This is heaven
TV presenter was beyond happy filming with elephants just weeks before he died
THE gigantic smile on Paul O’Grady’s face shows how much he loved spending time with one of nature’s biggest animals as he filmed his final programme before he died.
He was having so much fun with the elephants as he shot the documentary that despite having mud on his face and almost being sent sprawling, he said: “This is heaven.”
It was filmed in December 2022. He died aged 67 in March 2023, two weeks after completing work on the show called Paul O’Grady’s Great Elephant Adventure.
The two-part documentary, being shown on ITV over Easter, follows Paul as he travels across Thailand and Laos to see the work done by elephant rescue centres.
Claire Barton, the show’s executive producer and a friend of Paul’s, said: “He wanted to highlight the plight of elephants.
“Little did we know that this would be the last TV series Paul would film before his death.
“One of my abiding memories is of Paul encircled by a herd of excited mature elephants, mud splattered on his face and clothes, laughing as he was almost knocked to the ground, before being given an elephant’s tail hug. ‘This is heaven’, he exclaims.” The show was edited and completed a fortnight before Paul died of a cardiac arrest a year ago on Thursday.
If Paul had done the voiceover work at his usual pace he might not have finished it. Writing in the Radio Times, Claire said Paul arrived at the recording studio on a limomotorbike. She added: “Usually, with his voiceovers, we would split the sessions in two, recording the second scripts around three weeks after the first.
“For the first time in 18 years of working together, Paul suggested he crack on and finish recording the voiceover. We completed it that afternoon. It would be the last time I ever saw Paul.”
Claire also revealed the pair had hoped to make more shows. She said: “We planned a companion programme on the African elephant and a new series about wild dogs and wolves in Canada.”
Paul was also known for his alter ego, Lily Savage, and shows such as For the Love of Dogs.
A tribute programme, The Life and Death of Lily Savage, will air on ITV on Good Friday.
■ Paul O’Grady’s Great Elephant Adventure starts on Sunday at 8pm on ITV and ITVX.
Paul was laughing as he was almost knocked to the ground
CLAIRE BARTON ON STAR MIXING WITH ELEPHANTS