A close friend of Paul O'Grady who saw the TV star on the afternoon of his death has paid tribute to his 'dear friend' after visiting him just hours before his 'unexpected' death.
Radio producer Malcolm Price said he popped round to Paul's for a 'good old catch-up' on Tuesday afternoon (March 28) and the former drag queen was 'laughing, smiling and full of life.' Paul died later that evening at age 67, his partner Andre Portasio said. The cause of his death has not yet been confirmed.
Paul was in the middle of a run as Miss Hannigan in the UK musical tour of Annie. Two weeks before his death, he shared a post about his beloved pet pig who had to be put down while he was performing in Newcastle. Paying tribute to his hog, called Tom Tom, Paul also spoke about his time on the road, adding: "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".
READ MORE: Paul O'Grady's heartbreaking final post days before his death
Taking to Twitter, Malcolm shared 'a few words' about his last moments with the TV veteran. "I'm devastated", his post began. "Yesterday afternoon, I popped round to Paul's for a good old catch-up. Surrounded by his beloved dogs, he was laughing, smiling and full of life. He was so proud of 'Annie', so happy to be back on Boom Radio and he was looking forward to so many new projects.
"And now he's gone. I can't believe it. We have lost a unique talent - and I've lost a dear friend. We were all lucky to have Paul in our lives. My heart goes out to Andre, Paul's family, and friends. Oh how I'll miss him". In another tweet, Malcom shared the final photo he and Paul had together, adding: "Farewell Paul, I'll miss you my friend xxx".
Paul was renowned for hosting The Paul O'Grady Show, Blind Date and Blankety Blank, as well as ITV's For The Love Of Dogs, which won multiple awards. His celebrity game show, Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up was also a favourite.
Paul, who performed as drag queen Lily Savage, took over as host of Blind Date following the death of long-running presenter and close friend Cilla Black, who passed in 2015, when the show was rebooted in 2017 on Channel 5. Last year, to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, for which he was an ambassador, Paul was joined by the Queen Consort for a one-off special episode of For The Love of Dogs.
After spending nearly 14 years as he established himself as a stalwart of the air waves. In August 2022 he presented his last BBC Radio 2 Show on the Sunday afternoon programme.
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