Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall remembers screenwriter and friend Nick Fisher after body discovered

The celebrity chef previously appealed for help in finding his ‘very dearest friend’

Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has paid tribute to his friend, the Bafta-award winning writer Nick Fisher, after police discovered a body in Dorchester following a missing persons investigation.

The 63-year-old scriptwriter and author, whose TV credits include EastEnders, Casualty, Hustle and The Giblet Boys – for which he won a Bafta in 2006 – was last seen in Hooke, Dorset, on Tuesday afternoon (15 November).

Police on Thursday morning (17 November) found a body in Dorchester believed to be that of Fisher, although formal identification is yet to take place.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and the coroner has been notified. Fisher’s family have also been informed.

Dorset Police said in a statement: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Nick at this extremely difficult time.

“We would like to thank everyone who assisted with the searches, as well as the public for their help in providing information.”

Fearnley-Whittingstall had previously appealed for help in finding his “very dearest friend”.

He later tweeted: “I am so very sad to say that our dearest friend Nick Fisher has passed away.

“He was always full of insight and compassion, which is what made him such a great writer and broadcaster, as well as a brilliant friend.

“His lovely family and his many friends are missing him terribly. Nick was the best person to spend time with, especially on a boat.”

Fearnley-Whittingstall said he and his friend would talk about fishing and life “endlessly”, adding that life was a “subject on which Nick was an expert because he had lived so much of it”.

He concluded: “I can’t believe it’s over, but many wonderful memories live on.”

Fisher appeared alongside Fearnley-Whittingstall on his Channel 4 series Escape to River Cottage and its spin-off, River Cottage Gone Fishing.

He is also a writer of crime fiction and non-fiction covering fishing and masculinity.

Additional reporting from Press Association