The beloved entertainer passed away in March. <\/p>
ITV is reportedly planning a documentary special about the late Paul O\u2019Grady, exploring why he decided to retire his popular drag alter-ego Lily Savage.<\/p>\n
The television presenter originated the character back in 1978, with his first performance in the role taking place at a pub in Camden, while a residency in Vauxhall would follow a few years later.<\/p>\n
After working in London\u2019s thriving drag scene for some time, television opportunities began to present themselves, with the most notable being a revival of game show Blankety Blank<\/a> that aired from 1997 to 2002.<\/p>\n The show saw great success with Savage as its host, but O\u2019Grady began to grow tired of the character and decided to shift focus to working as himself after the series wrapped.<\/p>\n The decision was also influenced<\/a> by the death of his longtime partner, Brendan Murphy, in 2005. This period of his career is said to be the focus of an upcoming special from ITV (as reported in The Sun<\/a>).<\/p> Speaking of the project, a source told the tabloid: \u201cHe occupies a special place in the hearts of everyone at ITV and this is part of paying further tribute to him.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an interesting angle to take to look back on Paul\u2019s career, but making the leap from edgy drag queen to a household name and star of teatime telly is a story worth exploring.\u201d<\/p>\n ITV is yet to officially confirm the documentary and declined to comment when approached by RadioTimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n O\u2019Grady passed away earlier this year<\/a> from sudden cardiac arrhythmia, prompting an enormous outpouring of tributes<\/a> for his trailblazing career and comic talent.<\/p>\n In recent years, he was best known for presenting ITV factual series Paul O\u2019Grady: For the Love of Dogs<\/a>, in which he followed the staff and would-be pets of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.<\/p>