Plans to honour Paul O'Grady's life and career have been revealed by Wirral Council following his death last month.
Merseyside was shocked by the news of the legendary TV star and animal lover's death on Tuesday, March 28, at the age of 67. Paul had been a household name for decades, hosting shows like Blankety Blank and Blind Date, as well as ITV's For the Love of Dogs. He first came to prominence with his drag persona Lily Savage throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
A petition to honour the Birkenhead-born star with a statue in his home town was launched five days ago on Change.org. The petition, addressed to Wirral Council, has today passed 100,000 signatures and continues to climb towards its target of 150,000.
READ MORE: Paul O'Grady: Leave your tribute to the beloved comedian in the ECHO's online condolence book
Kieran Gabriel, who created the petition, said: "Paul O'Grady passed away suddenly on March 28th and it only feels right to honour the life of such a great human being by immortalising him in statue form, in his hometown of Birkenhead.
"Paul has left a huge legacy with his trailblazing work as a drag artist, social and political causes, LGBT rights and of course, his love of animals. This is a petition to the Wirral Council, who must surely take stock of the huge outpouring of love in the wake of Paul's passing. Liverpool has Cilla, Birkenhead deserves Paul."
In a statement released to the ECHO, Wirral Council confirmed plans are already being finalised on a celebration to honour Paul's life as part of the Borough of Culture events.
A Wirral Council spokesperson said: "It has been wonderful to see such an outpouring of love and warmth for Paul O'Grady following the sad news of his death, along with the many donations directed to Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, a charity we all know from his television work was close to his heart.
"At the moment here in Wirral we are working on honouring Paul’s life, career and the causes he championed, including through a fitting celebration as part of our Borough of Culture events next year.”
The comedian and TV presenter was born in Tranmere in June 1955 and was made an MBE in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to entertainment. His long-time radio producer, Malcolm Prince, will pay tribute to the late star on Boom Radio on Sunday.
They worked together at BBC Radio 2 and later at Boom Radio, an independent station, until the 67-year-old's death last week.
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