Diva Dale Winton was the housewives' choice at Beacon Radio

He was as gay as the day is long, but the man known affectionately as 'Dolly' was the housewives' choice during his time in the Black Country.

Dale Winton, who has died at the age of 62, joined Wolverhampton-based Beacon Radio in the late 1980s and brought with him a sprinkle of star quality that the station had not seen before or since.

Immaculately dressed, puffing on a Marlboro Light and plastered in fake tan, he would strut through the office with his customary 'Morning darlings!' greeting, becoming an instant hit with his workmates.

And the housewives of Wolverhampton did not know what had hit them.

"He was as camp as they come, a real diva, but the women absolutely loved him," recalls Ian 'Porky' Jones, Beacon's legendary travel man on a Harley Davidson.

"The amount of phone calls we used to get from housewives desperate to speak to him, it was ridiculous.

"They used to come in to the reception asking to see him. You could see straight away that he was going to be a star."

Winton spent three joyous years presenting Beacon's mid-morning show, having been persuaded to come over by programme controller Pete Wagstaff, who had worked with him at Radio Trent in Nottingham.

It was there that he honed the skills that would see him become one of the country's major television stars in the years that followed.

He lived in Bridgnorth, where he would eventually own a house for a short period before deciding against settling in the area.

Full of character

After his show he would religiously head into town for coffee in the Beatties cafe.

"He was a full on character and a complete diva," Porky says.

"When I had my biker leathers on he would chase me around the office, saying 'come over to my side of the fence'.

"He used to make everyone laugh.

"I'll never forget his final day. We had a 'goodbye' message scrawled on my backside in marker pen and I revealed it to him in the studio while he was on air.

"He was a hard man to shock, but even he was surprised. He was a lovely guy. I will miss him a lot."

Infectious enthusiasm

Tony Attwater, former head of news at Beacon, said it was clear that Winton was always destined for a career in showbiz.

"His mother was actress Sheree Winton, dubbed the English Jayne Mansfield, who committed suicide aged just 39," he said.

"His nickname was Dolly and he certainly could be a diva, endlessly smoking Marlboro Lights. His show was mainly aimed at housewives, as was then, and with his chat and humour he was a big hit.

"Working with him was fun but he could tire you out with his infectious enthusiasm for life in general and his DJ career in particular.

"He always had time for everyone and while he was entertaining on-air, he was twice as good when the mic was off as he had a wicked sense of humour."

For Signal 107 presenter Dicky Dodd, Winton was a legend of the airwaves who proved to be a major influence on his broadcasting career.

"I was a 16-year-old at Wednesfield High School and went to do a day in the life of Beacon Radio," he recalls.

"When I got in the studio Dale Winton was on air. He welcomed me in and was really interested in what I was doing there.

"I can remember him smoking away as he chatted with us one minute, before switching to on air mode the next.

"Before that day I wanted to be a copper but after that my mind was made up, and five years later I started working at Beacon myself."

Over the top and incredible

Ian Perry, who worked with Winton at Beacon, said: "What you saw is what you got with Dale.

"He was larger than life, friendly, generous and fun to be around.

"You couldn't help but smile. He had this big presence.

"His shows were incredible, they were over the top."

Another of his former colleagues, BBC producer Elizabeth Needham-Bennett, said there was a 'vulnerability and personal sadness' in Winton that he always kept private.

Porky recalls: "There was definitely an insecurity about him. He would never speak much about his private life."

After leaving Beacon, Winton, who came out as gay in 2002, went on to host ITV daytime hit Supermarket Sweep for almost a decade.

He also fronted the BBC's lottery show In It To Win It, game show Hole In The Wall and Pets Win Prizes.

Most recently he did Channel 5's Dale Winton's Florida Fly Drive.