Comedian Paul O'Grady Dies, Aged 67

English comedian and presenter Paul O’Grady has passed away at the age of 67, his husband Andre Portasio confirms. In a statement by Portasio, he died "unexpectedly but peacefully".

Paul O’Grady was seen as an icon to the LGBTQ+ community for many years, particularly achieving notability in the 1980s-90s for his drag queen alter ego Lily Savage. He gained further notoriety presenting the TV quiz show Blankety Blank, and then in the 2000s with the commission of popular teatime chat show The Paul O’Grady Show.

A full statement from O’Grady’s partner released to the press asks for privacy following his passing:

“It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening,” he said. “We ask, at this difficult time, that whilst you celebrate his life you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss.

“He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion.”

O’Grady was the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career, including a TV Bafta and an NTA (National Television Award). Many British TV personalities who worked with O’Grady have paid tribute to the presenter on social media, some describing him as “brave” and “a natural talent”.

Comedian and presenter Joe Lycett took to Twitter to pay his respects to the radio star, writing “I’m sad about Paul O’Grady. I hoped I might meet him one day to tell him what an inspiration he was to me: how I loved gloriously loose & effortless his shows were, how he proved you could be political in a light ent space and that you could do all this & be really, really funny."