Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Camilla and Paul could talk, laugh, and be normal.. she sent me two heartfelt letters when he died
door was always open, not only to his friends but everyone.”
Last week Battersea chief executive Peter Laurie said the organisation was left “truly overwhelmed” after it emerged that Paul left £500,000 in his will to the organisation.
In fact, such was his generosity that with every big TV contract he signed, a large proportion of that same money would go to charity.
“He wasn’t keen on having his name on things, or people knowing about his charity work, so a lot of it
went under the radar,” Andre explains. “Obviously his work for Battersea was all in the public domain, but a lot of what he did was in a very private way.
“He always gave money away regularly... I think a lot of it came from his mother’s Catholic side, in that you have to give back.”
This generosity of spirit was nothing new.
Paul spent many years working as a children’s social worker before TV came calling, and once described himself as being “like a very strange Mary Poppins”.
“He talked about being a social worker all the time,” Andre says. “It never left him, you know? I think he was always amazed to get where he got and wanted to share his success.” And what a ride it was.
Paul first burst on to the scene on ITV’S This Morning with Lily Savage soon becoming a household name in the 1990s.
Before long, Lily was interviewing huge stars on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast, hosting Blankety Blank for the BBC and even getting her own An Audience With . . . show.
Paul then went on to have huge success with his self-named chat show on Channel 4 and ITV, as well as For the Love of Dogs and several spin-off documentaries.
In 2008 he went to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE for services to entertainment.
Despite such a stellar career, Paul was always keen to underplay his celebrity status.
“He was modest and never liked to have pictures of himself in the house and now that he’s not here, I must admit I put the pictures up everywhere,” Andre laughs.
Our time is nearly up as Andre needs to get ready to catch a flight to New Zealand, on his solo trip to mark the oneyear anniversary.
Talking to him, I’m struck how underneath his softly spoken, gentle exterior, lies a steely determination to ensure Paul is never forgotten.
Not only that, but to continue his husband’s charity work. With that in mind, he asked for a donation to go to Battersea for this interview.
“Paul was very protective of me during the 18 years we spent together but I’m ready for the next challenge, and my duty is to carry Paul’s work on,” he says.
“I’m hoping this trip will also really give me a sense of looking forward and how I will move on, and the prospect of not being with him.”
Paul’s legacy, it would seem, is in good hands.