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Paul James Michael O'Grady MBE is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio DJ. Becoming famous for his drag queen comedic alter ego, Lily Savage, he subsequently became well known for presenting the daytime chat television series, The Paul O'Grady Show.
Born to a working class Irish migrant family in Birkenhead on the Wirral in Cheshire, O'Grady went through various jobs in his youth, including working in various bars, for the civil service and for social services, moving around the country. While living in London in 1978 he first turned his hand to drag, developing the character of Lily Savage based upon various female relatives of his. Proceeding on a tour of Northern England as a part of a drag mime duo, the Playgirls, he eventually went solo as a stand-up comedian. Performing for eight years at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, he won a Perrier Award for his comedy act, attracting mainstream attention and presenting television shows Blankety Blank and Lily Live!.
Moving on from his drag act, he appeared in the comedy sitcom Eyes Down and presented several travel documentaries. In 2004, he began presenting The Paul O'Grady Show for ITV, but after a quarrel with the company re-launched the show on Channel 4 in 2006 as The New Paul O'Grady Show, which ran until 2009. Returning to ITV, he presented the Friday night chat show Paul O'Grady Live before stopping to focus on other projects, including presenting a Sunday evening show on BBC Radio 2, Paul O'Grady on the Wireless and two ITV programmes, award—winning documentary series For the Love of Dogs and The British Animal Honours. The Paul O'Grady Show was revived by ITV in 2013.
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