Steph McGovern shared the sad news that her Packed Lunch co-star, Dales Bowes passed away aged 28 after battling lung cancer on Wednesday.
The geography graduate was one of the 'Lunchmates' on the Channel Four programme and had been fighting synovial sarcoma in his left lung since 2021.
Steph said she was "gutted" to hear of Dale's passing and took to social media in tribute to her co-star.
She wrote: "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, [broken heart emoji]".
The touching words were shared alongside a sweet photo of Steph and Dale on set, standing in front of the Steph's Packed Lunch sign. The pair were beaming in the photo with their arms around each other.
In March 2023, Dale opened up about his illness on an episode of the show during a discussion about assisted dying.
“I've been battling it [cancer[ for one-and-a-half years now and I’ve been told current treatments will not cure it," he said at the time, before going on to express his support for assisted dying for terminally ill people."
Dale had undergone surgery and chemotherapy treatments to help him manage his condition.
In March this year, news was shared via Dale's Go Fund Me page that sadly there were no more treatment options available and that he was receiving end-of-life care at a hospice.
"Dale continued to get worse until he was admitted into St Gemma’s Hospice on the 25th of March 2024 for end of life care," the update said.
Steph's Packed Lunch was cancelled in October 2023 and following its final show, Dale shared a sweet message about his time on the programme.
He wrote: "And that’s the end of our beloved Steph's Packed Lunch. 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. #StephsPackedLunch @packedlunchc4 @stephlunch." Dale's statement was shared alongside a photo of him on set.