Dale Winton Biography

Dale Jonathan Winton was born on May 22, 1955, in Marylebone, London, England, to Gary Winton and actor Sheree Winton.

His father was a Jew, and his mother later converted to Judaism. Dale's father passed away on the day of Dale’s “bar mitzvah.” Dale was thus raised singlehandedly by his mother.

Unfortunately, Dale’s mother committed suicide in 1976, when Dale was just 21. Reportedly, his mother had been suffering from depression.

In 1972, Dale Winton began his career as a DJ, playing in clubs in Richmond. There, he met LBC radio host Steve Allen.

They became good friends, stayed together for a while, and also traveled together. Dale also did a number of odd jobs, including selling timeshares.

In 1982, Dale started DJ-ing on weekends at various London clubs. He made enough contacts to join the United Biscuits Radio Network, where he worked for Adrian Love.

Soon, he earned his own morning show on the network. Following this, he joined Radio Trent, located in Nottingham. He initially hosted a weekend show for the network and was moved to the weekday morning slot later.

He quit the network in 1985 and then worked for many local radio stations, such as Beacon Radio in Wolverhampton, Chiltern Radio, and Blue Danube Radio in Austria.

In 2000, Dale succeeded Alan Freeman as the host of Pick of the Pops on BBC Radio 2. He continued his stint on the show till October 30, 2010, following which he was replaced by Tony Blackburn.

Dale also filled in for Liza Tarbuck and Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2, covering Liza’s Saturday show in September 2013 and in November/December 2016.

Dale Winton switched to TV in 1986, when he joined BBC Bristol and appeared on BBC One’s Pet Watch. He then appeared on Lifestyle Channel, Channel 4, and ITV.

From 1993 to 2000, Dale successfully hosted the daytime TV show Dale's Supermarket Sweep on ITV. The show required contestants to go around a supermarket and collect items to win a cash prize.

The show was revived in 2007, after a long break. Dale also appeared in the Danny Boyle-directed 1996 black-comedy movie Trainspotting, playing himself.

During 1995–1996, Dale hosted the BBC Saturday night game show titled Pets Win Prizes. In 1997, Dale hosted the finals of The Great British Song Contest. The contest was a platform for selecting the U.K.'s best singing talents for the Eurovision Song Contest, as part of a tie-up.

From 1997 to 2002, Dale also hosted a dating show named The Other Half. In 1999, Dale was seen in an episode of the sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, named Do They Take Sugar?

In 2000, Dale was the subject of This Is Your Life. The following year, he appeared as the host of the endurance contest Touch the Truck, aired on Channel 5.

Dale began hosting the National Lottery game show named In It to Win It in 2002. In 2003, Dale was part of the BBC Three mockumentary named Dale's Wedding. It showed him marrying model Nell McAndrew in a spoof wedding.

From 2003 to 2004, Dale was seen hosting two seasons of the show Stars Reunited. The show reunited the cast members of hit British TV series after years.

From 2004 to 2006, Dale appeared as a host of three seasons of the ITV show Celebrity Fit Club. The show featured various celebrities and tracked their weight-loss journey.

Dale hosted the BBC One Saturday night variety show Hole in the Wall in 2008. It was based on a popular Japanese show which had contestants in lycra costumes trying to fit through holes in a moving wall.

The following year, the show was revived for a second season. However, Dale was replaced by Anton du Beke.

Dale also appeared in several TV campaigns, one of them being a TV commercial for cashmygold.co.uk in 2010.

Come Fly with Me, a BBC comedy series, featured Dale in its last episode. In 2012, Dale appeared as the host of the ITV game show named Dale's Great Getaway.

In February 2018, Dale presented a travelogue series titled Dale Winton's Florida Fly Drive. The series was aired on Channel 5.

In 2002, at the age of 47, Dale Winton published his autobiography, titled My Story. The book had detailed accounts of his journey to fame. It also contained details about his mother’s suicide. In the book, Dale eventually came out as gay.

Though Dale Winton never revealed whether he had dated someone, he once stated that he had a crush on a married TV celebrity he had worked with on an ITV show. He never named the person, but rumors suggested the person could have been David Baddiel. Apparently, David had a signed copy of Dale’s autobiography with a note that addressed him as "darling” and asking him to let him “be the first!"

On April 18, 2018, Dale’s agent, Jan Kennedy, declared that Dale had died at his home in Whetstone, North London, England. The next day, the Scotland Yard said that they were treating the death as "unexplained" but had found no evidence to suspect any foul play.

Dale was 62 years old at the time of his death. Back then, Dale was working for the Channel 5 show Dale Winton's Florida Fly Drive.

Gloria Hunniford, one of Dale’s trusted friends, later said that Dale had been dealing with a lot, including arthritis, heart issues, asthma, and a chest infection. Dale’s autopsy report finally declared that he had died of natural causes.

Just a month before his death, Dale had moved from his £2.9 million Regent's Park apartment in central London to a rented accommodation in Whetstone.

Following his death, Dale's friends organized a non-religious humanist funeral. The event, celebrated by Humanists UK, was held on May 22, on what would have been Dale’s 63rd his birthday. Dale’s eulogy remains preserved in a public archive of humanist funerals.

Interestingly, in a handwritten will of two pages, Dale left his fortune worth £2.22 million, including his Sarasota holiday home, to BBC chief creative officer Mark Linsey. Dale had been the godfather of Mark’s three children.

The value of Dale’s fortune reduced to £2.16 million after all settlements. While Mark inherited £2.1 million, he was required to send unnamed gifts to three more of Dale’s friends.

Dale had also requested to be interred alongside his mother’s grave. He was thus buried in the Golders Green cemetery in north London, where his mother, too, remains buried.