Tributes have been pouring in from across the entertainment world and on social media this morning after it was announced that Paul O’Grady has sadly died at aged 67.
The influential TV personality’s passing was announced in the early hours of the morning.
His partner, André Portasio, announced that the Merseyside-born star had passed away “unexpectedly but peacefully” in a public statement.
The statement reads: “It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening. 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.
“I know that he would want me to thank you for all the love you have shown him over the years.”
Paul O’Grady has died aged 67 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | Paul O’Grady (via Instagram)
With an illustrious entertainment career spanning over four decades, O’Grady was known and loved by British audiences as a comedian, broadcaster, actor, writer, and former drag queen – who first achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag queen persona, Lily Savage, before going on to gain further popularity throughout the 1990s.
He used his public platform and popularity as Savage at this time to speak openly on LGBTQ+ issues and become a prominent advocate of gay rights.
Starring as Lily Savage, he presented the television shows The Big Breakfast (1995–1996), Blankety Blank (1997–2002), and Lily Live! (2000–2001) – which earned him various awards and saw him become a beloved public figure.
Paul O’Grady as his iconic drag persona, Lily Savage / Credit: ITV
O’Grady chose to retire the Lily Savage persona, and go on to make a name for himself as a presenter of various television and radio shows in the 2000s.
He was perhaps most well-known for hosting the self-titled talk show, The Paul O’Grady Show.
He also presented a rebooted version of Blind Date, several ITV documentaries, featured on TV shows such as Dr Who, Holby City, and Eyes Down, and cemented his place as one of the nation’s most-famous dog lovers and animal rights advocates with his long-time support of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and for presenting shows such as Paul O’Grady: For The Love of Dogs and Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans.
O’Grady was honoured with an MBE for services to entertainment in 2008.
O’Grady was also a lover of dogs longtime advocate for animal rights / Credit: ITV | Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Since the news of O’Grady’s passing was announced, touching tributes have been pouring in in their hundreds from right across the world of entertainment and on social media – both from those who knew and had worked with him in the past, and from those who admired his work and all that he achieved and had stood for throughout his respected career.
Such sad news. Paul O’Grady – funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise. Will be sorely missed. A really special man.
I’m in a state of shock this morning, waking up to the news that my gorgeous colleague and friend, Paul O’Grady has passed away. I’m actually reeling in disbelief. He was such a wonderful human being, funny and to the point. Paul, legend, RIP darling.
Quite shocked and saddened to wake up to the news of Paul O'Grady passing. #RipPaulOgrady. A funny man, with incredibly quick wit, who made millions laugh.
Paul O'Grady was fucking amazing. We all grew up watching Lily Savage (I can remember watching her on The Big Breakfast and my mum proper laughing) but it's only in more recent years I realised what an incredible life Paul had had. What a loss! pic.twitter.com/aFgXbceXpY
Paul O’Grady was one of the nicest and kindest people I’ve ever met. Always a joy to be around and obviously, so much fun. He will be missed. Telly and friends have lost one of the best….RIP❤️
So sad to wake to the news that Paul O’Grady has died. He was a true comedy great and his twinkly,mischievous presence will be missed by so many. RIP dear Paul.
Paul O’Grady was in the trenches fighting for our community during the HIV & AIDS epidemic, she took drag mainstream, she made our mums howl with laughter and normalised gay people on TV by being utterly vile. I can’t imagine a world without her. A truly brave and hilarious man x pic.twitter.com/Zf5ABmg9J7
What a fucking life led. Truly. Back when the Met stormed into the RVT for it being a gay bar, all wearing rubber gloves to “protect” themselves during the HIV crisis, Paul O’Grady was on stage as Lily and immediately quipped “Looks like we have help with the washing up!” Iconic.
