Paul O'Grady passed away last night (March 28) at the age of 67 after making a heart breaking final post about the passing of his pet pig shortly before his own death.
The TV star died "unexpectedly but peacefully", with his partner Andre Portasio confirming the tragic news. Andre said: “He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion."
As reported by Manchester Evening News, Paul announced the passing of his pet pig, Tom Tom, just two weeks ago. He paid tribute to Tom Tom on Instagram, writing: "Got back from a week in Newcastle playing Miss Hannigan in Annie to find that Tom Tom, one of my pigs had been put to sleep.
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"I knew it was coming as he’d been diagnosed with a tumour but even so it’s awful when you lose a pet. He was the cheekiest of the gang and one of the other pigs who was obviously very fond of him is now depressed and gone into mourning and there’s those who say that animals don’t have feelings.
"On a lighter note I’m thoroughly enjoying playing Hannigan again after so long especially with a truly amazing and lovely cast. Next stop Edinburgh."
The cause of Paul's death is yet to be confirmed. He was best-known for hosting The Paul O'Grady Show, Blankety Blank and ITV's For The Love Of Dogs.
In 2017, O'Grady took over as host of the rebooted version of Blind Date on Channel 5. Last year, he was joined by the Queen Consort for a special episode of For The Love of Dogs to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
He made his final appearance on BBC Radio 2 last August as he presented the Sunday afternoon programme. O'Grady had spent nearly 14 years on the radio.
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