Daytime Talk Show Favorite Dies of Cancer: Dale Bowes Was 28

Steph’s Packed Lunch star Dale Bowes has died following a years-long battle with cancer. The aspiring teacher and York St John University graduate, who was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma of the left lung in 2021, opened up about his cancer battle on the daytime Channel 4 TV show last year, with presenter Steph McGovern sharing the tragic news Wednesday that Bowes passed away at the age of 28.

“Gutted to hear that [Dale Bowes] has died,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “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.”

After first battling synovial carcoma in 2003, Bowes was again diagnosed with the disease in 2021 as he prepared for his first teaching placement. After going to A&E with what he believed to be a bad chest infection, a scan revealed a mass on his left lung that needed to be drained. Throughout his battle with cancer, Bowes underwent numerous treatments and procedures, including surgery, chemotherapy, and a t-cell clinical trial. However, he revealed during a discussion about assisted dying on Steph’s Packed Lunch in March 2023, “I’ve been battling it (cancer) for one-and-a-half years now and I’ve been told current treatments will not cure it.” In an update to his GoFundMe page late last month, Bowe’s friend, Declan McColl, shared that there were no further treatment options for Bowes, who was receiving end-of-life care at a hospice.

“In March 2024, we got the news we had been dreading. There were no more treatment options for Dale as he had become too unwell,” McColl wrote in part. “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. Dale continues to fight despite all of the odds and is an inspiration to us all.”

According to the GoFundMe, Bowes was “an intelligent, caring and loved 28 year old man… Dale has always been inquisitive and had a passion for learning new things in great detail.” Bowes was a geography graduate from York St John University who dreamed of becoming a teacher. On Steph’s Packed Lunch, he appeared as a lunchmate, or audience panel member, appearing on the show numerous times throughout 2023. The series was canceled last October, with the final episode airing in December 2023.