RIP Paul O’Grady

Saddened by the news that Paul O’Grady has died at the age of 67.

The news comes as a particular shock as he was still very much working – from performing on stage in “Annie” to recording Big Finish audio dramas inspired by “The Avengers“.

Paul was an Avengers superfan who clearly delighted in interviewing Linda Thorson and Diana Rigg on his chat shows – even presenting Dame Diana with a Guinness World Record as the First Western Actress to perform Kung Fu on television.

For anyone who ever cried with laughter at one of Lily Savage’s risqué stand-up routines in a nightclub in the 80s, it would have been impossible to imagine that the outrageous drag queen would go on to rule mainstream television in the 1990s and beyond.

From breakfast TV to game shows, Paul O’Grady’s character Lily was welcomed into light entertainment without ever forgetting her roots (her Birkenhead background that is, Lily frequently forgot to touch up the dark roots on her peroxide beehive) or taming her demeanour.

From interviewing guests on “The Big Breakfast” to reviving the game show “Blankety Blank”, Lily had her own shows “The Lily Savage Show” and “Lily Live!”.

Lily hung up her wig when Paul retired the character to appear as himself in “The Paul O’Grady Show” on Channel 4 and then ITV, and in recent years has been an ambassador for Battersea which appears in the adorable series “Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs”.

Before Lily’s success on TV, Paul appeared in “Chimera” with Kenneth Cranham, “In the Name of the Father”, “The Bill”, and in “The New Statesman” as Marlene Dietrich.

His quick & sharp wit, as well as his compassion for animals, will be missed from our screens.

R.I.P. Paul O’Grady (& Lily Savage)
14th June 1955 – 28th March 2023