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Paul James O'Grady (born 14 June 1955), is an English comedian and television personality of Irish descent. He is the creator of comic drag character Lily Savage (the "Birkenhead Bombshell"), a vampish Birkenhead woman. He is noted for his strong Scouse accent. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Birkenhead (disambiguation). ... Map showing the location of the Wirral at grid reference SJ285850 Wirral or The Wirral (IPA: [wɪɹəɫ]) is a peninsula in the north west of England, bounded by the River Dee to the west and the River Mersey to the east. ... For other uses, see Cheshire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... GBP redirects here. ... is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A celebrity is a person who is widely recognized in a society. ... Lily Savage is a drag act performed by comedian Paul OGrady. ... For other uses, see Birkenhead (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Birkenhead (disambiguation). ... This article is about the accent. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Biography

Born in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula to an Irish father, O'Grady was brought up in Tranmere. When he was 18, he worked as an assistant clerk at Liverpool Magistrates' Court and had a relationship with a woman ten years his senior with whom he had a daughter Sharyn. Three years after his daughter was born, Paul wed a Portuguese lesbian waitress called Maralyn Sydie in a marriage of convenience. For other uses, see Birkenhead (disambiguation). ... Map showing the location of the Wirral at grid reference SJ285850 Wirral or The Wirral (IPA: [wɪɹəɫ]) is a peninsula in the north west of England, bounded by the River Dee to the west and the River Mersey to the east. ... Tranmere is an area in Birkenhead on the Wirral. ... This article is about same-sex desire and sexuality among women. ... A marriage of convenience (plural marriages of convenience) is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the traditional reasons of love or family. ...

His jobs have included civil servant, barman for Yates Wine Lodge, office work in an abattoir and a woodsman. He has also worked in a children's home in West Kirby and spent some years as a peripatetic care officer for Camden council. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2006 he was listed in The Guardian as one of the most powerful men in media. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Workers and cattle in a slaughterhouse. ... For the 2004 movie, see The Woodsman. ... , West Kirby is a town located on the north west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. ... The London Borough of Camden is a borough of London, England, which forms part of Inner London. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ...

Lily Savage

Paul O'Grady's alter-ego, Lily Savage

In 1977, Paul went to Manila where he worked as a waiter in Gussy's Bar (also a brothel). It was here he got the idea for Lily Savage, his now infamous drag alter-ego. He returned to London in the early 1980s and subsequently achieved fame with his creation of Lily, initially playing to gay clubs and pubs up and down the country. Lily was best known at the time for her eight year residency at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London. He was in numerous double and treble acts such as 'High Society' with Adrella {Peter Searle}, 'L.S.D.' with David Dale and Sandra Hush (David Hunter), The Playgirls, again with Hunter and The Glamazons with Paul Banks, a former nurse. He toured Europe with some of these acts, appearing at Madame Arthurs in Denmark and various night clubs and theatres in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Holland, France and Israel. After appearing at The Edinburgh Festival, for which he was nominated for a Perrier Award, he became more mainstream. Lily first became popular on television, making appearances on ITV daytime programme This Morning, and as the 'On the Bed Presenter' on The Big Breakfast. Lily was given several shows, by both BBC and ITV, and although they achieved reasonable ratings, they weren't the huge hits that either channel was hoping for. For a few years Lily hosted the game show Blankety Blank for the BBC and later for ITV, as well as her own comedy show Lily Live! with ITV in 2000. Lily Savage also co-hosted the 1996 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party with Ant & Dec. In a 2006 interview O'Grady stated that Lily Savage was now living in a convent in Brittany, although on several occasions he has announced that she has escaped the convent, which was interpreted by some as meaning that the character is returning. Image File history File links Lilysavage_1. ... Image File history File links Lilysavage_1. ... For other meanings of the word, see Manila (disambiguation). ... A waiter in a resort setting A waiter is one who waits on tables, often at a restaurant or a bar. ... A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with the clients. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... This article is about a region in the Netherlands. ... There is no one Edinburgh Festival but those using the term are usually referring to the collection of various festivals in August and early September of each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... The Perrier Comedy Award is a prestigious award for comedy, awarded to the best comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... This Morning logo (ITV1) This Morning is a British, ITV1 daytime television programme that started on 3 October 1988 and includes celebrity guests, entertainment, advice, competitions and features. ... Lockkeepers Cottages, in Old Ford Lock, used as the studio for The Big Breakfast The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... Blankety Blank was a British game show based on the American game show Match Game. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... Lily Live! was a flamboyant live/scripted comedy show (broadcast for ITV in 2000) starring Paul OGrady as Lily Savage. ... Ant & Dec is the name of a duo of British light entertainment television presenters, which consists of Novocastrians Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ...

