TV star and comedian Paul O’Grady has died at the age of 67, his husband Andre Portasio has said.
In a statement, he said the star, known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage, died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening.
The presenter, who was born in Merseyside, hosted a number of game shows including Blankety Blank in the late 90s under the guise of Savage.
His career spanned more than 30 years, during which he hosted The Paul O’Grady Show, Blind Date and For The Love Of Dogs.
He also featured on TV shows such as Dr Who and Holby City.
Mr Portasio, who married O’Grady in 2017, said: “It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening.
“We ask, at this difficult time, that whilst you celebrate his life you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss.
“He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion.
“I know that he would want me to thank you for all the love you have shown him over the years.”
O’Grady also leaves behind his daughter Sharon, who he had with close friend Diane Jansen in 1974, as well as two grandchildren.
He was also once married to Portuguese model Teresa Fernandes in what he called a “marriage of convenience” in 1977, reportedly to stop her from being deported – they later divorced in 2005.
O’Grady said Fernandes, a lesbian from a strict Catholic family, had been feeling pressure to get married and that he wanted to help her.
In 2012, O’Grady spoke about his health after having had two heart attacks.
He said following the publication of his third book: “The worst thing you can do is to sit and fret.
“I take tablets and have check-ups every eight months when they put me on the treadmill. I say to them, ‘Heart attack or not, I’m hopeless on treadmills!'”
Both his parents died young from heart problems – his father when O’Grady was in his late teens and his mother, whose maiden name was Savage, when he was 33.
The name is believed to have inspired his famous drag alter ego who helped propel him to mainstream success.
‘We have lost a unique talent’
Long-time friend and producer, Malcolm Prince, offered his tribute to O’Grady having visited him at his home only yesterday.
Mr Prince said: “I popped round to Paul’s for a good old catch-up. Surrounded by his beloved dogs, he was laughing smiling and full of life. He was looking forward to so many new projects.
“And now he’s gone I can’t believe it. We have lost a unique talent – and I’ve lost a dear friend. We were all lucky to have Paul in our lives.
“My heart goes out to Andre, Paul’s family, and friends. Oh how I’ll miss him.”
He began his career as Lily Savage in the 1970s and the act later gained traction at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern cabaret club, where he was a prominent advocate of LGBT+ issues.
The Savage persona propelled him to TV and radio whilst he remained in character, and he took over as The Big Breakfast presenter in 1995.
Blankety Blank, which ran until 2002, would showcase his dry humour.
O’Grady was a trailblazer – and his humour and honesty resonated with people
Funny and formidable. Paul O’Grady was a one-off. Few that could match his sharp tongue, that warmth, that wit.
Much is made today of how Ru Paul’s Drag Race has brought drag to a mainstream audience, but long before that here in Britain it was O’Grady who brought the subculture from the fringes of society to primetime TV without watering it down or compromising what it stood for, not even an inch.
Incidentally O’Grady wasn’t a fan of Drag Race.
“That’s not drag!” he’d said. “It’s all about shading and contouring your face now and being like supermodels.”
With O’Grady it symbolised more. He was a trailblazer at a time when the queer community endured horrific homophobia.
Yes there’d been Danny La Rue and Dame Edna Everage on screen, but his acerbic alter ego Lily Savage – a single mum turned middle-aged prostitute who regularly went on the rob – was born straight out of a London comedy scene that was loud, scrappy and up for a fight if you had a problem with what the community stood for.
O’Grady took no prisoners. His humour and honesty resonated and the public quite rightfully loved him. A true one-off.
Comedy chat shows would follow with The Paul O’Grady Show in 2004, and Paul O’Grady Live in 2010, which featured guests like Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones and Michael McIntyre.
The presenter was honoured with an MBE for services to entertainment in 2008, adding to a list of achievements including a TV Bafta, a British Comedy Award, and a National Television Award for The Paul O’Grady Show.
Last year O’Grady commemorated 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home with the Queen Consort in a special episode of For The Love Of Dogs.
Further tributes have poured in for the much-loved comedian.
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “Paul wasn’t just a brilliant comedian and broadcast personality but a much-admired campaigner for LGBT+ equality and animal rights.”
ITV’s Lorraine Kelly described him as “a really special man” and “funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise”.
Comedian Dane Baptiste has apologised to the “Jewish community, my colleagues and my fans” following criticism over a now-deleted social media post.
The stand-up star, who has appeared on TV shows including 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Live At The Apollo, and Mock The Week, has been dropped by his talent agency Insanity.
