Paul O'Grady is taking a break from one of his normal Christmas projects this year.
The For the Love of Dogs presenter usually takes to the stage each festive season to perform in a Pantomime. But when talking to ITV producers about a one-off Royal edition of his dog show, he revealed he planned to take "a year off".
Instead, he is in Thailand filming for another project. The 67-year-old said he will be home just in time for the big day, but it will "be rushed."
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Paul said: "It’s going to be a bit rushed for me this year because I’ll have just got back from filming. But it’s nice because I’m not doing panto this year so there’s none of that arriving home late on Christmas Eve from the theatre and then getting up at the crack of dawn on Boxing Day to travel for the matinee, when I’m so tired I’m destroyed. So it's nice to have a year off that."
He expanded on his Christmas plans as he said: "I always cook for everyone on Christmas Day and it doesn’t bother me doing that to be honest. As long as I don’t get the stirrers and pickers as I call them, the people who come in and put a spoon in a pan and just stir it."
The presenter added: "This year I’m cooking for seven people, plus nine dogs, the six alpacas, the pigs, the goats, chickens, owls and sheep. We’ve got the lot here. Bring it on!"
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs – A Royal Special aired on Monday, December 19, at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
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