Before Drag Race and social media it was rare for queens to break through into mainstream media, Paul was one of the few leading the way and smashing down barriers. Everyone loved him, but he preferred animals. RIP Paul O’Grady AKA the legendary Lily Savage, you will be missed 💔 pic.twitter.com/CXwe1LsKoc
Heaton Park’s ‘Gallagher Hill’ where people have been watching Oasis for free is no more
Thomas Melia
The Heaton Park viewpoint coined ‘Gallagher Hill’ which fans flocked to to watch Oasis for free has been closed off ahead of the remaining gig dates.
The particular high area of Heaton Park has gone viral online after Oasis fans have been using it to watch the Live ’25 shows for free, with a distant view of the huge screens.
But as thousands of ticket-holders flock back to the remaining Manchester gigs of Oasis Live ’25, fans who couldn’t manage to get any tickets will be disappointed to learn that the viral viewing point Gallagher Hill has been shut down.
Usually, this hill section of the Manchester green space isn’t filled with Gallagher supporters – it’s normally home to a herd of cows who use this land to graze and walk about on throughout the day.
Huge fences have now been erected around the area to prevent any further groups from gathering, with Oasis still set to perform on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Manchester City Council has said that there are also around 300 young trees that have been planted in this part of Heaton Park to develop a new woodland area.
The purpose of the fencing is ‘dual purpose’, a council spokesperson said: “Both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there. The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”
After seeing videos of fans in this particular area, one TikTok user checked it out for herself asking her followers: “Would you get on Gallagher hill now?” before panning her camera to show cows grazing on the land.
Although fans of the Manchester icons were flocking to this spot in order to join in on the Oasis fun from afar, issues have been raised via safety concerns of visitors, the cattle herd and reports of litter.
Fans are now being directed to enjoy the many, many events taking place in the city centre, including the MCR Live Hub at Piccadilly Gardens.
‘Gallagher Hill’ in Manchester today ahead of the next Oasis shows. Credit: The Manc Group
Some fans have been very understanding reasoning this fair decision admitting, “Probably because of security and threats unfortunately”, while others express their disappointment asking, “How sad do you have to be to put that up?”.
One social media user, who was planning on taking a family member to this brand new Manchester landmark commented, “They could’ve utilised Gallagher hill”.
The fan went on to pose the question of making it an official viewpoint for concerts, posing the question, “£30 entry fee, is that too steep?”.
Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Employment, Skills and Leisure, Manchester City Council, said: “The atmosphere across Manchester has been electric over this last week with the whole city swept up in Oasis fever and peaking over the weekend with the first two hugely successful homecoming concerts at Heaton Park.
“As you would expect given the size of the concerts and numbers of people attending, we go through a continuous process with partners of re-assessing the plans in place for the concerts to ensure both public safety and that any environmental impact on our award-winning park is minimalised.
“The steps being taken ahead of the next concert regretfully mean the distant view of the large screens behind the event stage will no longer be there. Unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place to protect the very recent extensive planting of young trees in that location as we try to establish a new woodland area in the park, and the wellbeing of our cattle herd in the field, as well as to keep people in the park safe.
“Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead. The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time. We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”
The Maccabees’ Orlando Weeks on Gavin and Stacey, Glastonbury and comeback tour
Thomas Melia
UK indie band The Maccabees announced their comeback tour earlier this year alongside a very impressive All Points East headline date.
Since rocking into the music scene in 2007, The Maccabees have a Mercury Prize nomination to their name as well as three UK top 40 singles and one chart-topping album ‘Marks To Prove It’.
Just last year, the band ingrained themselves into UK pop culture for eternity thanks to the inclusion of their single ‘Pelican’ in the finale of the much-loved TV classic Gavin and Stacey.
The Maccabees have been a staple in British culture and indie music alike, and it’s safe to say fans were overjoyed when the news of a comeback tour was announced.
The Maccabees are coming to O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on 21 and 22 August.
After nearly a decade apart, the lads are ready to hit the road again with a string of UK tour dates, which are in preparation for their huge All Points East headline date at the end of August.
Lead vocalist for The Maccabees, Orlando Weeks, sat down with us to talk reuniting with fellow bandmates after almost a decade, as well as all things Glastonbury and the upcoming All Points East headline slot.
