Paul told me: 'I won't make old bones'

A NEW BOOK ON THE LATE, MUCH-LOVED TV STAR PAUL O'GRADY GIVES A WINDOW ON HIS FINAL DAYS.

- BY TOM BRYANT

HE could make the nation roar with laughter as Lily Savage and melt hearts with his love of animals.

Despite these struggles, the book reveals a side of Paul that few knew, a secret friendship with the late Queen. They first met in the kitchen of Lady Elizabeth Anson’s house when Paul had gone to check on his friend, who was ill. He arrived in the room looking disheveled, carrying a WHSmith bag to find Queen Elizabeth having a cup of tea.

“It was, I have since learnt, one of many such encounters Paul enjoyed with the Queen,” writes Malcolm. “He kept his association relatively quiet, and rarely mentioned it on air or in public. If he did mention the royals, his viewers and listeners would not know if he was joking; after all, would you have believed him if he told you he had had tea with the Queen?”

On that occasion, the Queen thanked him for being a loyal friend to her cousin and for visiting her during her illness. “Paul replied he had been friends with her for many years and his concern was the same he would show to anyone,” Malcolm writes.

His royal connections extended to Queen Camilla, who appeared on For the Love of Dogs. “He would have regular lunches with Camilla at Fortnum & Mason,” says Malcolm.

While Paul enjoyed those private royal moments, his final years were marked by heartbreak at BBC Radio 2. He and Malcolm had worried about the future of their Sunday show following a change in management. Their fears were realised in 2021 when his manager Joan was told that instead of a new two-year deal, Paul was being offered a one-year contract for just 26 programmes.