DID YOU KNOW? Dale Winton

The popular presenter is back on our screens after a long absence, in Dale Winton’s Florida Fly Drive (9pm, Ch5). Here are some things you might not know about his life and career…

Dale was born on May 22, 1955. His father was furniture salesman Gary Winton, and his mother was actress Sheree Winton. She was often referred to as ‘the English Jayne Mansfield’, and made many film and TV appearances throughout her career. She even had a Bond film – Thunderball – on her CV, though her role was uncredited.

Dale was just 13 when his father died in 1968; his mother committed suicide eight years later, taking an overdose after a lifelong battle with depression.

He started out in show business as a

DJ, playing in London clubs in the early 1970s, before moving to radio, first with United Biscuits Industrial Radio, and then with Radio Trent in Nottingham. His big TV break came in 1993 when he hosted

the ITV daytime show Dale’s Supermarket

Sweep. The show ran until 2001, and was briefly revived in 2007. He also presented Blankety Blank (1998), Touch The Truck (2001) and Hole In The Wall (2008). He waited until he was 47 before coming out as gay in his 2002 autobiography. The reason for the wait? ‘The truth is that no one ever asked me.’ Dale’s last regular presenting role was on The National Lottery: In It To Win It

(2005-10). He has largely been off our screens ever since, after shoulder and knee problems forced him to have four major surgeries. ‘I took a break to get myself sorted,’ he revealed.