Dale Winton dead at 62: Gay Supermarket Sweep host dies in his home
Dale Winton attends the wedding of David Walliams and Lara Stone at Claridge’s Hotel on May 16, 2010 in London, England. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty)
Gay British TV presenter Dale Winton has died aged 62.
The popular television host was best known for long-running daytime game show Supermarket Sweep.
Winton’s agent Jan Kennedy confirmed his death to the BBC on Wednesday.
“It is with great sadness that we can confirm the passing of Dale Winton who died at home earlier today,” said Kennedy.
“While we know many will share this terrible loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this time of grief.”
Winton was a staple on television sets in the 1990s with Supermarket Sweep from 1993 to 2001, as well as a reboot in 2007.
He recently appeared on Dale Winton’s Florida Fly Drive on Channel 5 earlier this year.
Davina McCall paid tribute to Winton, writing on Twitter that he was “a lovely, warm, kind, sensitive, generous soul with a touch of naughty.”
(Twitter)
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan hailed Winton as a “superb TV presenter.”
(Twitter)
Jack Whitehall wrote on Twitter: “Desperately sad news about Dale Winton. A really funny and kind person gone too soon, RIP.”
Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness declared his love for Supermarket Sweep, the show Winton hosted on ITV.
“Sad news. Back in the day Supermarket Sweep was the programme to watch. Dale Winton was the perfect host, he made it all look effortless. RIP,” wrote McGuinness.
Les Dennis, the former host of game show Family Fortunes, was “shocked” to hear about Winton’s death.
“So sad and shocked to hear that Dale Winton has died. He was a lovely,warm man who posed charm. RIP,” wrote Dennis.
Winton emotionally opened up about never having officially come out as gay to his mother in his 2002 autobiography.
He said she had hinted that she might have known about his sexual orientation.
“She heard me on the phone to my then boyfriend, who was very obviously gay, very camp. She said to me: ‘I never want you to feel there’s something you can’t tell me, and I will never judge or discriminate,’” he wrote.
He added: “That was the point I should have gone: ‘Mum, I’ll tell you: I’m gay.’”
In another interview in 2008, Winton said he never officially came out because nobody ever asked about his sexual orientation.
“The truth – it’s absolutely the truth – is that no one ever asked me. I did countless interviews over the years and I was always waiting for the question. It never came. It became a game, the ambiguity of it all.
“And I’m not a banner-waving gay guy, because I actually don’t believe it’s important. People never say ‘vehement heterosexual Michael Parkinson,’ but it will say ‘camp gay entertainer Graham Norton’ or ‘Dale Winton’ since I’ve officially come out.”
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Winton more recently opened up about battles with depression, triggered by events like breakups and the death of his mother, Sheree Winton.
He told Loose Women: “There are worse things in the world, but I had the health issues and the depression. My mum died.
“I did not want to put one foot in front of the other outside the house. I would not leave the house. Five years I went through it. I wanted to withdraw…If you’ve never had it, you’ll never understand it.”
