Yahoo News Steph McGovern 'gutted' as Packed Lunch co-star dies at 28
The TV presenter paid tribute in a moving message on Instagram
Steph McGovern has paid tribute after the death of one of the stars of Steph’s Packed Lunch, saying she is "gutted”.
Dale Bowes, who was one of the Lunchmates on the Channel 4 show, passed away at the age of 28 after battling lung cancer. The geography graduate had been fighting synovial sarcoma for the last few years and died after being moved onto hospice care.
Bowes was part of many discussions on McGovern’s programme and she said that he had always added so much to the show.
Dale Bowes brought 'wisdom and joy'
The TV star shared a picture of her and Bowes standing next to each other on the set of Steph’s Packed Lunch at Christmas, with Bowes clad in a festive jumper. “Gutted to hear that @MrDaleBowes has died,” she said, adding a broken-hearted emoji to her moving post.
“Dale was one of our fabulous lunchmates who always brought so much wisdom and joy to the show, even in the middle of his brutal cancer treatment,” McGovern added.
The show started in 2020 amid the coronavirus lockdowns but finished at the end of 2023, with Channel 4 explaining that audience habits were "changing quicker than ever" and that "difficult decisions" had to be made.
TV star 'bawled' when Packed Lunch ended
At the time, Bowes posted a message on Instagram saying how sad he was to see it go. “And that’s the end of our beloved Steph’s Packed Lunch,” he wrote.
“I bawled my eyes out when I saw myself in the montage at the end. Thank you to everyone who watched the show and I send all my love out to viewers, fellow lunchmates, cast and crew.
"Channel 4 have made a mistake but unfortunately it feels like our words fall on deaf ears.”
In a GoFundMe set up for Bowes, he was described as “intelligent, caring and loved” and was said to be a keen ghost-hunter in his spare time. The page said that in March this year he became more unwell and was admitted to a hospice for end of life care.
According to the Mayo Clinic, synovial sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that usually affects young adults. It says on its website: "Synovial sarcoma begins as a growth of cells that can multiply quickly and destroy healthy tissue. The first symptom is usually swelling or a lump under the skin. The lump may or may not hurt. Synovial sarcoma can occur almost anywhere in the body. The most common places are in the legs and arms.
"Synovial sarcoma is a type of cancer called a soft tissue sarcoma. These cancers happen in the body's connective tissues."
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