Britain was rocked by the sudden, unexpected news of beloved TV star Paul O'Grady's death. Tributes have poured in from across the world of showbiz and from the many charities he devoted his support to over the years.
Here, Carol Vorderman, who became close friends with Paul via their shared TV work, pays tribute to a special man...
Our Paul was one of the rare ones who belonged to all of us, he gave us everything he had and we loved him for that. Nothing held back, no filter on that sharp tongue and fine brain of his, it came at you raw and properly funny, fully honest.
He was a warrior, exploding through the daft, made-up rules of society. He loved strong women, he adored them, he’d been brought up by them.
Before we all said hello to him as Lily Savage in the '80s, he’d been a social worker saving babies and children from abuse, and also helping mothers who were trying their best with what they’d been given in life.
He never judged the vulnerable, the weak or the misunderstood, he fought for them like a lion. And I loved that about him above all things. He was one of the biggest ever names in television and worth a fortune but he honestly never changed, never hid behind a shield, never pretended to think or do anything that wasn’t honest.
I’ve known Paul over 30 years, our telly lives intertwined on different shows and different channels, and we became friends.
Jaysus, so many 10 hour lunches, so many stories, so many memories.
There was one time after a Pride of Britain awards where we ended up in a green room with Shirley Bassey, just six of us, till 4am. Shirley hadn’t met him before but, like all of us, she fell in love with him. So there we were, Shirl singing her heart out to an audience of five, her and Paul dancing, Paul being so genius funny that we laughed and sang so hard we could hardly breathe....
I had to go on his chat show hours later and how we got through it I’ll never know!!
Then there was the time at Cilla Black’s funeral when Paul gave a eulogy. He and Cilla had been really close after her Bobby died. Paul stood up on the altar in the Catholic church in Liverpool with Cilla’s coffin close by and told a story of how he’d taken her to a gay club in New York. Every now and then he’d turn round to the Bishop and say ‘sorry Bish’, more laughing. At the end, he sat down to huge applause then Bishop Tom stood up, walked over to the pulpit, pointed at him and said ‘Paul O’Grady I’m giving you 10 Hail Marys and 3 Our Fathers’.” Paul shouted back ‘oh god, I’ve never been given penance before at a funeral’.
Genius, but he worried about it after, when we were chatting at the wake. He wanted to do her proud, and he did.
I loved his ferocity, his sense of right, the fighter in him, when he raged against this ‘stinking government’ (Paul’s words)... when he set the world on fire. Paul O’Grady, there was only ever one of you.
For most of us, it hasn’t sunk in yet.
But we do know that you’ll already be giving them raucous, ripping up the rulebook, calling it out, loving hell in heaven.
God, you are loved O’Grady xxxxx
