Paul O'Grady dies aged 67
- Paul O'Grady "passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening"
- The comedy star rose to fame in the 1990s via his drag queen persona Lily Savage
- His TV, radio and stage credits include Blankety Blank, Eyes Down and documentary series For The Love Of Dogs
It has been announced that Paul O'Grady has unexpectedly died. The TV, radio and stage star was 67.
His husband Andre Portasio announced the news this morning that his partner died last night.
Portasio said: "It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening.
"We ask, at this difficult time, that whilst you celebrate his life you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss. 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."
O'Grady became a huge comedy star in the 1990s as his drag queen persona Lily Savage. He presented light entertainment shows as the character, including game show Blankety Blank.
Later in his career he retired the character and presented TV and radio programmes as himself, including chat shows and popular documentary programmes about animals, including the multi award-winning format For The Love Of Dogs. He also starred in stage shows and sitcoms.
Most recently he has been on tour, playing Miss Hannigan in the musical Annie. Meanwhile, having last year left the Radio 2 show he had hosted for over a decade, he was due to present a programme on Boom Radio this Easter Sunday.
Malcolm Prince, his long-time radio producer, said he met up with the star yesterday. Writing on social media, he explained: "Yesterday afternoon, I popped round to Paul's for a good old catch-up. Surrounded by his beloved dogs, he was laughing, smiling and full of life. He was so proud of Annie, so happy to be back on Boom Radio, and he was looking forward to so many new projects. And now he's gone. I can't believe it. We have lost a unique talent - and I've lost a dear friend. We were all lucky to have Paul in our lives. My heart goes out to Andre, Paul's family, and friends. Oh how I'll miss him."
Zoe Ball broke the news to Radio 2 listeners on today's breakfast show, saying: "We're all heavy of heart here this morning at the news of our dear friend Paul O'Grady. I know he was so loved by the Radio 2 listeners and all of us here."
The BBC's Lorna Clarke says: "We are all shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Paul O'Grady. He was a much loved presenter to the Radio 2 audience, and his unique sense of humour, charm and warmth touched the hearts of many. Paul will be hugely missed and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time."
O'Grady was born in Merseyside in 1955. His mother's maiden name was Savage, inspiring the name of his much-loved drag character. He began performing as Lily in clubs in the 1970s and for eight years hosted a solo show as her at London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern, speaking about gay rights on stage in the process.
Human rights activist Peter Tatchell praised the presenter today for his work as an LGBT+ equality and animal rights campaigner, saying: "Paul wasn't just a brilliant comedian and broadcast personality but a much admired campaigner for LGBT+ equality and animal rights. He supported my work for many decades and was a valued patron of the Peter Tatchell Foundation. Paul was planning to lead our forthcoming campaign for the police to apologise for their historic persecution of the LGBT+ community. We will miss him. Our sincere condolences to his partner Andre and to all who loved him. Paul was one of the loveliest people you could ever meet. Everyone whose lives he touched will miss him greatly, as will those who enjoyed his wit and admired his compassion."
TV and radio eventually made a national star of Savage, and formats found for the character included the programmes An Evening With Lily Savage and The Lily Savage Show, the game show Blankety Blank, and morning TV format The Big Breakfast. She also undertook number of highly successful live comedy tours, with associated VHS and DVD releases.
After formally retiring Savage in 2004, O'Grady began presenting programmes as himself. The Paul O'Grady Show ran on ITV and Channel 4 between 2004 and 2015. He then took on hosting the rebooted Blind Date in 2017.
His CV also includes two series of bingo-calling sitcom Eyes Down. He played the central character of Ray in 2003 and 2004, alongside Sheridan Smith and Neil Fitzmaurice.
His most recent prime-time entertainment series was 2021's Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line-Up for ITV1.
At the time of writing the cause of O'Grady's death hasn't been announced. He had previously spoken of surviving heart attacks in 2002, 2006 and 2014, and also kidney failure.
O'Grady, who lived in the Kent village of Aldington, was appointed one of the county's deputy lieutenants in November, a role that involves representing the King at events in the area. In 2008, he was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to entertainment.
The comedian had a daughter, Sharyn Mousley, with his friend Diane Jansen in 1974, and then undertook a 'marriage of convenience' with a Portuguese lesbian named Teresa Fernandes in 1977 to prevent her deportation. Although they lost contact, they only legally divorced in 2005. O'Grady married ballet dancer partner Andre in 2017.
Last year he was joined by the Queen Consort in a special one-off episode of For The Love Of Dogs to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, an organisation for which he was an ambassador. Peter Laurie, the chief executive of the charity said today: "Battersea will forever remember Paul as a devoted animal lover with the biggest heart, who fell head over heels in love with every dog he met at our centres. Paul will always be associated with Battersea and we are truly saddened to have lost such a true friend and huge part of our charity."
Danny Beard, winner of the fourth series of Ru Paul's Drag Race UK, explained how important O'Grady was to British culture for drag.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, he explained: "I don't think there's anyone who does the job that I do that doesn't class Paul as an icon. Paul was a trailblazer, they were on telly just after the AIDS crisis. They've been the most important person, I think, in British culture for drag, for the queer community. This is a really sad loss today... there's a massive hole missing now."