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Celebrity chef Keith Floyd dies | Celebrity chef Keith Floyd dies |
(40 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. |
He shot to fame in the 1980s in ground-breaking cookery shows, presented with huge enthusiasm and wineglass in hand. | |
Chef Marco Pierre White said Floyd had "inspired a nation" with his programmes, while Jamie Oliver said he had been "the best television chef". | |
Keith was not just one of the best, he was the best television chef Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/4938830.stm">Obituary: Keith Floyd class="" href="/2/hi/in_pictures/8256416.stm">In Pictures: Keith Floyd | |
Floyd's eccentric, often shambolic style of presentation endeared him to millions of viewers around the world. | |
White said: "He had this great ability at the stove, great confidence. He was a natural cook. | |
"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 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." |
Floyd's unique presentation style was an instant hit | |
Oliver said: "Keith was not just one of the best, he was the best television chef. | |
"An incredible man who lived life to the full and an inspiration to me and to so many others." | |
"I think all of us modern TV chefs owe a living to him. He kind of spawned us all," said Antony Worrall Thompson. | |
He opened his first restaurant, Floyd's Bistro, in Bristol, at the age of 22. | |
Years later, it was running another establishment 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. |
Wine-fuelled flamboyance | |
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. | "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. | "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." | "I think he was the untitled British gentleman abroad cooking." |
Worrall Thompson said: "He made cooking approachable and fun. He made us relax about food - until Keith came along, people were very uptight about eating out and he helped us to chill out about it." | |
Floyd wrote more than 20 books, many of them best-sellers. His autobiography, Stirred But Not Shaken, is due to be published next month. | 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: "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." | "He was very excited about it. The experience for him was therapeutic." |
A lack of business acumen plagued Floyd throughout his career, and he went bankrupt in the 1990s reportedly after a £36,000 cheque he had accepted for a drinks bill bounced. | |
He was married four times, with a son from his first marriage and a daughter from his second. | |
Dorset Police said the death had been reported to the coroner for west Dorset, and a routine post-mortem examination would be conducted. | Dorset Police said the death had been reported to the coroner for west Dorset, and a routine post-mortem examination would be conducted. |