Heartbreaking footage revealed Gary Rhodes went thrill-seeking on a jeep safari adventure hours before collapsing and being rushed to hospital where he died just two days later.
Gary Rhodes: The First Rock Star Chef aired on ITV this morning and saw the late celebrity chef's two sons, Sam and George break their silence for the first time since their dad's shocking death.
The emotional documentary ended with a glimpse of Gary's exciting journey in the Middle East as he prepared for his comeback to television by filming scenes for a new TV show.
In his final few days, never-before-seen footage sees the late star on a adrenaline-fuelled buggy experience in the sand dunes.
Gary's son Sam opened up for the first time about working with his dad in preparation for his new series as he broke his silence.
He emotionally told cameras: "Dad was really excited to take this new series on in the Middle East. He said to me 'I can't believe I'm going to be back on TV'."
Sam joined his brother George as they described how their dad was ecstatic that 'after all this time', people still wanted to know what he was up to.
Sam continued to retell heartbreaking memories of working with his dad on his new show.
He said: "It was magical to see and to be a part of the crew and working on a new project with him."
The son of Gary struggled to fight back his tears as he finished by adding: "It was an honour, an absolute honour to work with dad on that."
Scenes then showed Sam creating a drink while his dad watched on. Gary joked: "I hope it tastes as good as it looks!"
The new documentary then aired Gary's final few days of filming before his heartbreaking death.
He appeared at the top of wide-spanning sand dunes as he announced his latest adventure, saying: "I've lived in Dubai for almost a decade but theres one thing I haven't done - a desert safari by jeep."
The chef joined a driver in the jeep as they whizzed around the desert in an adrenaline-fuelled speed hunt, climbing sand dunes and getting pushed around.
The show's voiceover revealed: "As with all his filming in Dubai, he had an absolute blast."
Gary can then be heard shouting "that is great!" as he is seen whizzing over sand dunes while holding on inside the car.
As the adventure came to an end, he thanked the driver for the experience in a now poignant few words.
He said: "Wow, wow that was great. I can't thank you enough for that. I feel privileged to have had that experience and to actually be here."
As the sun set on what would have been Gary's final day of filming, he felt on top of the world after the jeep safari.
However later that evening, while at home with his wife, Gary collapsed and was rushed to hospital suffering from a subdural hematoma - a bleed on the brain.
He died just two days later, aged 59, in November last year.
The footage Gary was filming in Dubai is what was used in today's ITV documentary – Gary Rhodes: The First Rock Star Chef.
The documentary came to an end with a heartfelt few words from Gary's two sons - Sam and George.
As the brothers reminisced about their dad's memory, they made a light-hearted joked about what he would be remembered for in the kitchen.
One said: "Nothing ever quite lives up to dad's bread and butter pudding."
Finishing by speaking about the nation's great respect for Gary, the brothers' added: "It just speaks volumes that nobody has had anything bad to say about him.
"And if thats any indication of the man he was, that says it all."
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