‘CHRIS, NEVER FORGOTTEN’
Fatal fall claims design personality
Chris Hyndman, one half of CBC’s afternoon lifestyle show Steven and Chris, was found dead in an alley in Toronto late Monday, below the terraced condo unit he shared with his spouse and co-host, Steven Sabados.
Toronto police told CBC News on Tuesday that Hyndman, 49, was found without vital signs in a laneway near the intersection of Queen St. and Broadview Ave. shortly after 11 p.m. Monday.
Det. Terry Wray would not confirm any details.
“We don’t release information in regards to people who’ve died unless they ’re a victim of foul play and that hasn’t been determined yet,” he said. “It’s an open investigation.”
The couple lived in a large unit that overlooked the alley where the body of Hyndman, 49, was found.
A man who asked not to be identified left flowers, candles and a card at the scene. The envelope read, “Chris, never forgotten.”
The pair were sharing Instagram photos of a vacation in Barbados as recently as Monday and are said to have been there for a brief weekend vacation.
Since 2008 the couple co-hosted the daytime talk show Steven and Chris, which has covered everything from fashion and cooking to home decor, afternoons on CBC. Earlier they hosted Designer Guys on HGTV for a few seasons and the makeover show, So Chic with Steven and Chris.
“Hyndman often played the joker, while the more straitlaced Sabados played up his calm and pragmatic demeanour,” a CBC obituary said of the on-air duo’s dynamic.
CBC said immediately it has cancelled the program.
Born in Ottawa and raised in Newfoundland, Hyndman kept true to his East Coast roots, at one point opening a home furnishings and decor store in St. John’s with Sabados.
News of Hyndman’s sudden death drew condolences from well-known colleagues, including Rick Mercer, Murdoch Mysteries star Yannick Bisson, and fellow design couple Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan.
Mary Darling, Designer Guys’ creator and executive producer, described the duo as “two wings of a bird.”
“What made the pair, I would say, is the fact that their love and respect for each other was something that was actually able to come through the screen,” said Darling, reached Tuesday in Fairbanks, Alaska.