EXCLUSIVEGloria Hunniford's husband Stephen Way dies aged 85 as Loose Women star pays tribute to 'a gentleman who will leave the most enormous void in our entire family'
Gloria Hunniford has announced the death of her husband of more than 20 years, Stephen Way, at the age of 85.
The 84-year-old veteran broadcaster wed the businessman in 1998, and she said he would leave 'the most enormous void, not only in my life, but our entire family'.
In a statement today, his family said: 'It is with huge sadness and very heavy hearts that we share the passing of Stephen Way, Gloria's beloved husband, who lost his battle yesterday afternoon.
'Stephen had been heroically fighting his illness... but always with great tenacity and a positive spirit.'
Hunniford said: 'Stephen was a gentleman and a giant of a man, who will leave the most enormous void not only in my life, but our entire family.
Gloria Hunniford and Stephen Way at the Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 22, 2023
Gloria Hunniford and Stephen Way at We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum on June 7, 2023
Gloria Hunniford and Stephen Way at the Woman of the Future Awards at the Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square in London on November 8, 2007
A family photo of Gloria Hunniford and Stephen Way in their back garden in Kent last summer
'He was an incredibly kind, generous, and caring man, with a delightfully quirky sense of humour, which remained till the end.
'We had a tremendously happy 25-year marriage and did so many beautiful and exciting things together that I will always cherish.'
Mr Way was described as a 'wonderful husband, father and grandfather' and Hunniford added: 'It's a great shock and words cannot express my sadness at this time.
'A bright shining light has dimmed, and he shall be missed at every turn.'
Northern Irish broadcaster Eamonn Holmes, who got his break when he got Hunniford's job at Good Evening Ulster, also paid tribute.
He wrote on Instagram: 'I feel the pain of Gloria my dear friend of 40 plus years on the loss of Stephen - a true gent and a scholar. My genuine heartfelt condolences.'
It was Mr Way who broke the news of the death of Hunniford's former husband Don Keating as she came off stage after hosting a TV chat show in 1997, she revealed that year.
Mr Keating was found dead by a friend at his kitchen table, with his dinner and a glass of wine in front of him.
(From left) Stephen Way, Gloria Hunniford, Christopher Biggins and Neil Sinclair attend the World Premiere Charity Gala of Another Mother's Son, at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on March 16, 2017
Gloria Hunniford appears on ITV's Loose Women in the London studio on August 5, 2024
A family photograph of Stephen Way on his 84th birthday last summer
When Hunniford and Mr Way started dating, he owned an hairdressing salon in New Bond Street, Mayfair.
Hunniford and Mr Way met at an event in London before getting married in Kent in 1998, one year after Mr Keating's death.
She previously revealed that Mr Way proposed while they were on holiday in Barbados after she was struggling in a pool at their villa having never learnt to swim as a child.
Hunniford told the Belfast Telegraph in 2017: 'I remember larking about when I was six or seven and falling into the water fully clothed and coming up for the third time and thinking I was going to die.
'Then, when Stephen and I were in Barbados, we had a pool to ourselves and it was very hot, and Stephen was bantering me to get in.
'I managed a few strokes then went plop, straight down. Stephen said no-one had ever clung to him so tightly. It was the first time he saw me looking vulnerable, so he proposed.'
Stephen Way and Gloria Hunniford attend The King and I press night at the Dominion Theatre in London on January 31, 2024
An undated family photograph of Gloria Hunniford and Stephen Way on holiday in France
Gloria Hunniford and Stephen Way arriving at Sir John Mills 90th birthday party at London's Dorchester Hotel on February 22, 1998
In May last year, Mr Way revealed he had been left partially blind after losing the sight in his right eye when he suffered a second stroke.
He said at the time that he 'woke up in the morning and there was blood in the eye and that was it', adding that he was 'coping OK with it all - it's fine but just disorientating'.
Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating, also a TV presenter, died after a battle with breast cancer in 2004, and she set up a foundation in her memory.
The Caron Keating Foundation fundraises for cancer charities, as well as raising awareness.
In March, Hunniford revealed her grandson Charlie, 29, was getting married in the same church as Caron.
In 2017, Hunniford became an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for her contribution to cancer charities through breast screening services and cancer support.
Gloria Hunniford and Stephen Way, pictured for the Mail On Sunday on September 9, 1999
Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating, also a TV presenter, died after a battle with breast cancer in 2004, and she set up a foundation in her memory. They are pictured on June 15, 1993
Gloria Hunniford with ex-husband Don Keating who died in 1997. She married Mr Way in 1998
She started her career in television in her native Northern Ireland before going to London to work on the game show We Love TV, and hosting a Radio 2 programme for more than a decade.
Hunniford has been a continuous presence in living rooms around the country including on Loose Women, This Morning, Rip Off Britain, The Travelling Picture Show, Home Away From Home and Food: Truth Or Scare.
The Portadown native appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, where she was partnered with Darren Bennett, and had a stint on The Masked Singer in 2022.
Last month, Hunniford led tributes to BBC radio star John Bennett after his death aged 82, saying her former colleague was as a 'giant in broadcasting'.
Bennett co-launched BBC Radio Ulster with Hunniford on New Year's Eve in 1974, and later became best-known as 'The President' of the weekend music programme The Sunday Club, which he presented for more than 44 years.
