Supermarket Sweep host Dale Winton died of natural causes
Supermarket Sweep host Dale Winton’s death was due to natural causes, a coroner has found.
The popularĀ television host, who was best known for long-running daytime game showĀ Supermarket Sweep, died in his home onĀ April 18, aged 62.
The out TV star’s long time agentĀ Jan Kennedy, confirmed on Thursday āthat the coroner investigating the death of Dale Winton has found death by natural causes”.
Police were previouslyĀ treating his death as “unexplained” but not suspicious.
Friends of the star say he had been suffering from a number of ailment for some time.
Close friend Gloria Hunniford said: “Dale had a lot of things going wrong, he had pain with arthritis, he had a heart complaint, he had a chest infection, and we all know how the winter affected that. He had asthma as well.”
Winton’sĀ agent Jan KennedyĀ said in a previous statement:Ā “It is with great sadness that we can confirm the passing of Dale Winton.
“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 withĀ Supermarket SweepĀ from 1993 to 2001, as well as a reboot in 2007.
He recently appeared onĀ Dale Wintonās Florida Fly DriveĀ on Channel 5.
Davina McCall paid tribute to Winton, writing on Twitter that he was “a lovely, warm, kind, sensitive, generous soul with a touch of naughty.”
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan hailed Winton as aĀ “superb TV presenter.”
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 forĀ 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 showĀ 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.
āShe heard me on the phone to my then boyfriend, who was very obviously gay, very camp. She said to me: āI never want you to feel thereās something you canāt tell me, and I will never judge or discriminate,’ā he wrote.
He added: āThat was the point I should have gone: āMum, Iāll tell you: Iām gay.’ā
In another interview in 2008, Winton said he never officially came out because nobody ever asked about his sexual orientation.
āThe truth ā itās absolutely the truth ā 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.
āAnd Iām not a banner-waving gay guy, because I actually donāt believe itās important. People never say āvehement heterosexual Michael Parkinson,ā but it will say ācamp gay entertainer Graham Nortonā or āDale Wintonā since Iāve officially come out.ā
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: āThere 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 withdrawā¦If youāve never had it, youāll never understand it.ā