Paul O Grady’s daughter grew up doing the make-up for his alter-ego Lily Savage.
Buying his tights and trying on his outfits was the everyday reality for Sharyn Mousley - who speaks about her dad candidly for the first time during a new ITV documentary - which will be shown on ITV this Easter. But what was her relationship like with the man who was adored by millions?
Paul O’Grady - the much-loved presenter and comedian died "unexpectedly but peacefully" on March 28 last year at his home in Kent from a cardiac arrhythmia. He first rose to fame with his drag queen persona Lily Savage in the 1990s and more recently presented For The Love of Dogs, taking viewers behind the scenes of Battersea Dogs Home. He sadly passed away at the age of 67.
The ITV documentary reveals why Paul O'Grady killed off Lily SavagePaul, who was from Birkenhead, became a national treasure after a television career spanning decades. The Life and Death of Lily Savage will air on ITV1 this Easter, to mark the first anniversary of Paul’s passing. Featuring Paul’s daughter Sharyn and other close family and friends including Sir Ian McKellen, Julian Clary and Graham Norton, who will be sharing personal memories and first-hand accounts, with much of it told in Paul’s own words.
Paul’s story will be told through his most famous creation, Lily Savage - an underground cabaret star who took mainstream telly by storm. O'Grady's big break for the character was on Channel 4 ’s The Big Breakfast, before Lily hosted Blankety Blank on Saturday nights on BBC1. And although Paul retired the character in 2004, he continued to be a much loved character on our TV screens.
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The Life and Death of Lily Savage discusses why Paul suddenly decided to kill Lily off and features the first-ever TV interview with his daughter Sharyn. Sharyn recalls living with Paul in London as he hit the stage as his infamous drag act Lily. "I wasn't allowed to see a lot of Lily when I was little, I think because of the language,” she says. “I didn't understand a lot of the jokes anyway.”
But she shares an insight into what life was like with him when she was a teenager. “I remember going to the shop and getting tights for him," she continues. "The guy would say 'You coming in for your dad's tights?' I'd be like yeah, you got a tan and black, it was just that was just normal. I used to just love looking at his makeup. I remember walking around the flat with his thigh-high boots on, thinking I was all grown up, I was about 13!"
Sharyn Mousley talks about growing up with Lily SavageMum-of-two Sharyn, 48, was born after Paul had a brief relationship with his friend and work colleague Diane Jansen, now 76, in the early 1970s. Sharyn added: "People used to say to me, isn't it strange? That Paul O'Grady, Lily Savage, is your dad and I don't know any difference. I think he didn't know he was gay or straight when I was born.”
Father and daughter enjoyed a close relationship and Paul gave Sharyn away when she married husband Philip Mousley. Paul O’Grady was also a proud grandfather as Sharon and Philip welcomed a son named Abel in 2006 and a daughter named Halo in 2009. Speaking to the Daily Mail after her father’s death Sharyn disclosed her heartbreak. "What can I say? We are all devastated, I am, my mum is, everyone is. We loved him and we will miss him."
In his autobiography The Devil Rides Out Paul recalls seeing Sharyn for the first time in the maternity ward and writes with humour about how he initially peered into the wrong cot as another mother said: "You're looking at the wrong baby, mate. That one's mine, yours is over there.”
Meanwhile, ITV will also be showing Paul O’Grady’s final project the Great Elephant Adventure - a two-part series following Paul as he travels through Thailand and Laos to see the work done by elephant conservation centres to rescue, rehabilitate and protect the animals.
The Life and Death of Lily Savage comes to ITV1 on Good Friday March 29.
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