David Walliams was "worried" about his friend Dale Winton in the run up to his tragic death earlier this week.
The ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judge has been left devastated by the unexpected passing of the ‘Supermarket Sweep’ presenter on Wednesday (18.04.18) and admitted during a radio interview that he was concerned about his pal’s career in recent years.
Speaking on Radio 4’s ‘Front Row’, David said: "He absolutely lived for showbusiness. I was always worried for him, inevitably it [fame] does go away. You have your moment in the sun, you’re still working but you’re not quite where you were. People on TV there’s often a bit of a mask, people show a certain side of them, but with Dale the two were as close as they could be.
"He was one of the funniest people I have ever met, funny intentionally and unintentionally. He was absolutely outrageous and had such a camp sense of humour, which is probably why I was drawn to him."
The 46-year-old comedian choked up as he recalled how the death of Dale’s mother – who took her own life just before his 21st birthday – had hit him really hard.
He explained: "I just wish he was able to find happiness himself, but I think he was so devastated by what happened to his mother when he was so young, he found it hard.
"He absolutely worshipped her, he found her, that sort of thing you never really get over. The most awful thing…he used to tell me he had this terrible guilt as his mum had asked him if he was gay and he said no and he felt this terrible guilt that he hadn’t told her the truth."
Dale was found dead at his home two days ago and, although police aren’t treating it as suspicious, they’ve ordered a post-mortem as his passing is "unexplained."
David Walliams was ‘worried’ about Dale Winton before death
