Paul O'Grady: The Biography

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Paul O’Grady’s funeral recently took place in Bonnington, Kent, with mourners lining the streets in nearby Aldington – his adopted home of more than 20 years – to pay their respects. After his death, friend Christopher Biggins said that the “gorgeous” ballet dancer had a huge impact on “rogue” Paul.

In August last year, O’Grady presented his final BBC Radio 2 show, having hosted the Sunday afternoon programme for nearly 14 years. Everyone whose lives he touched will miss him greatly, as will those who enjoyed his wit and admired his compassion”. His love for rescue dogs was so prominent that his hometown of Birkenhead has plans to line the streets with dogs to mark his funeral. I had no idea we were still married until my manager Brendan said: ‘If anything happened to you, everything would go to your wife”,’ he explained. The Birkenhead-born comic will feature in a short film for the official opening of the Eurovision Song Contest, which is taking place in Liverpool, on behalf of Ukraine.

His husband, Andre Portasio, confirmed in a statement that O’Grady died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening. Many of those who turned out to watch the procession were accompanied by their beloved pet dogs in a touching tribute to the star. O’Grady came to mainstream attention in 1991 when he was nominated for the Perrier award, the UK’s most prestigious comedy prize, and began appearing on radio and television as himself. He had been married to partner Andre Portasio since 2017, although the pair had been in a relationship since 2005. Sharon was born in 1974 and had a close relationship with her dad, who even gave her away at her wedding to husband Philip Moseley.

Beloved entertainer Paul O’Grady, who died recently at the age of 67, is set to make an emotional appearance at Eurovision in one of the last things the TV star filmed.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,” Portasio said in a statement. Paul was also granddad to Sharon’s two children, son Abel, who was born in 2006, and daughter Halo, born in 2009. It was his second marriage, with the pair getting together after O’Grady ended his 28-year marriage to the woman he married in 1977.

This week, Portasio invited local fans of the late star to mourn his death at the funeral procession, which will take place in the village of Aldington, Kent. He has worked with many other dance companies including Sadlers Wells Theatre and the Royal Ballet School since retiring, as well as being the CEO, producer and director of Artstreaming TV, a digital production company focused on the cultural sector. Born in Birkenhead in 1955, O’Grady moved to London in his 20s and worked as a social worker for Camden council. The couple were wed in 1977, O’Grady later saying that he married her to prevent her from being deported.When described as a national treasure in an interview with the Observer in 2017, he responded: “Oh, what a terrible phrase. By 1978, he was developing his drag act Lily Savage in gay clubs, basing the loud-mouthed single mother and occasional sex worker on female relatives. Portasio is a former professional ballet dancer who used to perform with the English National Ballet.