The company said the contents of a deleted post were “completely at odds with our values and what we stand for”.
The Metropolitan Police has also been made aware of the post.
Baptiste said he had made “a massive error of judgment” after receiving “a number of threatening and abusive messages from accounts accusing me of antisemitism for having pro-Palestinian views”.
The comedian said his partner had made him aware that “some of these same people” were monitoring her Instagram account.
In an apology posted on social media, Baptiste said: “In a massive error of judgment, I posted an excessive and impulsive response, hoping to dissuade anybody monitoring my family.
“I made a point to say Zionist and not Jewish, but I appreciate how disturbing, threatening and incendiary that language is, I would categorically state I have no ill intention towards the Jewish community and never have.
“I have a loving family of which I am massively protective of; I reacted poorly and emotionally to a perceived threat with no considered thought to the consequences, and I apologise profusely for my actions to the Jewish community, my colleagues and my fans.”
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Baptiste was the first black comedian to be nominated for the award for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2014, and also fronted the BBC Three sketch programme Bamous.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for Insanity said: “Insanity became aware of a social media post published by Dane on Instagram yesterday.
“The contents of his post are completely at odds with our values and what we stand for. We promptly made this clear to him, and are no longer working with him.
“As an organisation we do not tolerate hate speech of any kind and are committed to the values of respect and tolerance for all.”
Universal Music and TikTok have ended a dispute over royalties after the label pulled millions of songs from the social media platform.
The new licensing agreement means songs by some of the biggest artists in the world, including Drake, Adeleand Billie Eilish will return to the site for use within the next two weeks.
TikTok, a short video app, is a valuable marketing and promotional tool for music stars. But in January, Universal claimed it paid artists and songwriters “a fraction” of the rate offered by similar social media platforms, and announced it was pulling its catalogue.
Universal is the biggest music label in the world and also looks after Taylor Swift– who allowed a selection of her songs to return to TikTok as she promoted her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April. Swift owns the copyrights to her recordings through her 2018 deal with Universal and can control where her songs are available, according to the Financial Times.
The companies now say they have come to “a new multi-dimensional” licensing agreement that will deliver “significant industry-leading benefits” for Universal’s artists and labels.
In a joint statement, TikTok said it would continue to invest resources into “building artist-centric tools” and work on strengthening online safety protections for artists and their fans.
The AI issue
The agreement means all videos that had been muted will be unmuted. It comes just over three months since Universal posted an open letter criticising TikTok, calling for higher payments for artists and songwriters, protection from the “harmful effects” of AI, and online safety.
In their joint statement, the companies now say they will work together to ensure AI development across the industry “will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters”.
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They will also work to remove unauthorised AI-generated music from the platform, as well as on tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution, the statement says.
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Universal chairman and chief executive Sir Lucian Grainge said the “new chapter” focuses “on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community”, while TikTok chief executive Shou Chew added: “Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem, and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group.”
On Wednesday, a poll by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music found that 83% of UK adults agree that a music artist’s creative “personality” should be protected in law against AI copies and 77% believe it amounts to theft when generated music fails to acknowledge the creator of the original.
Wales is to get its own version of talent show The Voice, it has been announced.
The series named Y Llais (Welsh for The Voice) will be presented by Radio 1 DJ Sian Eleri.
The Boom Cymru-produced show will make its debut on S4C next year.
Opera star Sir Bryn Terfel has been announced as one of the four coaches.
The Grammy award-winning artist performed at the King‘s coronation last May.
The Welsh-language version becomes the 75th international adaptation of The Voice format.
The series sees contestants take part in “blind auditions” as they hope to impress the coaches and prompt them to turn their chairs to proceed to the next round.
The ITV series The Voice UK also features a Welshman as part of its coaching line-up, with Sir Tom Jones joining will.i.am, LeAnn Rimes and McFly‘s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones.
The winner of the Welsh version will secure a 12-month mentoring scheme as well as further opportunities to perform on S4C programming.
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“It’s great that the Land of Song is getting its own special version of the The Voice series,” Sir Bryn Terfel said.
Sian Eleri said she was “delighted to be presenting one of the biggest shows in the world”.
“For it to be happening on home soil with S4C is next level. Bring on those rotating chairs,” she added.
“As a nation we have produced some of the most successful singers in the world, and with this format we’re looking forward to discovering the next big voice from Wales,” added S4C’s interim chief content officer Geraint Evans.
The deadline to apply is 21 June, with auditions set to take place in North Wales on 12 July and in South Wales on 15 July.