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

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

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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!"

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"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."

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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."

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“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."

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"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.”

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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.”

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