Paul O'Grady is known for lots of things - his broadcasting, being a former drag queen and his devotion to animals.
While helping to rehome animals on Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs, the 66-year-old has ended up rehoming his fair share, not wanting to leave them behind at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
Paul shares his home with a menagerie of pets including five rescue dogs - Nancy, Arfur, Conchita, Eddie and Sausage.
Having recently adopted Sausage, also known as Soz, Paul breach of his self-imposed clause in his contract, which is said to prohibit him from taking animals home from the centre while filming.
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He mentioned this some years ago and revealed that "under no circumstances" was he allowed to go home with any more animals from Battersea, reports the Standard.
Sausage, a wire-haired dachshund, ended up in Battersea's centre in London after being found as a stray in Poland.
Paul said on Instagram : "I took this hairy little monster home. She's called Sausage, which isn't very original but it doesn't matter as she can't understand a word of English except 'biscuit.'
"She gets on with all the others except for Conchita who simply ignores her but Nancy loves her and together they’re a right pair of hooligans.
"So far Sausage has eaten her way through a couple of dog beds, an armchair, endless pairs of socks and shoes and the stair carpet but she’s the friendliest dog on the planet so what’s a pair of shoes between friends?
"Sausage loves cartoons or animations, call ‘em what you like. She’s been glued to the telly watching an animation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm with not a peep out of her. Keeps her quite anyway."
Paul has dedicated much of his time to working with animals, including on the hit documentary Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs, which airs on ITV on Wednesdays.
He has long been a vocal supporter of animal rights and is an ambassador for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, as well as a patron of charities including Orangutan Appeal UK and Wildlife SOS.
But outside of his showbiz bubble, Paul and his devoted husband Andre live a quiet life in Aldington, Kent, alongside their other animals - and pigs, alpacas, chickens, sheep and goats.
Welcoming home three alpacas in November last year, he said: "The latest addition to the gang. La Verne, Patty and Maxine - The Alpaca Sisters.
"I haven’t heard them sing yet but they can hum and whistle and all three of them are pregnant. La Verne has a tendency to spit."
Paul married his husband Andre in the summer of 2017 after the lovebirds had been dating for ten years before they tied the knot.
The smitten pair got together in the mid-2000s after meeting at a gay club in London called Showplace.
Although they have been married for almost five years, Paul and Andre actually never lived together until the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Paul previously confessed that the idea of living separately from his husband was inspired by Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton - who famously lived apart throughout their marriage.
"We’re doing a Helena Bonham Carter and Tim whatshisname, and it works a treat," he told Irish News.
"It’s the same as before. We see each other all the time. We just don’t live together, which for me makes for a perfect relationship because when you’ve had enough, you can say; 'I’ll see you, I’m off'.
"I’m a bit cranky of a morning. I’m a cobra. I don’t get up, I’m exhumed, and I slither down the stairs looking for trouble. But otherwise I’m fine. Andre’s pristine, you know, everything’s tidy – and I’m not."
However, when the pandemic struck and the strict isolation rules came to play, Paul decided it was time to move in with Andre so the pair could be close and look after their animal brood together.
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