Paul O’Grady’s husband Andre Portasio has broken his silence for the first time as he opened up about trying to save the TV star’s life in his final moments. As Andre prepares to mark the first anniversary of Paul’s death, he opened up about the “ordinary day” he died.
Andre recalled it was like any other day as Paul arrived back from touring and so would usually stay in bed to catch up on his sleep. However, on this day, he had to get up because he had a meeting with his producer, Malcolm Prince.
“He was on wonderful form and then we settled down in the living room and switched on the telly to catch up on Kent ITV News,” Andre told the Daily Mirror.
“He left to get some tea, and I heard this loud bang. But because the house is big and old, I didn’t think of anything at first.”
Andre remembered seeing their beloved dogs going into the kitchen and then returning as he had assumed Paul had gone into the cottage grounds of the house they were renovating.
He continued: “I walked to the kitchen to start putting some food on, and I started taking things out of the fridge and all of a sudden, I could see him lying on the floor.
“I just didn’t know what to think at first. He had a cut on his forehead, and I thought he was probably just unconscious. I called the ambulance and they said the best chance to keep him alive was to do CPR.”
Andre did his best to save his husband’s life as he explained by the time the ambulance arrived he was “exhausted”.
After paramedics spent a house trying to resuscitate him, they said at one point, ‘Yes, he’s breathing’.
Despite thinking the nightmare was over, shortly after, Paul was pronounced dead.
“The saddest part of this all is that when all of this happened, and as I was trying to resuscitate him, I was trying to keep the dogs out of the room,” he added.
“But somehow Paul’s dog Arfur, who is one of his favourites, escaped and he nuzzled his face as he always did on Paul’s shoulder as if to say ‘wake up’. It was just heartbreaking.”
Paul died on March 28 2023 from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
On Friday, to mark a year since the icon’s death, ITV is remembering his incredible journey in the one-off special titled The Life and Death of Lily Savage.
Lily Savage was the drag act Paul created and starred in after developing the character for the first time in 1978.
The 90-minute special will showcase interviews from Paul’s loved ones, including his sister Sheila Rudd and for the very first time, his daughter Sharon Mousley.
A whole host of celebrities and members of the LGBT+ community will also appear to speak about the impact Paul and Lily had on them and the community at large.
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