Paul O’Grady, who shot to fame as trailblazing comic drag act Lily Savage before becoming one of the country’s best-loved TV presenters and DJs, died ‘unexpectedly but peacefully’ last night, his partner said. He was 67.
Andre Portasio, who married O’Grady in 2017, paid tribute to his ‘humour, wit and compassion’ in a statement announcing his death released just before 3am.
O’Grady became a household name in the early noughties, known for his wit and love of animals, and hosted a string of television programmes including his self-titled daytime chat show, The Paul O’Grady Show, which began airing in 2004.
He also took over the reins from Blind Date’s long-running presenter and his close friend Cilla Black, who died in 2015, to host the Channel 5 reboot of the show in 2017. And he fronted Blankety Blank, as well as ITV’s award-winning For The Love Of Dogs.
The father-of-one’s cause of death wasn’t immediately known, but he had previously spoken of surviving heart attacks in 2002, 2006 and 2014, and also kidney failure.
O’Grady wed Portuguese lesbian barmaid called Teresa Fernandes in 1977 after he agreed to marry her to prevent her deportation. They divorced in 2005.
He then married Mr Portasio in 2017. Decades earlier in 1974, he had his only child, a daughter called Sharyn Mousley, with his dear friend Diane Jansen.
Paul O’Grady in ITV’s Paul O’Grady’s For The Love Of Dogs At Christmas in December 2019
Paul O’Grady hosted classic TV quiz show Blankety Blank as his alter-ego Lily Savage
This is believed to be the last picture taken of Paul O’Grady, at the Edinburgh Playhouse on Saturday, March 25. He is pictured with a dog called Frankie who appears in theatre shows
Paul O’Grady’s death was announced by his partner Andre Portasio, who he married in 2017 (the couple are pictured here at the Royal Opera House in London in 2018)
Mr Portasio said early this morning: ‘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 and Portasio were married during a low-key wedding ceremony in 2017.
During his career, he hosted The Paul O’Grady Show, Blind Date and Blankety Blank, as well as ITV’s multi-award-winning For The Love Of Dogs. He also hosted ITV celebrity game show, Paul O’Grady’s Saturday Night Line Up.
O’Grady took over the reins from Blind Date’s long-running presenter and his close friend Cilla Black, who died in 2015, as he hosted the Channel 5 reboot of the show 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.
In August last year he presented his final BBC Radio 2 show having hosted the Sunday afternoon programme for nearly 14 years, later saying the station’s drive for younger listeners ‘doesn’t make sense’.
Paul O’Grady holds his three-week-old grandson with daughter Sharyn by his side in 2007
Paul O’Grady laughs as the Queen looks at a corgi at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in March 2015
Paul was pictured last week when it was announced he planned to take his radio show to Boom Radio after departing the BBC
Paul O’Grady and Queen Consort Camilla during her visit to the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home centre in Brands Hatch, Kent, in February last year
O’Grady had been set to return to the airwaves next month to host a one-off Easter Sunday radio show on Boom Radio.
And he was performing right until the end – taking to the stage as Ms Hannigan in Annie at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
In a statement, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home paid tribute to O’Grady as a ‘devoted animal lover’ and a ‘champion for the underdog’.
The organisation’s chief executive, Peter Laurie, said: ‘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.’
O’Grady’s love for animals was well-known, and he had lived in a farmhouse in Kent with Portasio along with a menagerie of animals including four dogs, goats, sheep, chickens and barn owls.
During the coronavirus lockdown, he wrote his debut children’s book, Eddie Albert And The Amazing Animal Gang, which was published in September 2021.
Tributes also began to pour in overnight from his showbusiness friends. Carol Vorderman said on Twitter: ‘Paul O’Grady. Already giving them raucous, ripping up the rulebook, mischief making, calling it out, loving hell in heaven.
‘Paul, what are we meant to do without you?’
Lorraine Kelly spoke of her pain at ‘such sad news’, adding: ‘Paul O’Grady – funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise. Will be sorely missed. A really special man.’
Replying to another Twitter user, she added: ‘I always think dogs are the best judge of character and they ADORED him.’
Paul O’Grady with partner Andre Portasio, sister Sheila Rudd and daughter Sharyn Mousley at Buckingham Palace in 2008 where he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Paul and Amanda Holden chat to Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, outside Buckingham Palace in July last year during a reception for Battersea Dogs Home, which he was closely associated with through his show For The Love Of Dogs
TV star Paul O’Grady died ‘unexpectedly but peacefully’ on Tuesday evening, his partner said
Paul O’Grady with Barbara Windsor and Cilla Black at the Royal Variety Performance 2001
X Factor’s Joe McElderry was also among the first to react to the shocking news.
