Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
‘Everybody loved Lily’
A year on from his death, a TV show is paying tribute to Paul O’grady’s drag alter-ego
Never has the term ‘national treasure’ been more fitting than for Paul O’grady. The comedy star and broadcaster, who died last March aged 67, touched the hearts of millions during his career, leaving a legacy of laughter and putting animal welfare in the spotlight.
O’grady – who died on March 28 from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia at home in Aldington, near Folkestone, where he lived with husband Andre – is also remembered for bringing LGBT+ culture into the mainstream, because at the root of his rise to household fame was Lily Savage, O’grady’s drag queen alter-ego.
A year on from his death, ITV is honouring that remarkable journey in a documentary called The Life And Death Of Lily Savage.
While UK culture and media may have come a long way in recent years, Lily started life at a time when LGBT+ rights were practically nonexistent and homophobia was rife.
The loud self-professed ‘blonde bombsite’ with an acid tongue began as a cabaret act in underground gay bars in the 1970s, but went on to become a mainstream TV star as a presenter on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast in the mid-1990s, before landing a Saturday night slot on BBC1 hosting comedy celebrity gameshow Blankety Blank.
The 90-minute special features interviews with close relatives, including O’grady’s sister Sheila Rudd and, for the first time, his daughter Sharon Mousley.
A host of famous friends also take part, sharing memories and reflections from O’grady’s life and career. Among these are fellow LGBT+ stars including acting legend Sir Ian MCKellen, comedian Julian Clary and TV presenter Graham Norton, who all recall O’grady’s kindness and humour, as well as everything he did for the gay community.
Of the razor-sharp wit that first made Lily Savage a hit, Norton says in the show: “Lily made me laugh in a way that I can’t think of anything else that made me laugh. Everybody loved Lily, and everyone wanted Lily, it was a big, bold move.”
Meanwhile, Clary, a close friend for years, recalls: “I couldn’t think of anything more terrifying than Lily’s beady eye landing on you if you were in the audience. The genius of Lily, and of Paul, which is very difficult to do, is to be real all the time, and it comes across as genuine.”
O’grady – who was born near Liverpool but moved to London in his 20s – was working for Camden Social Services in his early days of performing as Lily until he was eventually able to focus on entertainment work full time. The move from the underground gay scene to mainstream TV was monumental at the time. This was a period when Section 28 was in full force – a law that banned local authorities and schools from “promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality”.
The documentary also weaves in recordings of O’grady himself recounting pivotal moments in his life. He has previously recalled police raiding London’s Vauxhall
Tavern while he was on stage as Lily during his eight-year residency at the venue in the 1980s and 90s. But in 2004, Lily Savage disappeared. O’grady retired the much-loved character, deciding instead to focus on continuing his career under his own name. With a legion of fans and prime-time TV work right up until his death, it’s fair to say he was loved with and without the peroxide wig.
‘I couldn’t think of anything more terrifying than Lily’s beady eye landing on you if you were in the audience’