Olga (dog)
|
Paul James O'Grady MBE | |
|---|---|
 Paul O'Grady in April 2009
| |
| Born |
Paul James O'Grady 14 June 1955 Birkenhead, Cheshire, England |
| Residence | Aldington, Kent, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Broadcaster, comedian, drag queen, actor, entrepreneur, author, television personality, producer |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Known for |
Blankety Blank (1997–2002) Lily Live! (2000–2001) The Paul O'Grady Show (2004–2009, 2013–2015) Paul O'Grady Live (2010–2011) For the Love of Dogs (2012–) Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans (2014–2016) Blind Date (2017–) |
| Spouse(s) |
Teresa Fernandes
(m. 1977; div. 2005) Andre Portasio (m. 2017)
|
| Partner(s) | Joseph Haws (2017–Present) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | Official Radio 2 show page |
Paul James O'Grady, MBE (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio disc jockey. O'Grady achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag queen character, Lily Savage, with which he went mainstream in the 1990s. He subsequently dropped the character and in the 2000s became the presenter of a range of television and radio shows, most notably The Paul O'Grady Show.
Born to a working-class Irish migrant family in Birkenhead, O'Grady moved to London in the late 1970s, there initially working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council. It was here in 1978 that he developed his drag act, basing the character of Lily Savage upon traits found amongst female relatives. Touring northern England as part of drag mime duo, the Playgirls, he eventually went solo as a stand-up comedian. Performing as Savage for eight years at a South London gay pub, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), he gained a popular following among the city's gay community and used his character to speak out for LGBT rights. After being nominated for a 1992 Perrier Award, he attracted mainstream attention and made various television, radio, and theatrical appearances. As Savage, he presented morning chat show The Big Breakfast (1995–96), game show Blankety Blank (1997–2002), and comedy series Lily Live! (2000–01), earning various awards and becoming a well known public figure.
Seeking to diversify his career away from Savage, O'Grady starred in BBC sitcom Eyes Down (2003–04) and presented two travel documentaries for ITV. In 2004, he began presenting ITV's daytime chat show The Paul O'Grady Show, which proved a hit with audiences. After the network refused to transfer creative control of the series to O'Grady's production company, Olga TV, in 2006 he defected to rival Channel 4, where the show was rebranded as The New Paul O'Grady Show and ran until 2009. O'Grady subsequently presented a late night ITV show, Paul O'Grady Live (2010–11) as well as Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs (2012–present) and Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans (2014–2016), while presenting BBC Radio 2's Paul O'Grady on the Wireless and publishing a four-volume autobiographical.
...
Wikipedia