Orlando Weeks from The Maccabees | The Interview
The Maccabees have played Manchester almost 20 times since entering the music scene in 2007. What is it about our Manc crowds that keeps pulling you back?
Manchester has a musical heritage, which means there are enough venues that we can come back to so many times and people not be sick of us. The crowds are great, it’s always a good gig and always a good night out.
Having that kind of heritage and pride in your city makes it the kind of place [bands] want to come back to.
This will be the band’s first time playing O2 Victoria Warehouse, and after playing a variety of Manchester City centre music venues, how excited are you to be playing this one for the first time?
I’ve had friends that’ve played it, and everyone said that it’s a good gig. I have no doubt it’ll be good.
Due to incredible demand, you’ve had to add a second date after the first show sold out – what’s it like for you hearing news like this?
The original offer for us was to play All Points East, and so when we got that, it made up our minds to play these summer shows.
Getting to play once in Manchester will set us up [for this headline slot], and getting to play twice will set us up even better. I love being in Manchester anyway, so to have a little bit longer to have a wander and a drink is great.
What was it like getting back into the rehearsal process with the rest of the band after nearly 10 years of not performing or touring together?
It’s very odd how powerful muscle memory is. It’s crazy how quickly all of the songs, structures and playing came back to us.
When we used to play, I invented so many completely useless little triggers for me to help remember lyrics or a chorus that I’d get stuck on, and I still remember those foot taps and placements that bring it all back.
Felix [White] boasted before we even started rehearsing that he remembered everything off by heart, and he could go straight into a gig. To be fair to him, it’s amazing how much his brain has retained.
At your first show in nearly a decade at The Dome in London, you created artwork to raise funds for theMS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society. Will fans be able to buy your artwork and support this charity at both the Manchester dates?
There will be an MS charity stall as well as one for Doctors Without Borders. If you’re reading this or coming to either of the gigs and have anything that you can contribute to either of those charities, then we as a band would be extremely grateful.
This 2025 tour sees support from indie rock band, Sorry – how excited are you to head out on the road with this talented group?
The Maccabees have always been very lucky to travel around the world with other bands who are amazing, and Sorry are definitely part of that list.
You have a reason to get down early, because if you’re a fan of The Macs, you’ll be a fan of Sorry. I can guarantee that you’ll have a good time.
The Maccabees are taking part in some of the biggest events in the British music calendar[Glastonbury, All Points East]. How does it feel to have such immense support nearly 20 years into your career?
20 years in and 10 years off. There are a few people who aren’t in the band but have been such a big part of it, even through the 10 years that we weren’t really doing anything. They would say if you ever did wanna do something, there’ll be people there.
I just didn’t know that [The Macabees reunion] would be as popular as it has been. It’s very hard to explain or get your head around, really.
On the topic of Glasto, how surreal was it to be playing this major music festival for the third time?
I think we’ve been at least four times, maybe five times.
Headlining ‘The Park’ stage was special, and it was also the first time my son came and saw me on a stage singing. It was a great ‘take your son to Work Day’. We had Florence [Welch] coming out and singing with us, too.
I’ll remember all of The Maccabees’ Glastonbury experiences, but I think that’s the one I’ll hold onto for the longest.
Speaking of surreal moments, your song ‘Pelican’ featured in the finale of British favourite, Gavin and Stacey. How did this opportunity come about?
I think Matt might’ve texted me, but it was Christmas and I was swept up in all sorts of celebrations. We got a lot of messages after it aired because an insane number of people watch the show.
It’s all thanks to James Corden and Matt Horne, who have always been fans from early on. It was very flattering and very nice to be part of [Gavin and Stacey].
And finally, after playing Manchester so many times, are there any shops or special spots that you always make sure to visit when you’re in the city?
I remember when we were in Manchester last time for ‘The Farewell’ tour, I’d started running by then – and I loved the canals.
Usually, I defer to local friends and I’ll just let them take me to whichever pub or place they recommend – Wherever they go, I go.
The Maccabees are set to play two nights at O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, and there are still tickets available for their second date HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
29th March 2023 
