived by her daughter, Hannah. She will be laid to rest in a funeral service next week, according to LancsLive. Barr’s family requested that donations be made in Barr’s memory to St John’s Hospice.