Paul O'Grady : The Untold Story

Paul James O'Grady MBE DL, born in St. Catherine's Hospital, Tranmere, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK on 14th June 1955, was a comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor & writer.

Paul became well known on the London gay scene during the '80s with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, with whom he attracted wider popularity in the '90s.

O'Grady later dropped the character, becoming the presenter of TV and radio shows, including The Paul O'Grady Show.

Born to a working-class Irish migrant family Paul moved to London during the late '70s, initially working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council.

He developed his drag act in 1978, basing the character of Lily Savage upon the traits of his female relatives.

Touring England as part of drag mime duo the Playgirls, O'Grady then went solo as a stand-up comedian during the early '80s.

Performing as Savage for 8 yrs at a South London gay pub, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), he built a following in London's gay community, using his character to speak out for gay rights.

After being nominated for a Perrier Award in 1992, Paul attracted mainstream attention, making TV, radio, and theatrical appearances.

As Lily, he presented the TV shows The Big Breakfast (1995-1996), Blankety Blank (1997-2002) & Lily Live! (2000-2001), winning awards and becoming a well known public figure.

Wanting to diversify from Savage, O'Grady starred in the BBC 1 sitcom Eyes Down (2003-2004) & presented a couple of travel documentaries for ITV.

He began presenting ITV's daytime chat show The Paul O'Grady Show during 2004.

Following the network's refusal to transfer creative control of the series to Paul's production company Olga TV, he moved to Channel 4 in 2006, hosting The New Paul O'Grady Show until 2009.

O'Grady presented the late night ITV show Paul O'Grady Live (2010-2011) and BBC Radio 2's Paul O'Grady on the Wireless (2009-2022).

Other TV shows included Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs (2012-2023), Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans (2014-2016), Blind Date (2017-2019) & Paul O'Grady's Great British Escape (2020).

He also published several books, including a 4-volume memoir.

Paul was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Birthday Honours of 2008 for services to entertainment.

He became president of the British Music Hall Society during 2020, taking over the role from Roy Hudd.

O'Grady was a deputy lieutenant for the County of Kent.