Dale Bowes: Steph's Packed Lunch 'lunchmate' dies aged 28 after battle with incurable cancer

Dale Bowes, who appeared on the Channel 4 mid-morning show ‘Steph’s Packed Lunch’, has died aged 28 after a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Dale was diagnosed with an incurable synovial sarcoma of the left lung in 2021. Last month, his friend Declan McColl said that his treatment team had come to the conclusion that nothing more could be done to treat the 28-year-old. In an update on a GoFundMe page, Declan said: “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.”

He was known to audiences as part of Steph’s Packed Lunch’s ‘lunchmates’, a group made up of members of the public who would give their opinions on the hottest topics of the day. Host Steph McGovern had paid tribute to Dale on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “Gutted to hear that @MrDaleBowes has died. 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.”

Dale spoke about his cancer diagnosis on the show in March 2023. He said: “I’ve been battling it for one-and-a-half years now and I’ve been told current treatments will not cure it.” Steph’s Packed Lunch was scrapped by Channel 4 in 2023, with the show’s last episode airing in December. Dale spoke about the show coming to an end on Instagram, saying at the time: “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.”