Julian Clary reveals generous housewarming gift from Paul O’Grady

Fans and friends have recalled O’Grady’s kindness in the year since his death

Julian Clary has shared his memories of the kindness of his late friend, Paul O’Grady.

The comedian and TV personality died unexpectedly in his sleep last March, aged 67, after suffering cardiac arrhythmia.

During an appearance on BBC One’s The One Show on Monday (25 March), comedian Clary contributed to a conversation about the presenter and former drag queen, recalling O’Grady’s generosity with friends and strangers alike.

After host Alex Jones noted O’Grady’s early career as a social worker, Clary added: “He was full of just natural kindness and random generosity. As well as the big charities, he was always helping people – the values he grew up with, I guess.

“And he was very kind to me as well, not that I was an underdog, but when I moved in nearby him, he came by with a basket full of eco-friendly cleaning products and a shepherd’s pie.”

Clary continued: “And the house was very cold, the next day a lorry arrived with a vintage 1920s Rayburn oven on it. It warmed the whole house up.”

O’Grady and Clary were long-time friends, with Clary reported as making the guests at O’Grady’s funeral laugh during his eulogy.

Paul O’Grady and Julian Clary at the Olivier Awards in 2017 (Getty Images)

Clary is also one of several featured figures in the forthcoming documentary film, The Life and Death of Lily Savage, which tracks the trailblazing career of O’Grady as his brassy drag alter ego.

As well as focusing on O’Grady’s daughter Sharyn Mousley, and her memories of having a notable drag queen as a father, the film also shows footage of the TV star’s childhood drawings.

A frequent picture that young O’Grady drew was of a woman who looked similar to Lily Savage, the character he’d later bring to national stardom.

“What they found in an old library book is that he was doodling, and it was like a sort of premonition of the future – pictures of a very Lily-like head,” Clary said elsewhere on The One Show, noting that he had a similar habit as a young person.

“When I saw it, I was like, ‘I used to do these doodles as well,’ of a face which is very like my kind of on-stage face, the same kind of makeup. We make of that what we will; whether it’s all preordained. One day, a scientist might explain it to us, I guess.”

The Life and Death of Lily Savage will air on ITV1 on Good Friday, 29 April, at 9.00pm.