Paul O’Grady’s daughter Sharyn Mousley reflects on her memories with her dad, and what it was like being the Lily Savage star’s only child.
The beloved TV icon died suddenly but peacefullylast year in March at 67, and Sharynlater expressed her devastation. Sharyn, who was born in 1974, is the
host of Blankety Blank’s only child who he shares with his friend Diane Jansen. In a new interview for documentary The Life and Death of Lily Savage, Sharyn talks about what it was like growing up as his only child, and recalls a particularly memorable birthday.
She says, according to reports: ‘I wasn’t allowed to see a lot of Lily when I was little, I think because of the language.
‘I didn’t understand a lot of the jokes anyway.’
‘I was about seven and it was my birthday party. And my dad said, “I’ve got a great surprise for you,”‘ Sharyn goes on to explain.
‘He swallows this fluid and then starts fire eating in my mum’s little flat you know, and then there were sort of scorch marks on the ceiling and all the girls were screaming because like, “It’s a fire!”
The Lily Savage star died in March last year aged 67 (Picture: Fremantle Media/Shutterstock)
Although Sharyn didn’t watch her dad as Lily on stage when she was a child, she remembers his iconic look and how she’d even buy her dad’s tights and wearing his heels.
She continues in the documentary, according to
: ‘As I got older I want to see Lily. It was a lot to take in because he was my dad at the end of the day. And he’s got like six-inch heels with a massive blonde wig. The Mirror‘My dad used to just leave bin bags around, he was working nights and then sleeping days. And also I remember going to the shop and getting tights for him.
‘The guy would say “You coming in for your dad’s tights?” I’d be like yeah, you got a tan and black, it was just that was just normal. He used to leave me in a flat and go and work.
‘I used to just love looking at his makeup. I remember walking around the flat with his thigh-high boots on, thinking I was all grown up, I was about 13!’
Sharyn talks about her childhood memories with O’Grady in a new documentary (Picture: News Group/Shutterstock)
The new documentary will tell O’Grady’s life story, airing
alongside his final TV project, to mark the first anniversary of his death. The likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Julian Clary and Graham Norton remember the national treasure, sharing their personal memories.
O’Grady’s final series, Paul O’Grady’s Great Elephant Adventure
, follows the For The Love of Dogs host travelling through Thailand and Laos ‘to celebrate the work done by elephant conservation centres to rescue, rehabilitate and protect these most majestic, but vulnerable, of animals’.The two-part documentary series will show the animal enthusiast 'traveling across the area to get involved and help out at a different rescue center.'
O’Grady’s final TV appearance will be broadcast one year after he passed away (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
'Each episode focuses on a specific challenge encountered by elephants in the area and as always – Paul's affection for animals is evident throughout the series. The tone is warm, playful, and sincere, and always characterized by his well-liked wit and humor.'
ITV added that the project is 'one that he was incredibly passionate about'.
The nation was grieving when O’Grady passed away on March 28 last year at his home in Kent.
Tributes from fans, friends, and figures in the entertainment world
were given, and later reports confirmed his cause of death as sudden cardiac arrhythmia. The Life And Death Of Lily Savage airs Friday, March 29, at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
She has remembered her childhood memories.
