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| Celebrity chef Keith Floyd dies | Celebrity chef Keith Floyd dies |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Celebrity chef Keith Floyd has died following a heart attack, aged 65. | Celebrity chef Keith Floyd has died following a heart attack, aged 65. |
| He died at his partner's Dorset home on Monday, said his autobiography ghost-writer, James Steen. Floyd had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in June. | He died at his partner's Dorset home on Monday, said his autobiography ghost-writer, James Steen. Floyd had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in June. |
| From Faringdon in Oxfordshire, Floyd shot to fame in the 1980s in ground-breaking cookery shows, fronted with huge enthusiasm and wineglass in hand. | From Faringdon in Oxfordshire, Floyd shot to fame in the 1980s in ground-breaking cookery shows, fronted with huge enthusiasm and wineglass in hand. |
| Chef Marco Pierre White described Floyd as a "natural cook" who had "inspired a nation" with his programmes. | Chef Marco Pierre White described Floyd as a "natural cook" who had "inspired a nation" with his programmes. |
| Floyd's idiosyncratic, often shambolic style of presentation endeared him to millions of viewers around the world. White said: "What he did to inspire a nation, I don't know another man who has done what he has done. | Floyd's idiosyncratic, often shambolic style of presentation endeared him to millions of viewers around the world. White said: "What he did to inspire a nation, I don't know another man who has done what he has done. |
| "He had this great ability at the stove, great confidence. He was a natural cook. | "He had this great ability at the stove, great confidence. He was a natural cook. |
| That was his charm, completely, the fact that if it all went wrong he just threw it in the bin and carried on Celebrity chef Phil Vickery Obituary: Keith Floyd | |
| "But his very special talent was he could articulate himself and deliver inspiration with words. He spoke in a way that everybody could understand." | "But his very special talent was he could articulate himself and deliver inspiration with words. He spoke in a way that everybody could understand." |
| He added: "A little piece of Britain died yesterday which will never be replaced. | |
| "He was an individual, he was a maverick, he was mercurial, he was magical, he was special, he was rare." | "He was an individual, he was a maverick, he was mercurial, he was magical, he was special, he was rare." |
| Celebrity chef Phil Vickery called Floyd "the original television chef". | |
| Wine-fuelled flamboyance | Wine-fuelled flamboyance |
| He opened his first restaurant, Floyd's Bistro, in Bristol, at the age of 22, and its success quickly led to him running three establishments. | |
| But a lack of business acumen that would plague him throughout his career soon forced him to sell up, after which a restaurant in France also proved a failure. | But a lack of business acumen that would plague him throughout his career soon forced him to sell up, after which a restaurant in France also proved a failure. |
| It was on his return to Bristol, running a new bistro near the BBC studios in the city, that Floyd was discovered by television producer David Pritchard. | It was on his return to Bristol, running a new bistro near the BBC studios in the city, that Floyd was discovered by television producer David Pritchard. |
| Their 1985 series, Floyd on Fish, was an instant hit, and subsequent series took the chef all over the world. | Their 1985 series, Floyd on Fish, was an instant hit, and subsequent series took the chef all over the world. |
| The programmes were ground-breaking at the time for taking the cooking out of a studio, but it was Floyd's wine-fuelled flamboyance that viewers loved. | The programmes were ground-breaking at the time for taking the cooking out of a studio, but it was Floyd's wine-fuelled flamboyance that viewers loved. |
| "That was his charm, completely, the fact that if it all went wrong he just threw it in the bin and carried on," said Vickery. | |
| "He didn't live in the sanitised world of perfect studio cookery; he was out and about, he loved his drink and he loved engaging with other people. | |
| "I think he was the untitled British gentleman abroad cooking." | |
| Floyd wrote more than 20 books, many of them best-sellers. His autobiography, Stirred But Not Shaken, is due to be published next month. | |
| Mr Steen, the book's ghost-writer, said: "Writing the book was amazing, it was like a dream come true. | |
| "For an autobiography you have to be introspective and he found that difficult to start with, but yesterday when I spoke to him he was a really happy man. | |
| "He was very excited about it. The experience for him was therapeutic." | |
| Dorset Police said the death had been reported to the coroner for west Dorset, and a routine post-mortem examination would be conducted. |