Taking the bait: how Reach killed off Rick Stein

Local newspaper behemoth Reach is notoriously tetchy about claims it fills its websites with “clickbait”, in 2023 forcing the BBC to make a public apology after it used the word in connection with its output.

So there was considerable embarrassment on Thursday when several of the local news sites Reach owns could be found running the headline “Rick Stein ‘much-loved’ chef found dead”, illustrated with a picture of the popular celebrity cook.

The headline and picture may have caused the reader to think that the immensely popular Stein had died, what with him being 78, having last year said he “isn’t going to last much longer” after being diagnosed with heart problems and the headline literally saying that.

But Stein had not died – a 30-something member of his team had very sadly been found dead in staff housing in Padstow, Cornwall, last week.

The headline was rapidly changed – possibly due to social media comments including “Perhaps change the headline to make it clear that it’s not Rick Stein himself”, “That headline, with the photo is absolutely awful!!!” and “This is low even for you Devon Live!” and now reads “‘Much-loved’ chef for Rick Stein found dead in restaurant’s staff block”. But by then the damage was done.

(Other locally important news on Devon Live today: “Loose Women star admits ‘we’re very excited’ as show interrupted for breaking news”, “’I tried Amazon’s £16 earphones and now I’ll never go for AirPods”, “Wetherspoon pulls major item from breakfast menu leaving fans gutted” and “Gregory Porter’s real reason for always wearing his famous hat”.)