The actress and presenter died in her husband’s arms yesterday after losing her battle with colon cancer. She had planned to end her chemotherapy in November so that she could have one final Christmas with her family.

She wanted to be buried in Somerset, but also to have a “knees-up” in London.

“Does one choose a funeral with hymns and prayers that suit only the deceased? Surely part of the mourning process is for the loved ones left behind? Should they not be allowed some say?” she writes in the book, which was released earlier this month. She comments that her husband Michael Pattemore suggested that their friend – Peter Delaney, who married the couple in 2008 – conducted the funeral service.

“I say: ‘I wouldn’t expect everyone to have to come all the way down here to pay their respects. I want a tribute, or something that is nice and handy and anyone who fancies coming in and saying goodbye can do so easily, not have to get on a train for three hours,’” she writes.

“We have reached a compromise, I think, and there will be a service in Somerset and a knees-up in London. So if you are passing, do drop in for a quick boogie.”

Numerous high-profile names have paid tribute to Bellingham, who was given an OBE for her charitable efforts earlier this year, including Ed Miliband, who tweeted that he was “very sad” to hear the news.

Very sad to hear that Lynda Bellingham has passed away. She was far too young. My thoughts are with her family today.

; Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) October 20, 2014

Simon Pegg described Bellingham as his “first TV mother figure and and a treasured friend”.

Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans called her “an absolute mensch of the highest order”, while Good Morning Britain presenter Ben Shephard said she was “just wonderful to be around”.

Her fellow Loose Women panelists Lisa Maxwell, Denise Welch and Linda Robson also paid their respects on Twitter.

Read more: Simon Pegg leads tributes to Lynda Bellingham
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