Dale Winton dies at home aged just 62
DALE Winton, the former giant of daytime television, died yesterday at 62, his agent revealed last night.
The Supermarket Sweep host passed away at his home, said Jan Kennedy. In a statement, she added: ‘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.’
The cause of his death is not known. Winton’s hugely popular Supermarket Sweep ran from 1993 to 2001, and more recently, the star made a Channel 5 show called Dale Winton’s Florida Fly Drive.
Celebrities last night paid tribute, with presenter Davina McCall writing: ‘I am so so so sad to hear about Dale Winton, a lovely, warm, kind, sensitive, generous soul with a touch of naughty!’
Fellow TV host Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘RIP Dale Winton, 62. Very sad news. A warm, funny man & superb TV presenter.’
And boxing legend Frank Bruno wrote: ‘Very sad to hear that Dale Winton has passed away, too too young, my thoughts are with his family.’
Winton sparked concerns for his welfare after missing the funeral of his close friend Cilla Black in 2015.
Appearing on ITV’s Loose Women in 2016, he revealed he had been going through a secret battle with depression after a difficult break-up.
Winton said his depression became so severe he felt unable ‘to put one foot in front of the other’. He added: ‘I had a very bad year. I should have taken myself off the TV but I didn’t. There are worse things in the world, but I had the health issues and the depression. My mum died of it.
‘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.’
Winton said his depression ‘was triggered by a very bad
‘I wanted to withdraw’
break-up’, adding: ‘God, I can’t half pick ’em! People are amazed at my taste. I like them if they’ve not got a tooth in their head, tattoos, the lot. If they’ve got emotional problems, sign me up.’
Winton was born in 1955 in London, to an actress mother and a Jewish furniture sales- man. His parents divorced when he was ten years old, and his father Gary then died three years later – on the day of Dale’s bar mitzvah.
His mother, actress Sheree Winton, took her own life aged 39 in 1976, after her own battle with clinical depression.
The TV star discovered his mother, who had put up a do-not-disturb sign outside her bedroom door and taken an overdose, just a few days after he had turned 21.
The star came out as gay in his 2002 autobiography, and said later he hadn’t done so earlier because no one had asked about his sexual orientation. Winton was largely absent from the public eye from the early 2000s, but from February this year, he presented Channel 5’s Florida Fly Drive, visiting the US state’s tourist attractions.