THE COMIC GENIUS IS FONDLY REMEMBERED BY THE NATION
1955-2023
H is earthy sense of humour and caring personality made Paul O’Grady – who died suddenly last week at the age of 67 – one of Britain’s best-loved TV, radio and stage presences.
Breaking the news of Paul’s death, his husband Andre Portasio said the star, who had been playing Miss Hannigan in the UK tour of Annie, a role he was to resume this month, had gone “unexpectedly but peacefully”.
Andre, a former English National Ballet dancer, added: “He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion. I know that he would want me to thank you for all the love you have shown him over the years.”
SPECIAL MESSAGE
Tributes flooded in from Paul’s legion of fans – among them the Queen Consort, who left a message on the royal family’s official Twitter account alongside a photo of them filming Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs last year.
“Deeply saddened to hear of the death of Paul O’Grady, who worked closely with Her Majesty in support of @Battersea, providing lots of laughter and many waggy-tailed memories,” read the tweet.
Her Majesty’s special bond with Paul developed from her role as patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, which he championed in his hit show. HELLO! understands she would be offering her sympathies to his family in private.
The two animal-lovers first met in 2002, when Paul was playing the Child Catcher in the West End musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They teamed up on his long-running hit canine show last December, to celebrate the 160th anniversary of Battersea.
The episode – Paul’s last major TV appearance – showed the Queen Consort being welcomed by a “doggy” guard of honour at the charity’s Brands Hatch centre before being taken for a tour of the kennels and cattery.
At one point, Her Majesty’s Jack Russell rescue dog Beth even went head to head with Paul’s dog Sausage in a training challenge.
A LIFE OF LAUGHTER
Born in Birkenhead, Paul found fame as drag queen Lily Savage, an act he created in the late 1970s, becoming a fixture at London’s famous Royal Vauxhall Tavern. He came to mainstream attention in 1991 after being nominated for the prestigious Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s Perrier Award, and was given his own BBC series in 1997.
A sure-fire hit, he went on to present a revamped Blankety Blank, before retiring his drag persona and hosting The Paul O’Grady Show and taking the reins of the rebooted Blind Date – its first host Cil
