It did flash in my mind to do a tour – which I would not do in a million years as I haven’t toured for so long – of Lily for Prime Minister. I was actually quite shy, but when I was about nine, I acted in a school play. They erected a tepee on stage. I stood up in it and the whole thing collapsed around me! I vividly remember the audience laughing and I realised then that it was easy to be funny! So instead of crawling out of the tent. I did the whole thing inside it, moving around the stage!

Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang: The Amsterdam Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang: The Amsterdam

Amazing! Eddie, the main character in your book, can talk to animals. What would you say to your pets if you could? Now he has written his first children’s book, Eddie Albert And The Amazing Animal Gang, centring on a shy 10-year-old boy who can talk to animals, rather like a miniature Doctor Dolittle, and embarks on an adventure in Amsterdam with his dog Butch. The only similarity is our love of animals! When I was little, I was always out playing things: like Doctor Who and Batman. I’d leave the house in the summer holidays at 8:30am and I’d come home at 5pm looking absolutely filthy! Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments They’re all special to me. However, I did have a Bichon Frise and Shih Tzu cross, called Boycie, from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. He was a gentle little soul who had severe epilepsy, and I was fiercely protective of him. He sadly passed last year but I had five good years with him.

Once I got to feed a baby vulture called PJ. If he felt threatened, I’d have to lie on him as his mother would and spread my arms out. He was a sweetheart. I met a baby elephant in India who would try and sit on my knee. He used to break my heart and break my leg at the same time! And I’ve bottle-fed baby cheetahs. To have 12 cheetahs on top of you fast asleep isn’t something that happens every day! Paul O’Grady has come a long way since his drag queen days as foul-mouthed, acid-tongued blonde bombshell Lily Savage. Night Mayor Franklefink has vanished from the Transylvanian Express - and it's up to you to solve the case! Part of the Solve Your Own Mystery seri...

Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang: The Curse of the Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang: The Curse of the

Yet there’s a touch of nostalgia for his drag days, the era in which he made his name in the ’80s. Lily – his alter ego – would be too old to make a return now, he reflects. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have...

‎Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang: The Amsterdam

So begins a breathless cosmopolitan comic crime adventure, as Eddie, Aunt Budge, his new friend Flo and a whole gang of amazing animals take on the most-dastardly villain Amsterdam has ever seen, in a desperate race against time to save one of their own.

Book Review

Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap...

Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang (2 book series Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang (2 book series

What Eddie can't do is fit in . . . until he is sent to stay with his eccentric aunt in Amsterdam. But then Eddie spots a captive orangutan being taken along the river. So begins a hilarious adventure as Eddie, his new friend Flo Aunt Burge and a whole gang of amazing animals take on the most dastardly villain Amsterdam has ever seen, in a desperate race to save one of their own . . . O’Grady has hosted Blind Date and Blankety Blank and these days is most recognised as the presenter of ITV’s For The Love Of Dogs, and for his new prime-time celeb game show, Paul O’Grady’s Saturday Night Line Up.

Age range(s)

Ahhh, sweet! You’ve also met lots of animals through your work on the telly. What are some of your best experiences?