Paul O’Grady’s astonishing life in pictures 

He was a glitzy glamorous drag queen who hosted a string of television and radio programmes and served as a trailblazer for the LGBTQ community.

But before Paul O’Grady became a primetime TV icon, he lived an extraordinary double life that saw him working as a peripatetic care officer by day and dazzling in gay clubs across London by night as his foul-mouthed, heavy-smoking drag alter-ego Lily Savage. 

O’Grady passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday. The 67-year-old’s cause of death isn’t yet known, but he had spoken of having his fair share of health scares in the past including three heart attacks, kidney failure and a long battle with coronavirus.

Away from his on-screen life, Mr O’Grady was an animal lover and campaigner who helped rescue dogs. He was also a beloved father, grandfather and partner to his husband Andre Portasio. 

The TV personality was one of three children, but more than a decade younger than his brother and sister. His elder sister Sheila, then a teenager, is seen holding O’Grady as an infant

In his autobiography, Mr O’Grady said: ‘When I look back on my childhood I have no bad memories. Our family was loving and full of affection.’ He is pictured as a young boy

O’Grady became a father in 1974 when he was just 18 years old. He and his friend Diane Jansen welcomed his only daughter, Sharon. He is pictured holding his daughter

Paul is pictured on his wedding day to Teresa Fernandez, sporting a cream coloured suit

Paul O’Grady shared a convenience marriage to Portuguese lesbian barmaid Teresa Fernandez in 1977. Teresa is pictured on the far right

O’Grady shared this photo on his Instagram page in 2021. It was taken at a cousin’s wedding over 50 years ago and features (left to right) his Aunty Chris, Uncle Hal, Aunty Annie, Ada Hannigan, Mam and Aunty Lil. Aunty Chris was the model for Lily Savage

Paul O’Grady is pictured with friend Charlie Condou in an undated photo. O’Grady is holding a baby who is believed to be his godson Milo. The picture was taken by Milo’s mother Amanda Mealing

O’Grady was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside, in 1955 to Irish father Paddy and English mother Molly.

Tragically, both his parents died young due to heart problems – his father when O’Grady was in his late teens and his mother, whose maiden name was Savage, when he was 33. 

The TV personality was one of three children, but more than a decade younger than his brother and sister.

In his autobiography, Mr O’Grady said: ‘When I look back on my childhood I have no bad memories. Our family was loving and full of affection. 

‘I was an indulged child and completely protected from anything bad.’

He attended a school run by the Christian Brothers that he was describes as being ‘wicked, wicked.’ O’Grady left school at age 16 and began working at the Department of Health and Social Security.

He held a series of different jobs, including in a hotel, office and a magistrates court, before he began working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council in north London.

The comedian also became a father in 1974 when he was just 18 years old. He and his friend Diane Jansen welcomed his only daughter, Sharon, which whom he shared a close bond.

He gave his daughter away at her wedding to Philip Moseley, describing it as a ‘really great day.’ He also said Sharon and Philip ‘fit together like a pan and a lid.’

O’Grady is a grandfather to Sharon’s son Abel, who was born in 2006 and is now aged 16, and her daughter Halo, born in 2009.

O’Grady began performing as Lily in the 1970s whilst working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council, and even made an appearance in The Bill, above, as a copper’s informant

But before Paul O’Grady became a primetime TV icon, he lived an extraordinary double life that saw him working as a peripatetic care officer by day and dazzling in gay clubs across London by night as his foul-mouthed, heavy-smoking drag alter-ego Lily Savage. He is pictured as Lily on Blankety Blank

He said his love of performing began after he watched the film Gypsy, and he based Lily’s look on that of his aunt, who was a bus conductor. He is pictured as Lily in 1993

He went on to tour northern England as part of drag duo the Playgirls, before settling into a solo show as Savage that ran for eight years at London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern. He is pictured as Lily in the 1990s

O’Grady began his career by performing as Savage in the 1970s whilst working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council. He is pictured as Lily in 1993

O’Grady’s career as Savage took off with TV and radio appearances in character and he was eventually asked to take over from Paula Yates presenting The Big Breakfast. He is pictured as Lily in 1996

O’Grady is pictured with his daughter Sharon in 1995. She is his only child and the pair shared a close bond

