15 of Dale Winton's most uplifting quotes about life - and Supermarket Sweep

Tributes have been pouring in for TV game show legend Dale Winton who passed away at the age of 62 on Wednesday.

Paddy McGuinness called him "the perfect host", while Davina McCall said he was "a lovely, warm, kind, sensitive, generous soul with a touch of naughty".

Here are 15 of his most uplifting quotes, from insights into his pre-fame years, to surprising reveals about his love of hip-hop...

On his ambition to host game shows: "I grew up watching them. I loved them all. While I was still working as a DJ, someone asked me, 'what's the highest accolade you could achieve?' And I said, 'My ultimate ambition is to be in a box on Celebrity Squares', which is a pretty silly thing to say, but it was a thought I nurtured."

On his 1994 Supermarket Sweep 'hit' single: "Are you aware of the George Michael case? He said 'I will never sing again.' So I thought there's a gap in the market!"

"For as long as I can remember I've loved shopping, and the supermarkets there [in America] are huge. I can spend hours wandering around them. It sounds peculiar, but I almost consider shopping to be a hobby, and my house is testament to that - I've almost become a hoarder with all the stuff I shouldn't really have bought!"

The highlight of his turn on Would I Lie To You?: "When you get attached to a potato, it's rotting a bit, but it's comfort. It's like your old teddy bear smells of your old teddy bear. Or whatever it happens to be. The potato was my favourite potato. And I used to draw on it..."

On his temper while driving: "I do get really wound up. But I never take it anywhere - there are too many nutters about. I keep my rage well under control; I turn Dusty [Springfield] up a bit louder. One thing that infuriates me is when people go into the yellow criss-cross bits in middle of the road. That and those people who wash your windscreen at traffic lights. I tell them to f*** off."

On his late mother, an actress: "I was always closer to Mum than Dad. I was very much my mother's son. I was fascinated by this glamorous thing. She drew attention wherever I went out with her and I was totally captivated by the attention."

On his fashion at home: "I don’t wear a suit in my private life – it’s not me at all. I wear jeans, t-shirts, I listen to rap… It’s all I listen to. In my car, on my iPod."

"There was a time in the Eighties when everyone that went on television had three earrings, a Cockney accent, and tried to look cred. That was never me. If I tried to look cred, I'd look like an Italian housewife."

“The next time you’re at the checkout and you hear the beep, think of the fun you could be having on Supermarket Sweep!”

(Photo: Carlton TV)

"I'll never be David Frost. But if I'm going to be a quiz show host - and I'm good for nothing else - then I'll do it properly."

On his music taste: "I was listening to satellite radio in America in my car once, and this amazing record came on by this artist called Nas. It was so exciting and clever and fresh. I went mad for it. Now, it’s all about Jay-Z and The Game and Lil’ Wayne for me. And I love the gear too… I wear clothes by Sean John and Jay-Z."

"Being a fat old man in a suit isn’t what I’m really about."

On his presenting style: "The bottom line is, people want friendliness. They don't want cleverdicks. No one wants a cleverdick. That's why I play it the way I do."

(Photo: FremantleMedia)

"I don’t want the public to get tired of me, the day a show doesn’t work and it’s a disaster I’ll probably go, ‘Well that’s okay, the public have had enough of me, it’s someone else’s turn now.’ And I’d be cool about that because I’m a happy soul.”

On the endurance of Supermarket Sweep: “If I reach 100 years old I’ll still have people looking at what I’ve got in my trolley when I’m in the supermarket, but that’s fine – it’s given me the most wonderful life so I’ll never knock it.”

• Have your say on the latest TV and film with Screen Babble, our discussion group on Facebook