The late Paul O'Grady had been planning his own funeral in meticulous detail years before his death. The presenter and comedian, who died at the age of 67 on March 28, even said that one act had already agreed to perform at his funeral.
The revelations have come from an interview that O'Grady did for a Daily Mail column back in November 2017, MailOnline reports. The Q&A column, entitled The Definite Article, appeared in the paper's Weekend magazine and always asked the celebrity for the order of service at their funeral and how they would want to be remembered.
In answering the question, O'Grady said the pianist Jools Holland had already agreed to perform at his funeral along with his rhythm and blues band. Speaking to journalist Rob McGibbon, O'Grady said: "Jools has already said he is up for it.
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"Mica Paris would stand up and sing something by Mahalia Jackson. They both have incredible voices." O'Grady said he also wanted Tom Jones to perform at his funeral, which he wanted to be held in an ancient church in Kent.
He imagined a New Orleans jazz band closing the service and joked that he would be laid to rest in a glass coffin in the middle of a forest. But in terms of how he wanted to be remembered, Paul O'Grady said he would want to be celebrated for being kind to animals, rather than for his showbusiness achievements, with ITV's For the Love of Dogs programme being fronted by him.
Rob McGibbon told MailOnline: "I did 370 interviews for The Definite Article and I have always remembered the one with Paul fondly because he was so sincere and had put so much thought into his answers before we spoke. It was important to him that the piece really reflected who he was.
"It had taken me six years to finally get him to do the interview, but it was worth the wait. I enjoyed talking to him because he was such an engaging, warm man, with a big heart. And he was great fun. We had a laugh - even when we were talking about his funeral."
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