Theatre

As well as numerous national tours, O'Grady has appeared on stage in Prisoner Cell Block H - The Musical, the musical Annie as "Miss Hannigan", Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as "the Childcatcher" and in the panto Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as the "Wicked Queen". He has been quoted as saying 'I seem to be making a living frightening children' For the 1967 British fantasy-drama television series starring Patrick McGoohan, see The Prisoner. ... For other uses, see Annie (disambiguation). ... Chitty the Musical is a stage musical based on the story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming and the 1968 film. ... The Child Catcher is a fictional and nightmarish character from the beloved book, film, and theatrical productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ... USPS stamp honoring Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 animated feature by The Walt Disney Company in which a jealous queen tries to have her stepdaughter murdered, but instead the girl is given shelter by seven dwarves who live deep in...

Television

O'Grady played a prostitute snout called Roxanne in several episodes of The Bill between 1988 and 1990. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the British TV series. ...

In 1990 he appeared in the ITV miniseries Chimera as Tony Donaldson, a social worker skilled in signing for the deaf. Chimera (a. ...

In 2000 he appeared in a six-part travelogue series as himself, entitled "Paul O'Grady's Orient". Shot in Shanghai, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Bangkok, Bali and Singapore, it was produced by Gavin Hill and Collette Valentine and directed by Paul Watson. This was followed in 2001 by "Paul O'Grady's America". These were amongst his first major television appearances out of drag. From 2002 onwards, he has appeared less as Lily and more often as himself. In 2002 he presented Outtake TV, a bloopers show, and in 2003 starred as the lead character in the BBC sitcom "Eyes Down" for two series, as the vicious yet hilarious manager of a northern Bingo hall. He also appeared in Celebrity Driving School for the BBC. Travel literature is literature which records the people, events, sights and feelings of an author who is touring a foreign place for the pleasure of travel. ... A blooper usually describes a short sequence of a film or video production which contains a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Eyes Down was a short-lived comedy starring Paul OGrady as Ray Temple, the manager of a Bingo Hall in Liverpool, North West England called The Rio[1]. Although it had moderate ratings, the programme only lasted for two seasons until it was cancelled by the BBC in 2004. ... Driving School was a docusoap that aired on BBC One in 1997, which followed a group of learner drivers around Bristol and South Wales. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ...

Since then, he has had success as the presenter of his own early evening talk show, The Paul O'Grady Show, on ITV. He won the position after he stood in for Des O'Connor on the now defunct lunchtime celebrity chat show Today with Des and Mel. The Paul O'Grady Show somewhat controversially ran head to head with Richard and Judy, who are close friends of Paul, and gave him one of his first TV breaks on This Morning on ITV back in the early 90's. Now that both Richard and Judy's and Paul's chatshows both run on Channel 4, whenever Paul's show is off the air Richard and Judy fill the tea-time slot, and vice-versa. He has guest starred on Living's paranormal show, Most Haunted Live!, after presenter Yvette Fielding was a guest on his show and invited him on. He holds many awards, and in December 2005 he won the Best TV Comedy Entertainment Personality category of the British Comedy Awards. In 2005, he won a BAFTA and is also the recipient of two Royal Television Society and three National Television Awards. The New Paul OGrady Show (formerly The Paul OGrady Show) is a British comedy chat show on Channel 4, formerly aired on ITV. The Channel 4 show is filmed at the BBC Television Centre in London. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (born January 12, 1932) is a veteran English television personality. ... Today with Des and Mel was a British television series hosted by Des OConnor and Melanie Sykes. ... Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are married co-stars of British daytime television programmes. ... This Morning logo (ITV1) This Morning is a British, ITV1 daytime television programme that started on 3 October 1988 and includes celebrity guests, entertainment, advice, competitions and features. ... This article is about the British television station. ... Living is a British television channel owned by Virgin Media Television. ... Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. ... Most Haunted Live! is a spin-off of the reality TV show Most Haunted and, likewise, is produced by Antix Productions. ... Yvette Fielding (born 23 September 1968, Stockport, England) is a popular British television presenter. ... The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. ... The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ... The Royal Television Society is a British-based society for the discussion, analysis and preservation of television in all its forms, past, present and future. ... The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, sponsored by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. ...

On 10 January 2006, in a shock decision, O'Grady decided to defect from ITV and take his daytime chat show to Channel 4 after ITV apparently 'forgot' to renew his contract. It was said that he had wanted to produce the series with his own company and had wanted to from the start but Granada always refused. He is still in an ongoing dispute with ITV, regarding the use of props and studio design for his daytime chat show (The New Paul O'Grady Show). As a consequence of this, O'Grady has decided he never wanted to work for ITV again and has pulled out of appearing on a new talent show and was replaced as host of The British Soap Awards. He was very outspoken in his anger towards ITV for a while after his move to Channel 4, but less so recently. is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... This article is about the British television station. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... The New Paul OGrady Show (formerly The Paul OGrady Show) is a British comedy chat show on Channel 4, formerly aired on ITV. The Channel 4 show is filmed at the BBC Television Centre in London. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas. ...

On 27 March 2006, Paul O'Grady began hosting his talk show on Channel 4, now called The New Paul O'Grady Show. It is shown weekdays from 17:00 to 18:00 UTC. and the first series ended its run on the 16 June 2006. Channel 4's Richard and Judy and O'Grady share the Channel 4, 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. slot with each show sharing taking 3 months of the Channel 4 teatime schedule. is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Paul OGrady Show (formerly The Paul OGrady Show) is a British comedy chat show on Channel 4, formerly aired on ITV. The Channel 4 show is filmed at the BBC Television Centre in London. ... ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are married co-stars of British daytime television programmes. ... This article is about the British television station. ...

