Cilla would have loved my wedding
This is the great little!! TV host Paul’s sadness over late pal
PAUL O’Grady has confirmed he married his dancer boyfriend last month – and says he missed his pal Cilla Black on the big day.
The TV host tied the knot with former English National Ballet star Andre Portasio, 37, at the Goring Hotel in London.
Paul, 62, said: “It was a smashing day. A quiet little thing but I really enjoyed it. Cilla would be over the moon. It was just such a shame she wasn’t there.”
Paul, who began dating Andre 11 years ago, admits he had never considered marrying him until fellow comic Julian Clary suggested it.
He says: “Julian put the seed in my head. He said, ‘I’ve got married. You should’.
“And he’s right, then you protect your partner. If anything happens to me, he is protected. It makes sense.” Paul was married once before, to Portuguese model Teresa Fernandez, in 1977, to stop her being deported. The union was dissolved in 2005. The presenter revealed life has changed little since he got hitched. He added: “Married life is the same as before. We have known each other so long. Nothing has changed, really. “I like saying I’m married – better than saying I’m a divorcee, which I was before. “You have made a vow, you have to stick to it. But we still fight like cat and dog.” Two years after Cilla’s death in 2015, Paul still has fond memories of her. He added: “I remember her as she was. She was up for anything, a great partner in crime.”