Paul O'Grady Death Cause: Was Paul O'Grady Ill?

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Paul O’Grady Death Cause: Was Paul O’Grady Ill? Paul O’Grady dies aged 67: Lily Savage star, TV presenter and radio DJ passed away ‘unexpectedly last night. Read below to find out what happened to him.

Paul O’Grady Death Cause: Was Paul O’Grady Ill?

Paul O’Grady, who rose to prominence as the ground-breaking drag comedian Lily Savage before becoming one of the nation’s most popular TV hosts and DJs, passed away peacefully but unexpectedly last night, according to his partner. He was 67. His reason of death is still unknown.

In a statement published shortly before 3 a.m., Andre Portasio, who married O’Grady in 2017, paid tribute to his “humor, wit, and compassion.”

O’Grady, who was well-known for his wit and passion for animals in the early 2000s, hosted a number of television shows, including his own afternoon chat show, The Paul O’Grady Show, which debuted in 2004.

In addition, he succeeded Cilla Black, a longtime host of Blind Date and a close friend of his, who passed away in 2015, as moderator of the Channel 5 revival of the program in 2017. Additionally, he led the award-winning ITV series For The Love Of Dogs as well as Blankety Blank.

The father of one’s cause of death was not immediately known, but he had previously mentioned suffering from kidney failure as well as heart attacks in 2002, 2006, and 2014.

Additionally, he had to undergo a debilitating Covid battle that kept him from working for two months.

In 1977, O’Grady married Teresa Fernandes, a gay bartender from Portugal, to stop her from being removed. After divorcing the former dancer in 2005, he married Mr. Portasio in 2017.

His only child, a daughter named Sharyn Mousley, was born decades previously in 1974 with his cherished friend Diane Jansen. O’Grady is also a grandfather to Sharyn’s daughter Halo, who was born in 2009, and boy Abel, who was born in 2006 and is now 16 years old.

Paul O’Grady in ITV’s Paul O’Grady’s For The Love Of Dogs At Christmas in December 2019

Paul O’Grady hosted classic TV quiz show Blankety Blank as his alter-ego Lily Savage

This is believed to be the last picture taken of Paul O’Grady, at the Edinburgh Playhouse on Saturday, March 25. He is pictured with a dog called Frankie who appears in theatre shows

Paul O’Grady’s death was announced by his partner Andre Portasio, who he married in 2017 (the couple are pictured here at the Royal Opera House in London in 2018)

It is with great sorrow that I notify you that Paul passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening, Mr. Portasio said early this morning.

“At this difficult time, as we mourn his passing, we ask that you respect our private while you honor his life.

He will be sadly lost by his family, friends, pets, and all those who took pleasure in his wit, humor, and compassion.

“I’m sure he’d want me to thank you for all the love you’ve given him over the years,” she said.

In 2017, O’Grady and Portasio exchanged vows in a low-key affair.

He presented The Paul O’Grady Show, Blind Date, Blankety Blank, and ITV’s multi-award-winning For The Love Of Dogs throughout his career. Paul O’Grady’s Saturday Night Line Up, an ITV celebrity game show, was another program he presented.

O’Grady took over as host of the Channel 5 revival of Blind Date in 2017 after longtime broadcaster and close friend Cilla Black passed away in 2015.

To commemorate the 160th anniversary of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, an organization for which he served as an ambassador, he was accompanied by the Queen Consort in a special one-off episode of For The Love Of Dogs last year.

In August last year, he presented his final BBC Radio 2 show has hosted the Sunday afternoon program for nearly 14 years, later saying the station’s drive for younger listeners ‘doesn’t make sense’.

Paul O’Grady holds his three-week-old grandson Abel with daughter Sharyn by his side in 2007

Paul O’Grady laughs as the Queen looks at a corgi at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in March 2015

Paul was pictured last week when it was announced he planned to take his radio show to Boom Radio after departing the BBC

Paul O’Grady and Queen Consort Camilla during her visit to the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home centre in Brands Hatch, Kent, in February last year

And he was performing right until the end – taking to the stage as Ms Hannigan in Annie at the Edinburgh Playhouse.

In a statement, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home paid tribute to O’Grady as a ‘devoted animal lover’ and a ‘champion for the underdog’.

The organisation’s chief executive, Peter Laurie, said: ‘Battersea will forever remember Paul as a devoted animal lover with the biggest heart, who fell head over heels in love with every dog he met at our centres.

‘Paul will always be associated with Battersea and we are truly saddened to have lost such a true friend and huge part of our charity.’

O’Grady’s love for animals was well-known, and he had lived in a farmhouse in Kent with Portasio along with a menagerie of animals including four dogs, goats, sheep, chickens and barn owls.

During the coronavirus lockdown, he wrote his debut children’s book, Eddie Albert And The Amazing Animal Gang, which was published in September 2021.

Tributes also began to pour in overnight from his showbusiness friends. Carol Vorderman said on Twitter: ‘Paul O’Grady. Already giving them raucous, ripping up the rulebook, mischief making, calling it out, loving hell in heaven.

‘Paul, what are we meant to do without you?’

Lorraine Kelly spoke of her pain at ‘such sad news’, adding: ‘Paul O’Grady – funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise. Will be sorely missed. A really special man.’

Replying to another Twitter user, she added: ‘I always think dogs are the best judge of character and they ADORED him.’

Paul O’Grady with partner Andre Portasio, sister Sheila Rudd and daughter Sharyn Mousley at Buckingham Palace in 2008 where he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire

Paul and Amanda Holden chat to Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, outside Buckingham Palace in July last year during a reception for Battersea Dogs Home, which he was closely associated with through his show For The Love Of Dogs

TV star Paul O’Grady died ‘unexpectedly but peacefully’ on Tuesday evening, his partner said

Paul O’Grady with Barbara Windsor and Cilla Black at the Royal Variety Performance 2001

In 1974, he had his only child, a daughter called Sharyn Mousley (pictured together in 1995)

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

Paul O’Grady performing as Lily Savage, as the Wicked Queen, in Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London

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

Paul first found TV fame as ‘transvestite prostitute police informer’ Roxanne on The Bill, a role he played three times between 1988 and 1990.

Pioneer who transitioned his drag performance from seedy south London bars to Buckingham Palace and gained millions of followers along the way

In the early 2000s, Paul O’Grady rose to fame as a household figure thanks to his wit and passion for animals.

The comedian and TV personality first gained notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s under the drag queen persona Lily Savage before moving on to host a number of television shows.

The Paul O’Grady program, which debuted in 2004 and was followed by the New Paul O’Grady Show, was his well-known daytime chat program.

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.

He also fronted Blankety Blank, as well as ITV’s multi-award-winning For The Love Of Dogs.