FIRST IMPRESSIONS: PAUL O’GRADY
What are you working on at the moment?
A documentary on the working classes for the BBC, coming out in Spring 2013. I’m also just about to go into rehearsals for a panto in the O2 in London. Lily Savage is playing Widow Twankey in Aladdin.
When were you at your happiest?
I’m at my happiest when I’m at home doing nothing. Mooching. Doing a bit of baking and what have you. Just being at home. Messing around and playing with the pigs!
What is your greatest fear?
Being burnt alive.
What is your earliest memory?
Listening to Listen With Mother on the wireless with my mother, or watching Andy Pandy.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Nobody, really. I’ve had bad infl uences, lots of them!
What is your most treasured possession?
My dogs.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Spitting. I loathe spitting in the street. And bad manners. And, in restaurants, people on their mobile phones. Drives me mad.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
About 95 per cent of it. Every morning I look in the mirror and I think, ‘How did that happen in the night? How did such damage occur while I was asleep?’
What is your all-time favourite book?
Quite a few actually – but defi nitely a book called The Same Old Grind by Judy Roe. It’s a novel about a burlesque house. It’s out of print now.
What is your favourite film?
Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman.
Your favourite record or piece of music?
Sugar Town by Nancy Sinatra.
Your favourite meal?
Oysters and brown bread washed down with Black Velvet.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Gypsy Rose Lee. But she’s dead, so no chance of that, worst luck.
Do you believe in aliens?
No.
What is your secret vice?
Loads of them… and that’s why they are secrets.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes, always.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘I’m knackered.’
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Someone to do my washing. But I wouldn’t like it.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Lots of things. But they don’t get a chance to do it twice – I’ve always got a quick response.
Which historical character do you most admire?
Nobody in particular. Lots of people who aren’t famous but who have done good things.
Do you have a fantasy address?
No – I’m happy where I am. I’d rather be back at home than anywhere else.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I don’t think I’m the one to judge. Other people will probably tell me though…
What would you like your epitaph to say?
I really don’t care, because I won’t be around.
Still Standing: The Savage Years, by Paul O’Grady, is published by Bantam Press, priced £20.
A documentary on the working classes for the BBC, coming out in Spring 2013. I’m also just about to go into rehearsals for a panto in the O2 in London. Lily Savage is playing Widow Twankey in Aladdin.
When were you at your happiest?
I’m at my happiest when I’m at home doing nothing. Mooching. Doing a bit of baking and what have you. Just being at home. Messing around and playing with the pigs!
What is your greatest fear?
Being burnt alive.
What is your earliest memory?
Listening to Listen With Mother on the wireless with my mother, or watching Andy Pandy.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Nobody, really. I’ve had bad infl uences, lots of them!
What is your most treasured possession?
My dogs.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Spitting. I loathe spitting in the street. And bad manners. And, in restaurants, people on their mobile phones. Drives me mad.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
About 95 per cent of it. Every morning I look in the mirror and I think, ‘How did that happen in the night? How did such damage occur while I was asleep?’
What is your all-time favourite book?
Quite a few actually – but defi nitely a book called The Same Old Grind by Judy Roe. It’s a novel about a burlesque house. It’s out of print now.
What is your favourite film?
Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman.
Your favourite record or piece of music?
Sugar Town by Nancy Sinatra.
Your favourite meal?
Oysters and brown bread washed down with Black Velvet.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Gypsy Rose Lee. But she’s dead, so no chance of that, worst luck.
Do you believe in aliens?
No.
What is your secret vice?
Loads of them… and that’s why they are secrets.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes, always.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘I’m knackered.’
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Someone to do my washing. But I wouldn’t like it.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Lots of things. But they don’t get a chance to do it twice – I’ve always got a quick response.
Which historical character do you most admire?
Nobody in particular. Lots of people who aren’t famous but who have done good things.
Do you have a fantasy address?
No – I’m happy where I am. I’d rather be back at home than anywhere else.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I don’t think I’m the one to judge. Other people will probably tell me though…
What would you like your epitaph to say?
I really don’t care, because I won’t be around.
Still Standing: The Savage Years, by Paul O’Grady, is published by Bantam Press, priced £20.