Paul O'Grady documentary 'to explore why he ditched Lily Savage persona'

After working in London's thriving drag scene for some time, television opportunities began to present themselves, with the most notable being a revival of game show Blankety Blank that aired from 1997 to 2002.

The show saw great success with Savage as its host, but O'Grady began to grow tired of the character and decided to shift focus to working as himself after the series wrapped.

The decision was also influenced by the death of his longtime partner, Brendan Murphy, in 2005. This period of his career is said to be the focus of an upcoming special from ITV (as reported in The Sun).

Speaking of the project, a source told the tabloid: "He occupies a special place in the hearts of everyone at ITV and this is part of paying further tribute to him.

"This is an interesting angle to take to look back on Paul’s career, but making the leap from edgy drag queen to a household name and star of teatime telly is a story worth exploring."

ITV is yet to officially confirm the documentary and declined to comment when approached by RadioTimes.com.

O'Grady passed away earlier this year from sudden cardiac arrhythmia, prompting an enormous outpouring of tributes for his trailblazing career and comic talent.

In recent years, he was best known for presenting ITV factual series Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs, in which he followed the staff and would-be pets of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

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