O'Grady retired his Lily Savage character around 2004. He claimed she had "seen the light, taken the veil and packed herself off to a convent in France" but recently on his current TV show, he said, "she's escaped the convent and she's heading towards these shores!", which may signal the return of the Lily Savage character. Also on 23 January 2007 on his show, someone wrote in saying is Lily Savage going to be working in a midnight burlesque club and Paul says that there's a 99.9% chance of that happening, so he could be bringing her back. However, on the 30th October episode on his show, Lily Savage was one of 10 "smiles" examined by a body language expert. After finding out that it's Lily, Paul covered her up before revealing her again, claiming she's still in the convent. is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

On 16 March 2007, Paul presented part of Red Nose Day 2007, where he performed several circus tricks, including fire eating. is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Red Nose Day 2007, was a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of March 16, 2007 to early the following morning. ... Categories: Stub | Circus skills | Sideshow attractions ...

The fourth Channel 4 series (7th series when including the three original ITV series) started on 17 September 2007. On 24 August The Daily Mirror revealed that Paul had rejected a £5 million deal to return to ITV as the "New Parkinson." Instead he has signed a £4 million deal to remain with Channel 4 until the end of 2009. is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a British tabloid daily newspaper. ...

Personal life

O'Grady is openly gay, but has previously had relationships with women, and was once married to a female Portuguese friend in a marriage of convenience. He is now very close to his daughter, who married her childhood friend Philip Moseley at Liverpool Town Hall on 30 July 2005. His long term lover and business partner of 20 years was Irishman Brendan Murphy, who died of cancer on 9 June 2005, five days before Paul's fiftieth birthday. After the first show of series three of The Paul O'Grady Show there was a tribute to him. Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 160th day of the year (161st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Paul OGrady Show (formerly The Paul OGrady Show) is a British comedy chat show on Channel 4, formerly aired on ITV. The Channel 4 show is filmed at the BBC Television Centre in London. ...

O'Grady owns a farm in Aldington near Ashford, Kent and a flat in London. The farm is stocked with 32 animals, including a flock of geese which O'Grady refers to as the "Geese-stapo" (a pun on the Gestapo) O'Grady has a grey Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise crossbreed dog called Buster[1], who usually appears on his TV show with him, or occasionally will be replaced by Paul's other dog, Olga, a Cairn Terrier who Paul named his recently formed production company, 'Olga TV' after.[2]. He also has another dog called Louie, who only appeared a few times (mainly due to his bad behaviour), in the first ITV series, before he adopted Olga live on air. Aldington is the name of two places in England: Aldington, Kent - a village SE of Ashford Aldington, Worcestershire - a village east of Evesham Aldington is also the name of two people: Richard Aldington writer and poet Baron Aldington This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages... , The town of Ashford lies on the River Great Stour, M20 motorway, South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways, in the borough of Ashford, located just south of the North Downs, in Kent, England. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei: “secret state police”) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... The Shih Tzu (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shih-tzu Kou; literally Lion Dog), in English pronounced shee tsoo), is a dog breed which originated in China. ... Country of origin Belgium / France / Mediterranean region Classification Breed standards (external links) FCI, AKC, ANKC, CKC KC(UK), NZKC, UKC A Bichon Fris (French, literally Curly lap dog; often spelled Bichon Frise in English) is a small dog that is the size of a large cat. ...

On 26 December 2006 O'Grady's daughter Sharyn gave birth to O'Grady's first grandchild, a boy - Abel in Liverpool. O'Grady introduced his grandson to the audience on his show on 17 January 2007.^{[citation needed]} is the 360th day of the year (361st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

As of 2007 Paul has become a Patron of Oxford Pride.^{[citation needed]} Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

On 22 February 2008 he appeared on Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ...

On 25 May 2005 Paul revealed he was a fan of Liverpool Football club.^{[citation needed]} is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Health

In April 2002, O'Grady suffered a heart attack after weeks of complaining that he felt unwell. After an emergency operation and weeks of rest, Paul's health recovered and he gave up smoking for two years.

O'Grady went back to his 40-a-day habit after his boyfriend and business partner Brendan Murphy died in 2005. He had continued to work on the show at the same time as nursing his beloved partner. As a result, he suffered a second heart attack on 30 June 2006 [3]. Again he was taken to the William Harvey Hospital and was taken into intensive care. He was then given an angioplasty operation, before being moved to a cardiac unit. He was released on 4 July and again promised to give up smoking [4]. He therefore postponed the new series of his show from 4 September to the end of the month. The delayed second series started on Monday 25 September 2006. is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... William Harvey Hospital is located in Willesborough, Ashford, Kent, England. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

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Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...

External links

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Paul O'Grady

• Paul O'Grady at the Internet Movie Database
• Article about move to Channel 4 at digitalspy.co.uk
• The Paul O'Grady Show at Channel 4