Maggie Kirkpatrick and Paul O’Grady as Lily Savage are pictured in rehearsals for the musical Prisoner Cell Block H ‘The Musical’ at the Queen’s Theatre, London in 1995

Comedians Steve Coogan and Paul O’Grady are pictured at the British Comedy Awards in 1997 where Paul won Best Entertainment Award for An Evening with Lily Savage

Paul O’Grady rose to prominence as drag queen Lily Savage in the 1980s and 1990s. He is pictured as the drag queen in 1999 during a photocall to launch a TV advert campaign for a new bingo game

His drag alter-ego Lily left viewers in hysterics with her acid-tongued remarks. He is pictured at the Brit Awards in 1995

Paul O’Grady is pictured in a professional headshot taken circa 2000

Lily had further success as the host of a revived version of the game show Blankety Blank, which ran until 2002

O’Grady has been married to his partner and former English National Ballet member Andre Portasio since 2017. 

They secretly wed in an intimate ceremony at The Goring Hotel’s gardens.

The pair met at a London-based gay club called Showplace. O’Grady revealed his relationship with the ballet dancer and teacher in his 2012 biography, where he said: ‘Our relationship just crept up on us. It took us by surprise when we were least expecting it.’

On their wedding certificate it cites the star’s previous marriage was ‘dissolved’, in reference to his 1977 convenience marriage to Portuguese lesbian barmaid Teresa Fernandez.

The pair were wed to stop her deportation. They divorced in 2005 after having been married for 28 years. 

O’Grady previously told the Mirror: ‘Teresa, I call her the lesbian Portuguese barmaid, was lovely. She looked like David Cassidy.

‘She was from a very strict Catholic family and was always being hassled by them: “Why aren’t you getting married?”

‘So I said: “Come on then, we’ll get married”, and we did.’

He, on occasion, would forget he was married and had to be reminded by his manager. 

Away from his on-screen life, Mr O’Grady was an animal lover and campaigner who helped rescue dogs. He is pictured, as Lily Savage, holding a dog

Paul O’Grady is pictured at the British Soap Awards 2002

Sally Lindsay and Paul O’Grady are pictured outside the Bonaza Variety show in Manchester 2004. They were raising money for the Variety Club of Great Britain

He went on to be one of the UK’s most popular drag queens, frequently a headline act in pantomimes (Pictured: Paul O’Grady performing as Lily Savage, as the Wicked Queen, in Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs – at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 2004)

Elton John and Paul O’Grady are pictured together at Elton and David Furnish’s Stag Party before their civil partnership in 2005. O’Grady hosted the event

Paul O’Grady is pictured in 2005 after receiving an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University for services to entertainment

Paul O’Grady with his Best Entertainment Performance award for The Paul O’Grady Show on ITV1 with Davina McCall at the Pioneer British Academy Television Awards held at the Theatre Royal in 2005

O’Grady became popular with a whole new audience as the host of The Paul O’Grady Show. He is pictured with his dog Buster in 2005

Paul O’Grady holds his three-week old grandson Abel with his daughter Sharon by his side. This photo was taken in January 2007. O’Grady also has a granddaughter Halo, born in 2009

The comedian made a name for himself by speaking out about LGBT issues and often lent a hand to members of the community.

He was a trailblazer for the gay community when he burst on to the national stage as Lily Savage in the 1980s – before his rise to fame took him from Camden clubs to the doors of Buckingham Palace. 

He first began performing as Lily in the 1970s while working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council in north London.

The star credited the racy film Gypsy with kick-starting his interest in performing, telling The Big Issue: ‘I was an altar boy until I saw a film called Gypsy about Gypsy Rose Lee. 

‘All of a sudden, my whole style on the altar changed – you had this 12-year-old stripper. I used to lift my cassock to go down the steps – you know, show an ankle – and swing the thurible more enthusiastically than I should have.’

He also said that Lily’s iconic look, including her huge blonde beehive and glamorous appearance, was inspired by her aunt, who was a ‘clippy’, or bus conductor.

‘A lot of the stuff I used to say as Lily stemmed from those days. They were all funny. I didn’t realise at the time. My Auntie Chrissie was a clippy on the buses. 

‘She was very glamorous, a big blonde and she’d come in and say, ”I’m that hungry, I could eat a nun’s a**e through the convent railings”. You’d never laugh because it was a manner of speaking.’