‘I was stood in Paul O’Grady’s dressing room less than 3 weeks ago! He was full of life chatting and being so wonderful as always! So so sad! And such a loss! A true showbiz entertainer! May he rest in peace,’ McElderry tweeted.
Actor John Barrowman said he was ‘shocked and sad’ to hear the news of O’Grady’s death.
Sharing two pictures of the TV star on Twitter he wrote: ‘I am totally shocked and sad to hear the awful news that Paul O’Grady has died. An awesome talent stretching decades.
‘From watching him as Lily Savage at the Vauxhall Tavern to sitting with him laughing backstage at West End Bares to being a guest on his @ITV Paul O’Grady show…’
Vernon Kay said Paul O’Grady was ‘always a joy to be around’ and described the presenter as ‘one of the best’ in an online tribute.
‘Paul O’Grady was one of the nicest and kindest people I’ve ever met,’ he tweeted.
‘Always a joy to be around and obviously, so much fun. He will be missed. Telly and friends have lost one of the best….RIP.’
Danny Beard, winner of the fourth series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK, said Paul O’Grady was ‘the most important person in British culture for drag’.
‘I don’t think there’s anyone who does the job that I do that doesn’t class Paul as an icon,’ Beard told BBC Breakfast.
‘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.
Maggie Kirkpatrick and Paul O’Grady as Lily Savage in rehearsals for the musical Prisoner Cell Block H ‘The Musical’ at the Queen’s Theatre, London
Paul O’Grady performing as Lily Savage, as the Wicked Queen, in Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London
Paul O’Grady after receiving an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University for services to entertainment
Paul first found TV fame as ‘transvestite prostitute police informer’ Roxanne on The Bill, a role he played three times between 1988 and 1990
‘This is a really sad loss today… there’s a massive hole missing now.’
Battersea: Paul O’Grady was a ‘champion for the underdog’
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has paid tribute to Paul O’Grady as a ‘devoted animal lover’ and a ‘champion for the underdog’ following his death.
The TV star had close ties to the organisation, which praised his ‘razor-sharp humour and perpetual generosity and warmth’.
O’Grady died unexpectedly on Tuesday at the age of 67, his partner Andre Portasio said.
Paul O’Grady at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in ITV’s For The Love of Dogs in 2019
The TV and radio presenter became an ambassador for Battersea in 2012, following the success of ITV’s multi-award-winning For The Love Of Dogs, which was filmed at the home.
He presented the show for eleven series, during which time he laid bare his ‘passion for all things dog’, the charity said.
Last year O’Grady was joined by the Queen Consort in a special one-off episode of the programme to mark 160 years of the organisation.
In a statement shared with the PA news agency, Battersea chief executive Peter Laurie said the home was ‘joining the nation’ in mourning the loss of O’Grady, who helped raise its profile to millions around the world.
‘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,’ he said.
‘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.’
He continued: ‘Paul had an extremely hands-on approach as a Battersea ambassador and has been fundamental in helping our charity to communicate important campaign messages.
‘He was a champion for the underdog and would do anything to ensure all animals live a healthy and happy life. He will be dearly missed.’
O’Grady was given a special recognition award at the 2018 National Television Awards for the impact For The Love Of Dogs had on helping find homes for rescue animals nationwide.
During an interview during the first series in September 2012, he said it was ‘hand on heart… one of the nicest jobs I’ve ever had’ and praised the home as ‘a magical place’.
Ali Taylor, who appeared alongside O’Grady in the series, said the presenter met ‘hundreds if not thousands’ of dogs during his time working with Battersea but never lost his ‘infectious enthusiasm and interest in getting to know them all individually’.
O’Grady also personally rehomed several dogs at his Kent farmhouse.
During the first series of For The Love Of Dogs he took home Eddie, a Chihuahua Jack Russell-cross puppy.
Eddie was joined by Boycie, a shih-tzu in 2014, Conchita, a Maltese in 2015, Arfur, a mongrel puppy in 2017, Nancy, another mongrel puppy in 2020, and Sausage, a wire-haired dachshund in 2021.
Mr Laurie added, ‘Paul loved Battersea so much and we cannot thank him enough for everything he did for our charity and for rescue animals worldwide.
‘We will forever be indebted to him for his endless generosity and support.’
And human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: ‘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.’
O’Grady’s former Radio 2 colleague Aled Jones tweeted: ‘So sad to hear of the death of Paul O’Grady – a lovely lovely person x’
Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘RIP Paul O’Grady, 67. A wonderfully warm,…
