The Daily Star show anchor, Paul O’ Grady, has recently passed away. He was the star presenter of the popular comedy game Blankety Blank in the late 90s, where he performed as a drag queen, Lily Savage.
Who was Paul O’ Grady?
Paul O’ Grady was an acclaimed comedian and TV personality best known for playing the drag queen Lily Savage. He was born in Merseyside and hosted several game shows, including Blankety Blank in the late 90s, where he hosted the show as his drag queen persona.
Apart from this, he also hosted the Paul O’Grady Show. He also hosted ‘Blind Date’ and ‘For the Love OF Dogs.’ He has also appeared in several TV programs, such as Holby City and Dr. Who.
He has left a big impact on the Hollywood industry’s reality TV shows, his career spanning more than 3 decades. In 2012, Grady spoke about his health problems, saying that he had heart problems, had 3 heart attacks in his lifetime, and had kidney failure.
He recently passed away on March 28, 2023, at 67. He died unexpectedly but peacefully, according to Mr. Portasio, his husband.
Image Source – ITVX
Paul O’Grady’s marriage of convenience to his model ex-wife
Before he was married to his husband, Andre Portasio, he was married to his now ex-wife, Teresa Fernandez. In one of his interviews, he disclosed that he was never in any relationship with her, and it was only a “marriage of convenience” since he was gay and she was le$bian.
He met her when he was 22, when they worked in a club in Westbourne Grove, London. During that time, her very strict Catholic family forced her to marry. So to help her out with the situation, he married and remained married to her for 28 years.
In one of his interviews, he also revealed that he had forgotten that they got married all those years ago. After thinking about his future, he decided to get a divorce and called her to ask for a divorce.
When he was 18 years old, in 1974, he welcomed her daughter Sharon. He had Sharon with his friend Diane Johnson and not his now ex-wife Teresa. His daughter married her childhood friend, Philip Moseley, and Grady happily gave his only daughter to him.
Paul O’Grady’s secret husband
After his divorce from Teresa, he married Andre Portasio, his now husband. The pair met in a gay club called Showplace. They married at the Goring Hotel in London, with guests gathering on a private lawn for a champagne and canapé reception.
Andre was a member of the English National Ballet and starred in various shows, including “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker.” Despite it being a love marriage, they used to live separately until the Covid-19 lockdowns.
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