Paul O'Grady

Comedian, tea-time talk show host and all-round entertainer, multi-award winning Paul O'Grady is one of the most popular figures on British television. Brought up in an Irish Catholic house in Tranmere, Birkenhead, O'Grady has come a long way from his roots. And what a lively and incredible journey it has been. He has worked as a civil servant, a waiter, a barman, a woodsman, a carer in a children's home and an office worker in an abattoir. And his private life has been equally colourful. He was married twice in his youth - once to a lesbian Portuguese waitress. Initially famous for his outrageous wigs and raucous behaviour, he found fame as Lily Savage or the 'Blonde Bombshell', a vampish drag act that was inspired by his experiences when working as a waiter in a brothel. He began by touring gay clubs and pubs. Then, in the early 1990s, he achieved more mainstream fame with his big break - a slot on ITV's "This Morning". In recent years, after hosting many highly acclaimed TV shows as Lily Savage, O'Grady has chosen to appear as himself.
He has been seen jet-setting around the world in his travelogue shows entitled Paul O'Grady's Orient and Paul O'Grady's America, causing havoc in the BBC's "Celebrity Driving School", and, most recently, hosting his hugely popular self-titled talk show. The abundance of awards that Paul O'Grady has been given in the past five years are a testament to just how much affection the British public have for him. In this hilarious new biography, Neil Simpson paints a fascinating and novel portrait of the wild and incredible man that we all love so much.