Paul O’Grady’s unwavering commitment to showbusiness across more than four decades is what has given him national treasure status. He’s the ultimate shapeshifter who can adapt from stage to screen to radio seamlessly, but he wasn’t always comfortable playing Paul O’Grady.
Having jump-started his career as the illustrious Drag Queen, Lily Savage, he’s perhaps most known today for his television and radio broadcasts. Paul first starred as himself in an ITV travel show Paul O'Grady's Orient in 2000, but the 67-year-old admitted it wasn’t an easy start after hiding behind the mask of Lily for two decades.
“I said to my partner and manager at the time [Brendan Murphy], who’s no longer with us, that I didn’t know what to do. He said ‘be yourself’. I didn’t know what ‘myself’ was, I’d always been hidden by Lily Savage.
