PLANS to award the late Paul O'Grady posthumous freedom of the borough have moved forward as part of council plans to pay tribute to the entertainer's legacy.

Since the Wirral-born TV presenter, comedian and actor's death on March 28, there have been many calls for Wirral Council to officially honour him.

The authority acknowledged at the time that it would be looking at a number of ways to do this.

The then council leader, Cllr Janette Williamson, who put forward the motion asking councillors to posthumously bestow the highest honour it has - the Freedom of the Borough.

The motion was considered by members of the Regulatory and General Purposes Committee, who agreed to progress with the proposal during a meeting on Wednesday night (June 7). 

Councillors will vote on the proposal during an Extraordinary Council meeting on July 10.

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Freedom of the Borough is just one of the ways Wirral Council is looking to celebrate the achievements of the homegrown star - who first found fame as the self-proclaimed 'Blonde Bombsite' Lily Savage.

These are in recognition, not just of the years he spent entertaining people across the country, but also of his dedicated activism and charity work.

A council tweet read: "Update 7 June: at tonight's Regulatory & General Purposes Committee, members agreed to progress with the proposal to award Paul O'Grady with Freedom of The Borough.

"The next step is for all members to vote on it at the Extraordinary Council on July 10. Further details will be shared after then."

During his TV career, Paul hosted The Paul O’Grady Show, Blind Date and Blankety Blank, as well as ITV’s multi-award-winning For The Love Of Dogs.

Wirral Globe: Paul O'Grady died on March 28, aged 67Paul O'Grady died on March 28, aged 67 (Image: PA Wire / PA Images)

He was also the host of the ITV celebrity game show, Paul O’Grady’s Saturday Night Line Up.

In August 2022, he presented his final BBC Radio 2 show, having hosted the Sunday afternoon programme for nearly 14 years.

Read more: Wirral Council plans 'fitting celebration' of Paul O'Grady's life Paul was born in Birkenhead. His mother’s maiden name was Savage which is believed to have inspired his famous drag alter ego.

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He began his career performing as Lily Savage in the 1970s whilst working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council, going on to tour northern England as part of drag duo the Playgirls.

O’Grady’s career as Savage took off with TV and radio appearances in character and he was eventually asked to take over from Paula Yates as The Big Breakfast presenter as Savage from 1995 to 1996.

He was made an MBE in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to entertainment and attended the ceremony with his daughter Sharyn Mousley.