Paul O'Grady's husband Andre Portasio has revealed how he will donate Lily Savage’s dresses “to the nation”.
In a wide-ranging Mirror interview with Tom Bryant - which you can read here - Andre Portasio told how he was gifting items to the V&A. “There is an amazing history of items in our loft that he kept over the years that no one ever got to see,” he explains.
Among them are his husband’s famous dresses and wigs, as well as countless pieces of memorabilia. “I used to say to him that the Lily items were a slice of history but he was always very modest and called them a lot of tat,” Andre laughs.
Andre managed to persuade Paul to donate the odd item to the V&A when he was alive (WireImage)“I think by the end he was very tired of having to put on all the make-up and all the practical aspects of becoming Lily although he never fully retired her and she kept making comebacks.” While Paul was alive, Andre managed to persuade him to donate the odd item to the V&A, but there are endless other pieces he is now setting aside.
“They don’t belong to me, they belong to the nation,” he says. “I feel the audience at large would absolutely love to see them again, and it’s weighing on me very heavily how I take his legacy forward.” Andre was talking on the anniversary of Paul’s death. He said he was humbled by the reaction of the public to his husband’s passing.
Karren Brady says Radio 2's 'purge of the old-timers' has seriously backfired
“I couldn’t leave the house for three weeks because people kept coming to leave flowers, cards, or even little miniature dogs. It just reinforced quite how popular and deeply loved he was.”
In the interview, Andre said he didn’t want to be in the same house on the anniversary itself. "I wanted to be as far away from it as possible in New Zealand,” he said.
“I don’t want to be anywhere near my kitchen where I found him, and be reminded of what happened.” Rather touchingly, he’s bringing Paul’s passport along with him.
“It will feel like he’s coming with me anyway, which is what he would have loved as he couldn’t do long-haul flights as he got older,” he says. “But he would have loved New Zealand, and on the day in question, I will remember him quietly in my own way.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
