![]() ![]() You never know what you’re going to get when you’re marched into a hotel room to interview a celebrity, but it’s rarely this. ‘He talked about class and lipstick and death’ It would have been nice if he could have stuck around for longer. He’s left a good, positive mark on the history of our country. This change of direction in later life sat well with him. I got the feeling that, with his programmes about animals, he had to really push to make them happen. People should always keep growing and challenging themselves. I can’t imagine he’d ever want to stand to be an MP like I did, because that would have been too hampering. But he did things his way and with aplomb. His positions might not be exactly my positions, although ripping into the Tories like he did – absolutely. Obviously we shared an interest in politics. You could see that in the way he interacted with them. He was a lovely, decent guy who cared about people. And I think seeing what he did helped LGBT people out there, either in their personal lives or perhaps as performers being able to be more honest about their sexuality onstage.Īppearing on The Paul O’Grady Show was always fun. That was it, above all else: he was relaxed in his skin, while also being funny and acerbic. Coming out in the TV world back in 1991 was more likely to be a shot in the foot than anything, but I did it anyway, and I’m sure it helped that Paul was already out there, being very relaxed. I had already told my parents but I knew I had to tell the press because that would mean I was no longer hiding in this lie. ![]() I was probably still in boy mode that year. He could just talk about whatever was in his head and get laughs. We all watched each other’s acts as fellow nominees and I was struck by his ability to make anything comedic. Lily Savage was a mouthy housewife and sex worker but you could imagine her talking to anyone, at any point, and getting on with them. Frank won but Paul was also really great and came from such an unusual direction: being a drag queen and a standup was quite unusual. It was a great year for comedy: Jack Dee, Frank Skinner and a brilliant guy called Avner the Eccentric were also nominated. Paul and I were both nominated for the Edinburgh festival’s Perrier award in 1991. I went back to Granada and said: “I don’t think he needs a writer.” ‘I was struck by his ability to make anything comedic’ Stories that hooted and ached and raged and hoped for a better world. Backstories? These tales echoed back to the war, with secrets and debts and back-alley shags in the Liverpool of the Blitz. Characters? Oh, the characters! Lily’s sister, her neighbour, her enemies, her one-night-stands and long-lost loves. ![]() Structure? Everything came with an arc, a punch, a trick, a gasp. Story? There were gorgeous, furious, heartfelt tales of love and loss, fags and booze, feuds and affairs, long-held grudges ending in spectacular punchlines. A glorious monologue, a mad, magical attack of words, conjuring whole worlds into existence, with jokes like daggers. “I think, scene one, I’m walking down the street, and there’s a Big Issue seller, and he says to me, ‘Big Issue?’, and I say, ‘It might be to you, but it’s not to me.’” He stared at me like the scan of a 3D printer. If he’s going to write proper scripts, we think he needs a writer.” But he doesn’t know story or structure or characters or backstories. One day, they said: “Paul O’Grady, d’you know him? He’s Lily Savage. Husband's goal is to find the Lover and punish him.In the mid-90s, I was a writer-for-hire at Granada TV, bashing out soaps, sitcoms, quizzes, anything.
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