Tragic Gary Rhodes skipped his last Christmas with his family to go to work.
The celebrity chef died in his adopted home of Dubai last night aged 59, almost a decade after moving to the city to build a new restaurant empire.
His death comes just weeks before the holidays, leaving his family devastated.
In a further blow, Mirror Online can reveal Gary missed his last ever Christmas with his family as he decided to go to work instead.
A picture posted online shows Gary greeting guests at one of his restaurants in Dubai on Christmas Day, 2018.
He'd previously admitted he regularly offered to work over Christmas - ignoring his wife's pleas to stay home.
Speaking back in 2017, he told Dramscotland.co.uk: "I made a promise to my wife Jennie that I wasn’t going to work Christmas day, and then as it got closer and closer, I thought ‘yes I am going to do it,’ and already I know that I am going to do it again next year.
"The restaurant was packed and busy and I loved doing it. Since I’ve been here I’ve worked every Christmas Day, I don’t have to, but I get a real kind of buzz from doing it.”
He added that being a chef is a difficult job and requires hard work to make it to the top.
Gary explained: "Being a chef is tough and you really have to believe in yourself.
If you want to get on you have to work hard for it. Nothing comes to you, you have to go and get it.
"I’m very particular if I really want to chase something I will work for it, and chase it as much as I possibly can."
Gary was working until the day he died.
He was famed for fronting shows MasterChef, MasterChef USA, Hell's Kitchen and Rhodes Around Britain throughout his career spanning 30 years.
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