Trailblazer whose drag act took him to Buckingham Palace: Paul O’Grady shot to fame as Lily Savage

Paul O’Grady was a trailblazer for the LGBT+ community when he burst onto the national stage as drag queen Lily Savage in the 1980s, before becoming a household name in the early 2000s, known for his wit and love of animals.

The comedian and television personality, who passed away unexpectedly overnight, rose to fame as his drag queen persona before hosting a series of television and radio shows, both as Lily Savage and himself.

He is perhaps best known for his daytime chat show, The Paul O’Grady Show, which began airing in 2004, followed by the New Paul O’Grady Show.

But her career began a world away from the glitzy glamor of the screen when she began acting in the 1970s while also working for Camden Council in North London.

The comedian made a name for himself speaking out on LGBT issues and gained a large following after being nominated for a Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 1991.

Paul James Michael O’Grady was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside, in 1955.

Both of her parents died young from heart problems: her father when O’Grady was in her teens and her mother, whose maiden name was Savage, when she was 33.

The name is believed to have inspired his famous drag alter ego Lily Savage, who helped propel him to mainstream success.

O’Grady began his acting career as Savage in the 1970s while working as a traveling care officer for Camden Council in North London.

He then toured the north of England as part of the drag duo Playgirls, before settling in a one-man show as Savage which ran for eight years at London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

O’Grady’s career as Savage took off with television and radio appearances and she was eventually asked to replace Paula Yates as host of The Big Breakfast as Savage from 1995 to 1996.

He was on The Lily Savage Show chat show for the BBC for a short period in 1997 and later that year found success as the presenter of a revived version of the game show Blankety Blank, which ran until 2002.

On stage, she appeared in several stage productions, including versions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Annie, and starred in the BBC bingo hall sitcom Eyes Down from 2003 to 2004.

O’Grady became popular with a whole new audience as the presenter of The Paul O’Grady Show, which aired in a tea time slot on ITV from 2004 to 2005, later moving it to Channel 4 as The New Paul O’Grady Show.

That same year she created her own production company, Olga TV, which is supposedly named after her pet dog.

The company gained creative control for seasons on Channel 4 from 2006 to 2009 and 2013 to 2015.

O’Grady took the reins from longtime host of Blind Date and close friend Cilla Black, who died in 2015, to present the reboot of the show on Channel 5 in 2017.

He also helmed Blankety Blank, as well as ITV’s multi-award winning For The Love Of Dogs.

Following the success of the latter, which was filmed at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, he became an ambassador for the organisation.

Last year he was joined by the queen consort in a one-off special episode of For The Love Of Dogs to mark 160 years of the home.

O’Grady’s love of animals was also evident through his other work and in September 2016, he was recognized for his work with animals when he won Outstanding Contribution to Animal Welfare at the RSPCA’s Animal Hero Awards. .

He and his partner Andre Portasio lived on a farm in Kent, along with a menagerie that included four dogs, goats, sheep, chickens and owls.

O’Grady’s other on-air appearances included as the host of ITV’s celebrity game show, Paul O’Grady’s Saturday Night Line Up.

Last year he said goodbye to his last BBC Radio 2 show, having presented the Sunday afternoon show for almost 14 years.

He was made an MBE in the 2008 Birthday Honors for Services to Entertainment and last year was made a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent.

He was joined at the ceremony by Portasio, as well as his sister Sheila Rudd and daughter Sharyn Mousley.

O’Grady’s lifelong love of animals also led him to host different styles of programming, including Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans, which aired from 2014-2016 and saw him visit Africa to meet baby animals.

After working on the show, he became a patron of Orangutan Appeal UK.

O’Grady is also the author of several books, including an autobiographical series detailing his childhood, the creation of Savage, and his years in the spotlight.

The series is divided into four titles; On my mother’s knees… and other lower joints, the devil rides out, still standing: the wild years and opens the cage, Murphy. Speaking after the third book was published in 2012, O’Grady recalled the death of his partner of 25 years, Brendan Murphy, in 2005.

“Mourning doesn’t happen right away, it hits you after a while, because you have all the funeral and the fuss, then when that dies down you find yourself on your own, with time to contemplate what happened,” he said.

‘I thought: ‘I’m alone, what do I do now?’

He also spoke about his health at the time, having had two heart attacks, saying: ‘The worst thing you can do is sit around and worry. I take pills and have checkups every eight months when they put me on the treadmill.

“I tell them, ‘Heart attack or not, I’m desperate on treadmills!

O’Grady has also written two other books, including Paul O’Grady’s Country Life, about his love of rural life. During the coronavirus lockdown, he wrote his first children’s book, Eddie Albert And The Amazing Animal Gang, which was published in September 2021.

Throughout his career, O’Grady has won several accolades, including a TV Bafta, a British Comedy Award and a National Television Award for The Paul O’Grady Show.