While working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council in north London in the 1970s, O’Grady began performing as Lily in gay clubs across the capital, making a name for himself with his outrageous alter-ego.

Paul O’Grady kick-started his decades-long career performing as his outrageous drag alter-ego Lily Savage, pictured here on Blankety Blank in 2002

Paul O’Grady is pictured at BBC Radio 2 in an undated photo

The star retired his Lily Savage character in 2004 after 20 years in TV, admitting at the time that her persona wouldn’t be as well received by modern viewers

Janet Street Porter and Paul O’Grady are pictured laughing together during a 2007 episode of The New Paul O’Grady Show. Janet says Paul was ‘a brilliant wit whose withering one-liners were the filthiest on television. In private, he was the kindest, most modest and quietly spoken person you could meet’

Paul O’Grady is seen arriving for the after show party for the film Sex and the City in 2008 at the Old Billingsgate Market in London

Paul O’Grady is pictured with his partner, Andre Portasio, sister Sheila Rudd and daughter Sharon Mousley at Buckingham Palace in October 2008. During that visit he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by King Charles, then the Prince of Wales

His wit and powerful charisma took him from London’s clubs all the way to Buckingham Palace. He is pictured at the palace in 2008

Paul O’Grady being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the then Prince of Wales (now King Charles III), at Buckingham Palace in 2008

He went on to tour northern England as part of drag duo the Playgirls, before settling into a solo show as Savage that ran for eight years at London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern. 

O’Grady’s career as Savage took off with TV and radio appearances in character and he was eventually asked to take over from Paula Yates presenting The Big Breakfast as Savage from 1995 to 1996. 

However he quit the show after a year, admitting at the time that the early mornings ‘didn’t agree’ with him. 

He took on chat programme The Lily Savage Show for the BBC for a short run in 1997, interviewing stars including Elton John and Anthea Turner.

The show also featured one of the earliest appearances of his beloved dog Buster, who became a fixture on his teatime chat show in the 2000s. 

Later that year, Lily had further success as the host of a revived version of the game show Blankety Blank, which ran until 2002. 

In 2004, Paul retired Lily, later telling The Mirror: ‘People say to me, “Would you do Lily again?” And I say, ”Good God no, I wouldn’t last five minutes”.

‘It’s just the things that she comes out with. It’s a different time now. They probably wouldn’t like the inference that she was a lady of the night — she’d have to say she was a sex worker or just, ”Worked in hospitality”.

‘There’s not enough cash on Earth to get me dragged up. God no. It’s always been, ”Why don’t you be Lily Savage again?” Well, because one, I’m too old, and two, I couldn’t be bothered. I’ve moved on. At the time I thoroughly enjoyed it but I’ve moved on. Even in panto I wouldn’t fancy it.’

While Paul retired the Lily character 19 years before his death, he continued to perform in drag for the rest of his career, in London pantomimes and more recently as Miss Hannigan in the touring production of Annie.

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

O’Grady 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. 

Paul O’Grady with Winston the lamb at his home in Kent. Mr O’Grady rehomed the lamb after the animal was found dumped in a wheelie bin in Manchester in 2011

Paul O’Grady speaks at a Lesbian and Gay Rights demonstration in February 2014

O’Grady has been married to his partner and former English National Ballet member Andre Portasio since 2017. The couple are pictured together at the funeral of Cilla Black in 2015

Paul O’Grady with Alfie the Shitzue pug in November 2017. Alfie needed cheering up after being brought in because his elderly owner couldn’t look after him any more

Paul O’Grady and Andre Portasio attend the National Television Awards held at The O2 Arena on January 22, 2019 in London

Paul O’Grady took to the skies in November 2020 over his home county of Kent in one of the few remaining 1935 Tiger Moth planes

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

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 the rescue home. 

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

He and his partner Andre Portasio lived in a farmhouse in Kent with a menagerie of animals including four dogs, goats, sheep, chickens and barn owls. 

His other on-air appearances included hosting the ITV celebrity game show Paul O’Grady’s Saturday Night Line Up. 

O’Grady’s life-long love of animals also saw him branch out into presenting different styles of programming, among them Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans, which aired between 2014 and 2016 and saw him visit Africa to meet baby animals. 

Following work on the show he became a patron of Orangutan Appeal UK. 

