Paul O'Grady was quietly plagued by serious health issues for decades. Having previously doubted he'd live to see 60, the beloved comedian and broadcaster passed away 'unexpectedly but peacefully' at the age of 67 on March 28, 2023, with devoted husband André Portasio by his side. Paul's official death certificate confirmed he'd died from sudden cardiac arrhythmia, which, according to the
British Heart Foundation, usually occurs when an untreated abnormal heart rhythm, known as an arrhythmia, leads to a cardiac arrest. Heart disease ran in Paul's family, with his mother Mary and father Patrick once both suffering heart attacks in the same week. Tragically, Patrick's proved to be fatal, while Mary later died of a separate attack. As ITV celebrates the late star with new documentary, T he Life and Death of Lily Savage, The Mirror takes a look at the icon's long battles with his health... Lily Savage came to life in sketches the late Paul O'Grady made as a teenager Three heart attacks before 65 After his first heart attack, Paul underwent some serious lifestyle changes ( Image: Daily Mirror) As an adult, Paul suffered from multiple heart attacks, the first one occurring in 2002 when he was just 47 years old. The shock health scare prompted Paul to make some significant lifestyle changes, giving up booze and ramping up his exercise routine as he began confronting the idea of his own mortality. Paul told the Daily Express: "I grew up overnight. It really did shake me and I've toed the line ever since. I've just sort of gone off booze. I didn't even have a drink on my birthday last month. It's not like the old days when I could neck ten pints of cider — now I'd be ill as a dog. The hangovers aren't worth it. "I used to think I was invincible but now I'm running out of lives. I’m not scared of death at all... It's the way you die that worries me — that's the fear.” Unfortunately, Paul had a second, more severe heart attack in 2006. After undergoing tests and surgery to clear a blocked artery, Paul was placed on blood-thinning medication, and was left feeling like a 'wreck'. Speaking with the Mirror at the time, Paul shared: "I'm like a broken toy - I'm f****d. I think I should really just be taken out and shot. "It's fair to say I'm not at my best. I've had so many blood tests I've got the arms of a junkie. You wouldn't even recognise me. I go through days of feeling very tired. The tablets make me cough a lot and my blood's so thin that if I bang myself on the sofa I get a great big bruise. I'm a bloody wreck." This second attack happened nearly one year after Paul's ex-partner and manager Brendan Murphy tragically died of brain
cancer at the age of 49. Paul continued: "The doctor said I'd put a lot of pressure on my heart with a trauma like that and that it's not uncommon for something to happen a year later." In 2014, Paul had another heart attack, later describing himself as 'a human version of the Titanic, forever dodging icebergs'. After receiving a clean bill of health in 2021, Paul told the Daily Star: "My cardiologist thought I should have a pacemaker, so he sent me to the specialist. I had the ECG and all that business - but the specialist said, 'You don't need the pacemaker. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it'." Near fatal virus On top of the issues with his heart, Paul nearly died from kidney failure while filming for For the Love of Dogs:
India in 2017. The keen animal lover had been playing with wounded street dogs when he contracted a virus that left him vomiting and seriously dehydrated. With his signature wit, Paul told the Mirror in 2018: " Getting ill was my own fault. They said to me, 'Keep off the streets, it's Delhi'. But I was lying in the gutter with these two gorgeous little puppies. "I'm feeding them by hand and flicking maggots out of a rat bite, and of course, I must have touched my mouth or my face – you forget. When you work with animals, you're not squeamish. "At five o'clock in the morning, I'm still vomiting. Ten o'clock at night, I'm still at it. They called the doctor and he said you're going in because you're so dehydrated. When I got in there, they said your white blood cells are going berserk, you're heading for renal failure'." After being taken to hospital, Paul was given saline and antibiotics, but discharged himself after just one night on the wards, as he was keen to get back to work. Long Covid woes Paul was so badly affected by Covid-19 that he was left unable to work for two months back in 2022. He told the Mirror: “I managed to escape Covid until last year and then I caught it. I didn’t half get it; I was really ill. "It wiped me out, I was shocked at how bad I was. I was a good two months getting over it. My breath had gone. I’d go out to feed the pigs and I’d have to sit down two or three times on my way there, wheezing.” Concerned for his health, the Blankety Blank star contacted his cardiologist, worrying he might never recover. Subsequent x-rays diagnosed Paul as a long Covid victim, and he spent the summer of 2022 recovering at his farm in Kent. Paul recalled: “All I did was sleep. I’d wake up, go downstairs and sit on the couch and then pass out for another four hours. I’d get up, have a cup of tea and then go back to bed and sleep all night, it was very odd. I just felt terrible with it. I’ve never slept so much in my life. I’d had all the jabs, but it just finished me off. “Thank God I’m over it now, but at one time I thought: ‘Is this ever going to go? Am I ever going to get my energy back and stop being tired?’ It wasn’t pleasant.” 'Great love' of smoking Paul struggled with an addiction to cigarettes, and would joke that he had two great loves: 'Benson and Hedges'. Opening up about the difficulties of quitting, the TV star, who would smoke 40 cigarettes a day, once quipped: "I've always said I have two great loves, Benson and Hedges, so it's not been easy quitting. "But while smoking hasn't helped, I think my heart problems are congenital. Mum and dad died from it. "You've no idea how much I've looked after myself - gym, swimming, long walks, soya milk... to think I've deprived myself of Jersey full-fat milk for all this time." You can catch The Life and Death of Lily Savage and Paul O’Grady’s Great Elephant Adventure on Friday, March 29, at 9pm ITV 1 Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on Snapchat ,
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YouTube and Threads . Paul O'Grady's daughter speaks out for first time about growing up with dad in spotlight