Jennie Bond reflects on 'terribly sad' Jill Dando murder 25 years on

What did you miss?

Jennie Bond has shared her devastation 25 years after breaking the news her friend Jill Dando was murdered, saying: "It's so terribly sad."

BBC presenter Dando was killed aged 37 outside her London home in April 1999. The murder case sent ripples of shock around the nation and it remains unsolved to this day.

Marking the anniversary, her friend and fellow former BBC presenter Bond joined the Loose Women panel to remember Dando. The journalist said "we owe it to Jill" to explore every possible avenue in an attempt to solve the case.

Bond said: "I remember her as absolutely charming, good friend. Someone who wanted to help others. Wanted to help others in the industry. A very generous character. It's just so sad, so terribly sad to be cut down at that age."

What, how and why?

Looking back at when it all unfolded, Bond was in the BBC newsroom and she was tasked with delivering the news to the world that her friend had been killed. The presenter was asked about how she separated herself personally from the bulletin to be able to do her job. She said: "You just do don't you? You get on with your job."

However, that didn't mean it was easy. For Bond, it was the hardest bulletin she's ever had to share. She explained: "It was probably the toughest bulletin I've ever had to do. Just a couple of years earlier, I had reported extensively on the death of Diana who I also knew and liked. But this was far more personal, far more shocking. The whole newsroom was in shock.

"A newsroom, such a vibrant place. It's buzzy and everyone's chatting at the same time. That morning, suddenly it all went quiet and physically cold."

Taking everyone on the journey, Bond recalled the sadness felt in the newsroom on the day and she walked through what happened behind the scenes at the BBC. She said: "It was about midday that we started hearing rumours, we heard a woman had been killed on her doorstep. Then unbelievably people started saying it's Jill. Whisper it."

She added: "We didn't dare say it out loud. We didn't believe it. We at the BBC were absolutely adamant that we had to contact the family first. I don't think we were the first to break the news actually but that didn't matter. The family were told. My bosses came over to me and said, 'Are you ok? Can you do this?' And I said yes. You could see I was very emotional.

"You can also see that when you're dreading saying something you probably say that bit perfectly well and you have a little stumble after that. And I did."

After Dando's murder, Bond said everyone was left feeling "frightened" at the BBC. She remembered feeling scared and looking around when she put the keys into her own front door. Bond said: "It was something that stayed with the whole of the newsroom for days after that."

She went on: "I think we all felt a little bit frightened actually. One of the nights after that when I got home to my house after a day newsroom you looked around. We didn't know then who killed her and we don't know now 25 years later."

What was Jill Dando like?

Everyone loved Dando and the Loose Women hailed her as the "golden girl" and "the girl next door". Fondly Bond remembered her friend as "the most generous woman". She gave the Loose Women stars an insight into what her friend was like when the cameras stopped rolling.

"She was lovely Jill," Bond said. "She was the most generous woman. We women can be... Bitches isn't the right word? We can be tough on each other." However, Dando wasn't like that at all as Bond explained: "She was such a star."

Bond shared the moment she always thinks of Dando. She said: "When we were in makeup together or something, she always used to say, I think of her all the time when I do my hair, because she said: 'Your hair looks a bit blocky'. Which it does. 'Use some of this wax,' so every time I use a bit of wax I think of Jill. She was just lovely like that."

Jill Dando latest

Dando's murder remains unsolved today. Before the 25th anniversary, lawyers urged investigators to re-open the case. It's emerged that a facial comparison expert claimed there are similarities between Milorad Ulemek, a twice-convicted killer serving 40 years in Serbia, and a man seen near the crime scene, according to The Mirror newspaper.

Michael Mansfield KC, the barrister who defended George at his first trial, told the newspaper: "The Metropolitan Police has a duty to Jill’s family and loved ones, to Barry George and the public to fully investigate this new line of inquiry uncovered by the Daily Mirror. This should include a full forensic examination of the original CCTV of the man, all recovered finger and palm prints and to ascertain the movements of Ulemek at the time."

Unanswered questions brought up by the case were explored in the thought provoking three-part Netflix documentary series that was released on the streaming service last year. Dando's brother Nigel shared his hopes that the case would be solved. "It is what it is," he said. "But you can never say never."

Watch Loose Women at 12.30pm weekdays or on catch up on ITV player.

Read more

• Who killed Jill Dando? Timeline of events since BBC presenter was shot dead