Paul O'Grady made a heart breaking final post about the passing of his pet before his death.
The TV star died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening (March 28) at the age of 67. His partner Andre Portasio confirmed the sad news, adding: “He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion."
The cause of Paul's death has yet to be confirmed. Two weeks before his passing, Paul took to Instagram to pay tribute to one of his pet pigs, Tom Tom, who had to be put to sleep while he was away. Posting a sweet video of the beloved hog, the animal lover wrote: "Got back from a week in Newcastle playing Miss Hannigan in Annie to find that Tom Tom, one of my pigs had been put to sleep.
READ MORE: Paul O'Grady passes away 'unexpectedly but peacefully' at 67
"I knew it was coming as he’d been diagnosed with a tumour but even so it’s awful when you lose a pet. He was the cheekiest of the gang and one of the other pigs who was obviously very fond of him is now depressed and gone into mourning and there’s those who say that animals don’t have feelings.
"On a lighter note I’m thoroughly enjoying playing Hannigan again after so long especially with a truly amazing and lovely cast. Next stop Edinburgh."
Paul was renowned for hosting The Paul O'Grady Show, Blind Date and Blankety Blank, as well as ITV's For The Love Of Dogs, which won multiple awards. His celebrity game show, Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up was also a favourite.
O'Grady took over as host of Blind Date following the death of long-running presenter and close friend Cilla Black, who passed in 2015, when the show was rebooted in 2017 on Channel 5. Last year, to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, for which he was an ambassador, O'Grady was joined by the Queen Consort for a one-off special episode of For The Love of Dogs.
After spending nearly 14 years as he established himself as a stalwart of the air waves, in August 2022 he presented his last BBC Radio 2 Show on the Sunday afternoon programme.
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