Paul O’Grady represented a bygone era of TV

The tragically early death of the magnificent Paul O’Grady struck a blow at the national heart that’s unusual for a celebrity death. After all, this is, for most of us, the death of a stranger. 

This was a man who spent much of his professional life portraying a markedly waspish and unsentimental character, and even when he became more of what we used to call a ‘family entertainer’ he was never either sugary or oily. He reflected the British, or how we’d like to see ourselves, very well – unshowy, animal-loving, regularly quite angry, but most of all not fake. 

It’s a terrible cliché, but he really did feel like a friend, which very, very few celebrities do nowadays. I first encountered him as Lily Savage on the gay scene of the 80s, and it was a delight to watch him transfer effortlessly to his immaculately entertaining TV and radio shows as himself.