Paul OGrady was gobsmacked that Cilla Black died | UK News

Paul O’Grady suffered with his coronary heart for years before his early death, aged 67, in March 2023. He even predicted that he would die before his close good friend, Cilla Black, despite her being 12 years his senior. He even had some big plans for the Scouse legend to be concerned in his funeral.

The Lily Savage star’s good good friend and long-time producer, Malcom Prince, has shared Paul’s ideas when he learnt that Cilla had died – just seven weeks after they last partied together. The Blind Date host suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage after falling backwards and hitting her head and died aged 72. In his new e-book, Not the Same without You, Malcom shared: “One of the last times I saw the two of them together was at a party for Paul’s sixtieth birthday in June 2015, held at the Blueprint Café in Butler’s Wharf, minutes from Paul’s London pied-à-terre. In a spacious room overlooking the River Thames and Tower Bridge, Paul’s friends and family gathered to wish him well alongside an impressive guest list from the world of entertainment.

The author added: “Cilla was there too, but at 72 she was a shadow of her former self. She appeared frail and walked slowly around the room, escorted by her son Robert. I was upset to see her in this approach, and I do know Paul was too. He did have a dance with his good friend that evening, their last, and she died just 7 weeks later at her vacation home in Spain.”

Speaking of Paul’s shock, Malcolm continued: “On 20 August 2015, Paul attended the funeral of Cilla Black at St Mary’s RC Church in Liverpool.

“He gave a touching and humorous tribute in which he declared, ‘I firmly believed that Cilla was indestructible and that I would go first, the state of my heart. In fact, we discussed my funeral at length, me and Cilla, and she had a major role in it which involved a mantilla and lilies.’”

Paul suffered with his coronary heart for years before it led to his death. He suffered his first coronary heart assault in 2002, aged 47, and described it as a “life-changing experience”.

In Not the Same without You, Malcolm tells the tales that Paul didn’t get to share himself. It’s a treasure trove of anecdotes and reminiscences, all drawn from Malcolm’s intensive assortment of non-public recordings and interviews with the people that knew Paul best.

It’s a stunning account of the person behind the icon – the person recognized to his pals as ‘Savage’ and to the public, in many much-loved guises.

This great e-book tells never-before-heard tales of the much-missed national treasure, that includes the great and the great of the leisure world, his unlikely friendship with the Queen, his departure from the BBC, and a ghost story of two thrown in for good measure.

Paul O’Grady – Not The Same Without You is out there from bookstores from November 6.