Paul O’Grady: The comedian and presenter who rose to fame as Lily Savage

ok.co.uk:

TV and comedy legend Paul O’Grady, who became a household name in the early noughties, known for his wit and love of animals, has died at age 67.

Paul James Michael O’Grady was born in Birkenhead, on Merseyside, in 1955. Both his parents died young from 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 name is believed to have inspired his famous drag alter ego Lily Savage, who helped propel him to mainstream success.The comedian and TV personality first rose to prominence as his drag queen persona Lily Savage in the 1980s and 1990s before going on to host a string of television programmes.

He was well known for his self-titled daytime chat show, The Paul O’Grady Show, which began airing in 2004, followed by the New Paul O’Grady Show.

Paul 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.