ITV1 viewers were left sobbing on Sunday night as Paul O’Grady’s final TV moments were broadcast before a final message from ITV.
The Lilly Savage star was back on our screens with a special documentary, Paul O’Grady’s Great Elephant Adventure, a two parter filmed before his sad cancer death.
Paul O’Grady travelled to Thailand to meet a herd of endangered elephants. He began in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, in an area containing more than half of all the country’s 3,500 domesticated elephants.
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Paul met an elephant which had been burned by tourist operators to try to keep the elephant working after it got arthritis.
Paul then went to a Thai animal shelter to meet some of the 700,000 dogs which are dumped in Thailand every year. Of course, the For The Love Of Dogs host couldn’t go anywhere without seeing dogs too.
In the second part, Paul was seen going to Hua Hin to the Wildlife Friends Foundation, Thailand’s largest animal hospital. The sanctuary rescues elephants mostly from circuses or tourist trekking concessions.
At the end of the episode, ITV put out a message which said: “In loving memory of Paul O’Grady MBE. 1955-2023” alongside a photo card from the series.
@karinarse said; “Still sobbing at such a loss of an amazing man, which makes this program a harder watch…. never forgot ten #PaulOGrady”
@tracyjcooke said; “Absolutely loving seeing #PaulOGrady on #ITV tonight. What a great programme about rescued elephants. It’s like he’s still with us”
@sewingYorkie said: “Wonderful programme, in tears , #PaulOGrady we miss you and will never forget you God bless you #POGelephants”
Dubbed the most important person in British culture for drag and described as a devoted animal lover with the biggest heart, his death sent shockwaves through the entertainment world. The comedian and actor, known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage, passed away on Tuesday evening, March 28, 2023 at the age of 67.
His husband, former professional ballerina Andre Portasio shared the sad news in a statement.
The ITV star’s death certificate has revealed he died from sudden cardiac arrhythmia, which was linked to Paul O’Grady’s ischemic heart disease.
Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) is when someone dies suddenly following a cardiac arrest and no obvious cause can be found, according to the British Heart Foundation. It happens when your heart suddenly stops pumping blood around your body, which stops breathing and starves the brain of oxygen. It affects around 500 people in the UK every year.
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