O’Grady has also authored 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; At My Mother’s Knee…And Other Low Joints, The Devil Rides Out, Still Standing: The Savage Years, and Open The Cage, Murphy. Speaking following the publication of the third book in 2012, O’Grady recalled the death of his partner of 25 years, Brendan Murphy, in 2005. 

‘Grief doesn’t happen immediately, it hits you after a while, because you’ve got all the funeral and the fuss, then when that dies down you find yourself on your own, with time to contemplate what’s happened,’ he said. 

‘I thought, “I’m on my own, 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 to sit and fret. I take tablets and have check-ups every eight months when they put me on the treadmill. 

‘I say to them, “Heart attack or not, I’m hopeless on treadmills!”.’

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

Throughout his career O’Grady picked up various accolades including a TV Bafta, a British Comedy Award, and a National Television Award for The Paul O’Grady Show. 

Paul O’Grady is pictured in an undated photo. He is sporting fairy wings at what appears top be the backstage area of a theatrical performance

Paul O’Grady arrives at the British LGBT Awards at held at the London Marriott Hotel in 2019

O’Grady died  unexpectedly on Tuesday night. He may have been ‘laughing, smiling and full of life’ before his death, but has had his fair share of health scares in the past including three heart attacks and kidney failure.

He suffered his first heart attack in April 2002. He was rushed to hospital in London at the age of 46.

O’Grady underwent a two-hour surgery, after which he was described as ‘comfortable’ and was expected to make a full recovery.

He gave up smoking after the attack, having previously been a heavy smoker both in and out of drag. 

But just over four years later the TV presenter was back in hospital after a second heart attack at the age of 51.

After an attack of angina in 2013, O’Grady was also reported to have had a third heart attack in 2014.

He previously told the Sun: ‘My cardiologist says I have the constitution of an ox.

‘Three days after my last heart attack, I was back fire-eating with McFly.

‘The heart is a muscle so you have two choices: Sit on the sofa and count your tablets all day, or get on with it and get moving — swimming and walking, gentle exercise.’

After his three heart attacks, O’Grady almost died aged 62 after he contracted a near-fatal virus whilst filming in India.

The dog-lover had been playing with wounded street dogs in Delhi in 2017, ‘lying in the gutter’ with two puppies.

He quickly became ill and told how he could not stop vomiting – leading to him being admitted to hospital due to dehydration.

There they discovered he was heading for renal failure and gave him saline and antibiotics.

Despite advice, he left hospital after just one night because he ‘wanted to get back to work’.

In July 2022 O’Grady contracted Covid-19 while filming a show in Malta.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland just last week, he described how the illness left him breathless and unable to work for two months. 

He said: ‘I think my last disaster was when I caught Covid last year. 

‘We were filming in Malta and I only got one day’s filming done. The next thing I was in a hotel room for nine days.

‘But getting over it was the worry. I was a good two months being breathless and tired. To tell you the truth, I thought, ‘I’ll never work again in this state. I can’t.’

‘But I’m back in business.’

O’Grady had a life-long love of animals. Last year he was joined by Queen Consort Camilla in a special one-off episode of For The Love Of Dogs to mark 160 years of the rescue home

Paul O’Grady told BBC radio just last week that he was ‘ok’ as he spoke about playing Miss Hannigan in musical Annie

Paul O’Grady filming in India as he hosted a show to try and help some of the street dogs of Delhi

O’Grady, 67, also battled Long Covid in 2022 after contracted the virus whilst filming in Malta

Paul O’Grady (right) is pictured a few days ago in the musical Annie where he played Miss Hannigan

After his troubled health history O’Grady could have been forgiven for taking things easy but he continued to pursue his love of entertaining just days before his death.

Speaking to the BBC about his latest role as Miss Hannigan in musical Annie, Paul joked about ‘gasping for air’ when performing Easy Street.

He joked: ‘Don’t take the elderly for granted. I’m no chicken. I’m 67, I’m 68 this year, and I’m rocking around with Miss Hannigan doing Easy Street gasping for air.’

Speaking about the role, he added: ‘The last time I was in Annie was 28 years ago. It’s strange coming back after so long. 

‘But Hannigan is such fun. Because you can play her pure evil, but I don’t. I play her for laughs, because she’s either drunk or hungover. Either way she’s mean.’

O’Grady’s death was announced by his husband overnight on Wednesday.