Paul O’Grady MBE – 14/6/55-28/3/23
We very much wanted to express our great sadness at the recent passing of Paul O’Grady. As well as his glittering TV career, he was also incredibly active over many years with dog rescue and rehoming causes and will be particularly remembered by animal lovers for this. He has left five rescue dogs of his own.
From 2012 to 2023 Paul presented ‘Animal Orphans’ and ‘For The Love of Dogs’, the latter being centred around the incredibly important work of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Apparently, Paul had wanted to work on a show like this for years and it was a role he took to with great passion and enthusiasm.
Over the 11 years of shooting ‘For The Love of Dogs’, Paul brought the importance of rescuing dogs right into our living rooms and helped to raise awareness of this issue to unprecedented levels. In each episode he interacted with members of the Battersea staff, highlighting a selection of dogs in their care and following their stories through to successful adoptions. It’s reported they have received over £100,000 in donations since Paul’s passing earlier this week.
Although originally only scheduled to last for 6 days, Paul ended up staying on as a volunteer for 6 months and at the end of the 1st series was invited to become an ambassador for the home. As a mark of thanks, a bronze statue of his late dog, Buster, who ‘co-hosted’ the Paul O’Grady show, was erected on a plinth at the centre.
Ultimately, the show was so successful that it won several awards, including ‘Favourite Factual Show’ (5 times) and ‘Most Popular Factual Entertainment Programme’ (twice). It was also nominated for a BAFTA for ‘Best Features Programme’ in 2013.
Also in 2013, Paul took part in the ‘Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures’ campaign which aimed to give a million meals to rescue dogs nationwide. In September 2016 he was recognised for his work with animals when he won the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Animal Welfare’ at the RSPCA’s Animal Hero Awards.
From Olga Productions PAUL O’GRADY’S FOR THE LOVE OF DOGS November 2019 on ITV
Pictured: Paul O’Grady and Pancake the Pug at Battersea
Paul died unexpectedly but peacefully, on 28th March 2023 at the age of 67. His death was announced by his husband Andre Portasio and tributes quickly came in from his many high-profile friends. We’d like to express our sadness and best wishes to all of his family and friends and also express our deep gratitude for everything he did to publicise and help the cause of dogs in need.
ITV will broadcast a tribute show titled For the Love of Paul O’Grady on Easter Sunday, 9th April, 8pm and have confirmed that the 11th series of Paul O’Grady For the Love of Dogs will premiere on Thursday 13th April at 8.30pm.
