Paul O’Grady planned his own funeral in extraordinary detail years before his death, according to reports.
Joking he'd be buried in a glass coffin with Jools Holland playing piano, with Sir Tom Jones and Mica Paris singing, the star had expressed his wishes long before his death last week aged 67.
The broadcaster and comedian had told in 2017 how his pal Jools had already agreed to play at his farewell service.
The telly star, who died suddenly last Tuesday, revealed his wishes to be “remembered as someone who tried to help animals” rather than a comedian or broadcaster.
Paul confessed he’d given a lot of thought to his funeral following his heart attacks in 2002, 2006, and 2014.
And in moving audio clips, it has emerged that Paul had given his service a lot of thought.
Paul spoke about his funeral plans in an interview with Rob McGibbon for his Daily Mail column in 2017.
The journalist questioned each celebrity he interviewed about 'The order of service at your funeral…' and “The way you want to be remembered”.
In the poignant audio, O’Grady joked: “They are all going to be weeping at my funeral. I want to make sure of it. None of this jolly nonsense.”
The comic also joked he expected mourners to “weep like widows” and wear “jet black” and told how he wanted to be celebrated for his kindness to animals rather than for any of his achievements in comedy or showbusiness.
“It would just be nice to be remembered,” he said, adding that his philosophy for life was: “Get on with it - no matter what life chucks at you. Deal with it and get on with it. There's no time to mess around.”
Paul also told how he wanted his funeral to be held in an ancient church on the Romney Marshes in Kent and joked that he wanted to be laid to rest in a coffin made of glass in the middle of a forest, guarded by Snow White's seven dwarfs.
He also said that he wanted a Salvation Army band to lead the procession through the streets while playing Nearer My God to Thee.
Paul said he wanted mourners to enter the church to the sound of his friend Jools Holland playing the piano while Sir Tom Jones 'belted out' Louis Armstrong’s blues classic St James Infirmary.
Describing the service he said: “Mica Paris would stand up and sing something by Mahalia Jackson. They both have incredible voices.”
At the end of the service, Paul imagined: “To liven things up a bit a New Orleans jazz band will play us all out.”
Following Paul’s devastating passing, his best friend, actress Amanda Mealing, revealed his final wish for his funeral.
In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, she said the telly legend told her he would have wanted his friends to have a good time at his funeral and avoid being mawkish and morose.
Paul spent a lifetime making people smile – and told friends he wanted his send-off to be full of laughter too.
“He just told us to have a good time. He’d hate it if everyone was morose,” she said.
Former Casualty star Amanda, 55, said in an exclusive interview: “Whatever happens, Paul’s funeral will be a celebration of his life and it will be full of laughter.
“He just told us to have a good time – he’d hate it if everyone was mawkish and morose. He would just say: ‘I don’t care, I won’t be here! Do whatever you want’.”
Amanda was pals with Paul for 35 years and lovingly called him Savage – after his drag queen alter-ego Lily Savage.
