Fans have been left broken hearted and full of love at the same time, after a post appeared on Paul O'Grady's Instagram account, for the first time since his death at the end of last month.
In the early hours of Wednesday, March 29, the sad news broke that much loved entertainer and staunch activist Paul had passed away at the age of 67, with Paul's husband Andre Portasio telling the world: "It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening. We ask, at this difficult time, that whilst you celebrate his life you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss.
“He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion. I know that he would want me to thank you for all the love you have shown him over the years.”
Over the weekend, ITV paid a very special tribute to Paul, the man who gave the world iconic drag queen Lily Savage, by airing For The Love Of Paul O'Grady on Sunday night, as fans were moved to tears by some of the entertainer's finest moments and tributes paid to him the friends and those who'd worked with him over the years.
READ MORE: Paul O'Grady to make ITV return in final series of For The Love of Dogs
The show went out before the start of the final series of For The Love of Dogs this week and Paul's legacy is also being kept alive on his Instagram page. Unlike many stars, Paul; actually controlled the account himself; so fans were startled were taken aback when a post appeared on the page at the end of last week.
Next to a photo of animal lover Paul; holding a chicken, was a statement that read: "Dear all. It is with great sadness that we write this post. As most of you who follow Paul here on Instagram will know by his humour that he always managed his own account. He enjoyed being in close contact with his audience."
It continued "After some consideration, we’ve decided to keep the account open for now in order to keep you all informed of any Paul related things. We wish to emphasise that this is the only personal account for Paul O’Grady with his blue tick so please ignore any imposters."
Fans reacted in their droves to the Instagram post, with one replying: "I am still feeling so sad to know that we will never hear from this wonderful man again . He was one of life’s truly lovely human beings and his loss will be felt for a long time . My thoughts are with his husband and his family and all his animals that must Also be missing him so much , as I know that dogs especially do pine for their owners."
A second wrote: "I would love his account to be kept open so we can get updates on all his animals, I loved hearing about them, especially his dogs. I hope they are all doing ok without him. I absolutely loved Paul’s Instagram posts, I’ve been through them all numerous times since he died, some of his videos are hilarious and I’m so sad there won’t be anymore. RIP Paul2
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